ETF gender activities 2005 - 2006

1. Following a proposal of the ETF Women’s Committee, the ETF Executive Committee agreed in November 2005 that a gender topic would be included on all section meetings’ agenda. It was also agreed that the series of section debates on gender equality in transport would be completed by mid-2006 so that a report on the outcome would be presented at the Executive Committee meeting in October 2006. The aim of this action was to ensure greater convergence between the ETF gender and section policies. The section tour was completed on 19 September 2006

SECTIONS’ CONCERNS – overview

2. An overview of the ‘section tour’ shows that various ETF sections raised a number of common concerns with regards to the situation of women in the respective sectors:

High number of women in poorly unionised sectors – risk for low job-quality: there are parts of the industry where women account for the majority of the workforce but where trade unions are poorly represented; these are the very areas with a high risk in what concerns job quality, with a clear need for better union involvement in order to avoid creating a precedent, for the whole industry, in terms of depreciation of job-quality, level of pay, working time, etc. Most of the sections concerned commented on the lack of reliable data on, for example, composition of the workforce, employment trends, quality of working conditions.

Examples: 1) members of the ETF Fisheries Section noted that women are predominant amongst land-based workers but that unions hardly organise this segment of the labour force; 2) in Inland Navigation, section representatives stressed the increasing number of young women taking up season-based jobs on hotel boats / passenger liners and pointed out that these workers lack information on rights, on unions etc. However, several section members pointed out that these workers are considered more as catering personnel and therefore cannot be covered by the collective agreements concluded for the crews; 3) maritime sector – the case of the cruise ship personnel; 4) civil aviation – the case of cabin crew working for low-cost carriers.

Work-life balance – a major problem for women transport workers, particularly in the case of mobile professions: members of a number of sections pointed out that many mobile professions remain closed to women, who cannot be away from home for long periods of time due to their family responsibilities.

Examples: The above explains the small number of women working as long-distance drivers (road transport), the fact that women do not stay long in jobs on board vessel (maritime), as bus drivers (urban passenger transport), etc. Members of the civil aviation and of maritime transport sections shared the opinion that maternity leave has a strong impact on careers;

Transport - still unattractive for female workforce: few sections pointed out that, despite policies to encourage a higher participation of women in the industry, transport fails to offer a work environment that equally takes into account the needs of female and male workers on an equal basis.

Examples: 1) fisheries and maritime sectors: conditions on board vessels in fisheries and maritime transport are not adapted to the presence of women on board, this being much more acute in the fisheries industry; 2) road transport sector: this sector is notorious for the poor facilities provided for long distance drivers. Particularly for women, the lack of toilet facilities has a decisive impact on their work life; 3) urban public transport: the number of women drivers has increased in the recent years, due to company policies to attract them to this profession. However, workplace ergonomics (the cabin) still accommodates the needs of the majority, male, workforce.

Workplace violence – women workers are particularly exposed to external violence (violence coming from customers): several sections voiced their particular concern about violence against women working in the respective sectors. It is a problem that influences women’s decision to leave certain professions, as well as a source of work-related stress and may have a considerable impact on the operational safety.

Examples: 1) urban passenger transport: an increasing number of women become drivers. They are however at risk particularly when working at night. In fact, generally speaking, women working night-shifts are more exposed to violence. 2) the civil aviation section: cabin crew are frequently in the situation to handle violent behaviour in aircrafts (so called ‘air rage’). Section members consider this one of the main sources of stress related to this profession. The section will possibly tackle the question of stress in the European social dialogue committee (see below, under ‘section initiatives’).

What is a transport worker? An interesting point was risen by members of several sections who wondered, particularly in the context of current industry developments, how far we should go with a definition of a transport worker.

Examples: 1) in inland waterway, women working on hotel boats pass as catering personnel; 2) in the ports & docks sector, there are hardly any women working on the docks, however, a considerable number of women work as administrative staff.

SECTION INITIATIVES

3. Bringing the gender debate to the section level proved extremely beneficial for the future ETF activity in this policy area. It gave sections the necessary time and space to explore the situation of women working in various parts of the industry, to analyse possible section responses vis-à-vis the crucial aspects of professional life of women in transport.

4. Herein below, a section-by-section breakdown on initiatives in the field of gender equality:

-  The ETF Railway Section: the section has already produced a study on a better representation and participation of women in railway professions (published in June 2005 – see ETF web-page). This was a project by European social partners (the ETF and the CER) funded by the European Commission (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities). The section will organise soon a conference to disseminate the results of the study. The conference will provide an opportunity to elaborate further on policy recommendations.

-  The Civil Aviation Section: intends to propose that the Cabin Crew Working Group starts working on work-related stress in the European Social Dialogue. The ETF Air Traffic Management Steering Committee is currently looking at the level of women’s participation and at specific problems affecting women working in this sector.

-  The Maritime Transport Section: decided to set up an ad-hoc working group to identify priority issues in the area of gender equality in the maritime industry, to revise all section initiatives that can be of relevance for gender equality work (such as the past project on career path, the guidelines on harassment and bullying) and to finally come up with recommendations for a section strategy on aspects such as recruitment, career path, training, female representation in trade unions. The working group has already had its first meeting.

-  The Urban Public Transport Committee: the Committee will advance a joint employers / trade union project to tackle aspects of work organisation. The gender dimension may be mainstreamed into the project in the context of the work-life balance debate.

-  The Inland Navigation Section: section members proposed that the ETF organise an information campaign to target female workers and passengers on hotel boats, promoting rights and decent working conditions for women employed on this type of vessels.

-  The Fisheries Section: would like to continue the debate on gender in the future, particularly on topics such as organising workforce, integration and better representation of the interests of women working in the industry. The section would also like to collect more data with regards to women employed in the industry.

-  The Ports Section: section members would like to collect more data on the composition of the workforce in ports, from a gender perspective.

-  The Road Transport Section: considers that trade unions must continue to promote facilities for female drivers.

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