The meeting was opened by regional secretary Paule Ndessomin, who encouraged women to maintain the momentum of the work that had been done. A major part of the discussion focused on the adoption of ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment by the 2019 International Labour Conference.
Mwila Chigaga, a gender expert from the International Labour Organization, said that the Convention is a global mandate to end violence and harassment in the world of work, but warned that the adoption is not the victory: the work starts now. She reminded participants that the Convention needs to be ratified by at least two countries to come into force, and encouraged them to ensure that these are African countries.
“We can’t celebrate now. We can celebrate when the Convention is ratified and implemented,”
she said.
“We should primarily see C190 as an international labour standard on gender equality, and see it the context of other conventions: C100 on Equal Pay, C111 on Discrimination, C156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities, C183 on Maternity Protection and C189 on Domestic Work.
“Many of these have not been ratified and implemented. Let’s not forget them while we celebrate C190.”
IndustriALL gender coordinator Armelle Seby said,
“Unions have to mobilize and push for ratification. But unions do not need to wait: they should use this instrument to change the lives of workers now. This new instrument is a key tool for trade unions to advance non-discrimination and equality, and fight against gender-based violence in the world of work.”
Rose Omamo introduced herself by saying
“I am the general secretary of the Almagamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers, and I am a gender champion.”
Both Chigaga and Omamo spoke about the need to take the work of gender equality out of the womens’ structure and use male allies to mainstream it in the union.
Chigaga said,
“We need women in leadership positions in unions. But we also need to ensure that the men who are elected are gender champions and feminists.”
There was a discussion about making a practical difference in the workplace, and participants shared that violence and harassment is commonplace.
“As women, we need to have each other’s backs,” said one participant. “Sisterhood works.”
Tendai Makanza of the IndustriALL regional office urged affiliates to use the tools that we have, especially the Pledge.
“We hope to start a young feminist movement for the region.”
Lydia Nkopane chaired a session which formed the regional women’s committee, as follows:
- Chair: Lydia Nkopane
- Deputy chair: Harriet Nganzi Mugambwa
- Secretary: Oluchi Amaogu
- Deputy secretary: Olga Kabalu
- Treasurer: Maclanta Mbala
Additional members:
- Faith Lanyero
- Regina Nambahu
- Bridget Nambule
Disclaimer: All third-party opinions expressed via IASWI accounts linked to and from this page are those of the individuals concerned and do not necessarily represent those of IASWI or its affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended nor implied. To discuss this disclaimer or the removal of appropriate credit for materials of which you hold copyright please contact us. All the third party videos and contents found on workers-iran.org is not hosted on our servers; all third party videos or contents are hosted on a third party site. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and news sources on the www.workers-iran.org do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the IASWI or official policies of the IASWI. These posts are only generated for the purpose of information sharing on the labour related issues.