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Unions are being asked to participate in the ITF’s equality testing in transport research, and to help fight for the proposed International Labour Organization (ILO) convention on violence and harassment in the workplace.
Unions can take part in the research by:
- Distributing the worker survey to transport workers and encourage all responses to be completed by 8 August. (Currently available in Arabic, French, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Bengali, Bulgarian and Thai coming soon.)
- Completing and sharing the supplementary questionnaire for union reps and officials, also by 8 August. (Currently available in Arabic, French, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Bengali, Bulgarian and Thai are coming soon.)
The survey and questionnaire can even be completed on mobile phones.
The ITF will use the findings to support unions with their campaigning and collective bargaining strategies to win more employer implementation of policies and practices that promote gender equality and eliminate violence against women transport workers.
The findings will also provide vital evidence for unions to lobby their governments and trade union national centres on the need for an ILO convention. This is particularly important before September 2017, as national centres prepare responses to the forthcoming ILO questionnaire.
On 8 March, cabin crew members participated in a discussion on violence at work, which they face in a unique way: in isolated workplaces in the sky, with complex jurisdiction issues and employers who continue to promote sexism. Jacqueline Tuwanakotta, Garuda Indonesia Flight Attendant Association, said: "We have been helping a young woman who was sexually harassed on a flight. The man who attacked her has been fired, but the effect on her has been really bad: she doesn't want to fly and it's changed her whole life. We all have to protect our young women workers everyday, not just today."
Diana Holland, chair of the ITF’s women transport workers’ committee, commented that the ITF and its unions stood proud in working with women transport workers making workplaces better, safer and more representative.
More support and information for unions:
Use the ITF tools to recruit and remind others to participate in the ITF research – available in Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
Visit the ITF’s IWD webpage for more information at www.8march2017.org.
Visit www.itfendvaw.org and get involved now in the campaign for an ILO convention on violence and harassment in the workplace.
Find us on Facebook and follow our Twitter feed using #ITFwomen.
Read more about the ITF’s work with women transport workers.