The third regional conference of the ITUC-AP has been conducted on August 1-3, 2015. Just before that per-conference event of women and youth had been conducted in the same venue.

The conference has been concluded with re-electing Suzuki Noriyuki as gen. sec and Anthony Felix as chair. This time the women participation in titular member has been increased to 37 percent. The conference elected Champa Verma as chair of the women committee and Pranav Shangotra as chair of the youth committee.

 

Women’s Pre-Conference Event on 31 July

The meeting was started in the morning at 9.15 under the slogan “Pushing Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality to the Next Level” with the opening speech of Gen.Sec. Suzuki Noriyuki followed by women vice-chair Champa Barma, in the absencePre- women confeence of women committee chair.

Following the group introduction by country of participants, Anna the gender project coordinator presented the women workers’ fact based situation in AP trade union movement as

  • Membership as 38 percent
  • Regional committee 44 percent
  • Youth committee 50-50
  • National level trade union 30-33 percent
  •  National level decision making 2-50 percent

Good thing some of the union like nepal organising women dominated sectors as Domestic, beautician, home based and health volunteers trade unions.

Now, moving to the next level, ITUC-AP is targeting 50-50 at least in the participation level and 40 percent in leadership in all level as Titular and substitute level of the members.

Tea brake was followed by Yomoko Nishimoto the regional director of ILO. she presented ILO

She presented there about the ILO perspectives as

Three level of work as

  • technical support and advisory service
  • Standard Setting
  • Knowledge generation and analysis

It gives two impacts as

  • Gender mainstreaming
  • Gender specific intervention

Finally targeting the goal as

  • Capacity Building to gender sensitize and mainstream in trade union movement

There are many standard regarding gender and status of

  • equal remuneration c-100 ratified by 28
  • Equal opportunity convention – 111 ratified by 24
  • Family responsibility convention – 156 ratified by 3
  • Maternity protection convention – 183 ratified by 0 and
  • Domestic workers convention – 189 ratified by 1 in asia pacific region

Bangladesh delegate share the experiences that even government was asking about their opinion on ratification of C-183, they say no need since it is already in labor law. It is the attitude of male leaders about the gender related convention. It is not different in other country as well.

Now, UN-Women has set the campaign “He for She”. It is the campaign male fight for gender equality.

Women at centenary initiatives having 4-points strategies as

  • Harvesting data
  • Closed knowledge gaps
  • Global dialogue
  • Advocacy and campaign

Regarding the campaign for change- call for action, there are three trends of action as

  • Demographic trends
  • Climate change
  • ICT revolution

Turning the crisis into opportunities, diversity is critical in a world of increasing complexity.

The participants were divided into six group to discuss and prepare recommendations.

  • what would you want to say and what you would like to the ITUC-AP 3rd regional conference to do?
  • Key guiding question sis what more do you want to happen in GE in the next 4-years
  • reference PAGE 2015-2019a and ILO discussion

The outcome of the group discussion and suggestion collected to present in conference to be held on Aug. 1-3, 2015

  • AP committee- should be balance participation in titular and substitute
  • Ratification – priority on 156, 183 & 189 including core labor standard
  • Use of page- translate into local language
  • Gender committee-
  • All national centre should go through gender audit and present the report in 4th AP conference
  • Proper representation of of women in decision -making
  • TU leaders in gender program to have better understanding
  • Increasing women committee meeting
  • Networking of women TU leaders in the region to connect them
  • ITUC-AP should support more women and children of the working people victim in nepal caused by devastating earthquake.

(Central government of India provide 2-yrs child care leave within 18 year of children and six months maternity leave with full payment only by mother.)

Five people will be presenting those issues in the plenary by sub-regions as

  • Binda Pandey -SA
  • Pinar Ozcan-Middle east
  • Yuki Otsuji -EA
  • ………. -SA
  • Carol Beaumont-Pacific

Joint session of youth and women in the afternoon

Joint Pre-Conference Women and Young People: We are All in This Together

Tomoyo Nishimoto gave the opening remarks. then five women as panel presented their experiences working in the national centers.

Panel– Building a Movement of Women and Young Trade Union Leaders: What’s Coaching and Other Related Measures Got to Do With It?

  • Moving up the position decreasing the women’s participation
  • 4E program- education , expression, exposure and experiences
  • Servant leadership training
  • sharing leadership by senior women leader
  • Two earners, Two carriers – encouraging independence in Israel
  • Minority can be in number, but not in equality
  • SH, pay gap etc. and young-
  • how do you gender sensitise young men and women together and mentoring them to change stereotype of working relation leadership position?

Group: people from women and youth were decided into 10 groups. Elder generation share the experiences and younger share inspiration to join the union.after 45 minutes of sharing one young people from each group as to speak one minute as share\ing their learning in the group. It was quite inspiring session.

Then, Maria Helena Andre delivered her open speech as sharing of her life from trade unions leaders to parliamentarian and then labor minister of the Portuguese and now in Director of ACTRAV-ILO. She shared the experiences as

  • working in the different mechanism with different responsibility taught to be constructive and critical.
  • trade union effort has made some change to bring women in decision making position as in Cambodia GS and Nepal in DM
  • mechanism to integrate women and young in the trade union structure should be managed properly.
  • She never accepted women position in trade union, but demanded gender equality
  • the are two major problem as neither having enough opportunity to reflect not proper number in the position
  • Now, more number of women and youth need to be in leadership
  • economic independence is decisive
  • discrimination at workplace as well as in society is still reality
  • external factor affecting women to be part of leadership should take into account as corporate culture, use of technology etc.
  • need to reach out politician and social network to achieve the goal
  • lack of policy balancing the work and private life
  • how to eliminate gender gap representative as glass ceiling
  • need to have well define objective, target as quality and quantity, time-frame, tools and resources to tackle the things
  • role, place and access  to develop leadership and perform
  • CBA team reflecting the diversity can be place and process to learn, confident building and leadership development
  • images and culture of trade union courage
  • Engage men in the process to achieve gender equality
  • only women can not change the reality of existing discrimination in each and every level of the social unit.

The session of the day was closed with the group photo.

August 1, 2015: Opening of the conference 

10.15 Inauguration session

The session was inaugurated by delivering speech by chair of the AP Sanjeeva Reddy. one day tribute was paid to martyr and those workers who lost lives in the workplace,

  • informal sector is growing
  • diminishing the formal sector and declining membershipAP-1
  • unless organizing women and youth in the union structure, it does not gain strength
  • 65 percent in AP and 90 percent in SA in informal economy
  • labor law do not cover them, cause growing poverty and insecurity
  • trade union should change its focus from formal to informal
  • women participation in increasing in economic activities and unless organizing them in TU can not respond their
  • 40 Percent in labor force and need to increase in DM level and fight for decent work

Harbhajan Singh

  • thrice time resolution taken regarding Suzuki-maruti, did not allow unions

Jyoti Makwana

  • rapid changing economy challenging livelihood. organizing and
  • informal recommendation should be included in action plan to take benefit of that

Maria Helena

  • 4-areaofcooperationofITUCandACTRAV are
    • freedom of association and ratification of core convention
    • convention 189 and recommendation on informal sector should be in focus specially in AP
    • Migration is one of the area to fight for justice
    • securing safe working place
  • the video massage of the ILO-DG was played

Fraternal Greetings Speech

Jaap- Dy. Gen.Sec. of ITUC

  • More than 40 percent women participation in this conference met easily,
  • regional organization is necessary organ of the ITUC

Mahendra Sharma – AP Gen. sec. of ITF on behalf of GUF

  • Responding Nepal earthquake all the GUF trying to support collectively
  • Qatar ways denied not only maternity leave, even need to get permission to get marriage, case is in ILO
  • Migrant issues is focus of the trade union work
  • employer group challenge the right to strike in 2012 ILC
  • labor law has diluted job protection by this government

Bruno WSM on behalf of TUSSO

2nd second session of the day

Credential Committee Report

  • Eligible delegates from 58 affiliates are representing 23,191, 124 members are 241 in total. But, 159 delegates have been registered including 76 women (47.8) and 20 young delegate (12.6 percent).
  • 40 percent women in each group as titular, 1st substitute and 2nd substitute. out of that

Activities Report

  • amendment of labor law membership among women and youth increase
  • long time campaign on union building, resuming democracy, organizing,
  • organizing informal sector is growing and women number has been increased in this sector

Debate on the report

  • 19 delegates including 5 women spoke on the report and given their suggestion and comment on the report

Second day of the conference August 2, 2015

The conference program started at 9. 15

  • Gen. Sec clarify the issues raised by the delegates on the activities report.
  • Then, Gen. Sec tabled the financial report. None of the delegate made any comment on this.
  • Both report adopted unanimously.

Credential committee and standard order committee presented the report of their meeting as nomination of general secretary candidate and election process. candidates are-

  • Carol Beaumont nominated by 10 affiliates
  • Noriyuki Suzuki nominated by 30 affiliates
  • the report adopted by majority of the delegates

Proposed program for 2015-19 presented by Gen.Sec.

  • Then the women panel on “Moving to the Next Step for Gender Equality” was conducted. Five women delegates, one each from each sub-region as SA, EA, SEA, Middle East and Pacific spoke covering the women worker’s issues.

  • Talking points presented in the Women’s as part of conference (Binda- On Women’s Panel)

    • In south Asia, almost 90 per cent working people are in informal sectors. Among them vast majority aCLYYPfjWsAAnSuAre women
    • But, we have multiple unions and almost all the trade unions are engaging and competing within 10 per cent workers in the formal sector.
    • Organizing is the heart of the trade unionism. The organizing focus should be expanded to informal sector to increase union members, specially to reach among women workers.

    Talking about women in union

    • Now, women make 38 percent membership in AP region and we are almost 48 per cent here in the conference. But, in the national level, women participation in 13 per cent in average, in the executive position.
    • That is also mostly in assisting level as vice-chair, deputy secretary etc.
    • In the most of the countries, women are not included as part of the tripartite structure and very few are representing in CBA process. Since these are the mechanism and process to learn and develop leadership quality.

    Union mechanism

    • Women committee should be the venue to develop leadership skill and build up confidence. Then, they should be promoted into as union leaders as decision-making position, from local to national and international level. But they are confining only in the women sector.
    • Union should have gender-sensitizing program for both men and women together, start from the rank and file. It helps to change the attitude and perspective.

    (For example, in gefont we have two-way reservation as 1/3 women participation in trade union activities and 1/3 male participation in women activities.)

    • Either setting up Gender committee or making mandatory for decision maker, to make it better functional in national level than women only.

(For example, we formed a mechanism called TUC-GEP as compose of women leaders and general secretary of three national centers in 2000. That leadership was more effective than committee having only women in ITUC-National Affiliate Committee.)

  • Women in Decision-making
    • Women in assisting position as vice chair or deputy secretary etc. in most of the union. This trend should be changed and
    • As we agreed on theme Pushing Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality – Moving to The Next Step, we all should commit our-self and be ready to share power with women in the key position within our own union? Such as Chair and General secretary.

    Recommendation

    • Organizing informal sector
    • Gender sensitizing the trade unionist movement leadership and young people and
    • Re-distribution of power between men and women in decision-making.
    • Women should be included in all level considering as Necessary Organ to strengthen union movement, but not as ornamental way.

Youth Panel

  • Women panel followed by youth Panel having 2-women and 3- men
  • They highlighted importance of inclusion and promotion of youth in trade union movement
  • Talking about the gender based harassment, called for “No Violence, No Tolerance and No Silence“

Speakers on the Proposed program for 2015-19

  • .. people including   women and youth delivered their comment and thought on the presented paper.

Election

  • election process started after lunch. both candidate of the gen. sec delivered 20 minute speech then 3-3 supporter gave their opinion. after thattheystartedcastingbloc vote. As resultofthebloc vote
    • Total casted vote-  21947754
    • Invalid-    46000
    • Suzuki – 15390758
    • Carol-      6510996

3rd day of the conference (Aug 3, 2015)

  • Structure of the regional committee by status and gender in (women in 48 percent in round figure)
    • Titular                  37 percent
    • First substitute    43 percent
    • Second substitute 63 percent
  • The member of the regional council by sub-region
    •  region                  W    M
    • East Asia               4      3
    • South East Asia   3       3
    • South Asia            1       6
    • Middle east          1       4
    • Pacific                   2       3
    • Total                     11      19
  • Final report of the Credential committee regarding delegate composition
    • total delegate  157
    • Women            80  (51%)
    • Men                  77  (49%)
    • Young               24  (15%)

Amendment on the constitution

  • there was proposal to amend the constitution regarding chair’s power and nominFelixation of deputy general secretary. After long debate the issues has been transferred to regional council. Then, resolution committee tabled the 23 points resolution, which has been adopted with swearing by all men that they will never do violence against women.
  • Then, the chair declared the closer of conference.
  • Regional council meeting was conducted in the afternoon to elect the chair. Feliz Anthony won the election by 1-ove as 15 against 14 of Reddy.