News

The fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women is currently taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 4 to 15 March 2013. Representatives from Member States, UN entities, and NGOs in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from all regions of the world attend the session. The two-week session include a high-level round table, interactive dialogues and panels, and parallel events. This year’s focus is on the following key areas: Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls and the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care giving in the context of HIV/AIDS.



In this context, the speech hereunder delivered by Ms Briceida Gonzalez, Head of UNI Americas Equal Opportunities, voiced out loud the concerns of unions worldwide.



"My name is Briceida Gonzalez and I represent UNI Global Union and the global trade union movement, more than 175 million workers in 156 countries. At the UNCSW, a delegation of 85 trade unionists from 27 countries is making workers’ voices heard.



A healthy work-family balance is part of decent working conditions. A shared understanding of country level work-family problems (demographic changes in family structures, fertility and population renewal) must be facilitated through social dialogue with governments, trade unions and other stakeholders.



Education and training programmes should systematically integrate a gender perspective in order to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls and to overcome gender stereotype. Adequate and affordable child care facilities, public medical and social services should be provided to working families.



In terms of sharing and balancing life-work responsibilities between family members we promote gender neutral family and parental leave, negotiated by trade unions as part of working conditions to be included in collective agreements. Such measures also have a positive impact on closing the gender wage gap. Workers should not be sanctioned for providing care. Care providers should have equal access to medical and other social insurance support mechanisms.



In 2011, the International Labour Organization adopted a convention to protect domestic workers rights. They are often women and migrant workers, sometimes with an irregular status and therefore more vulnerable to violence at the workplace and elsewhere. These workers need better protection and we hereby call on all member states to ratify ILO Convention 189.



Employers’ attitudes to work-family balance are affected by a range of factors notably local legislation and regulations. In that sense, it is essential that employers and governments increase their engagement in the formulation of work-life balance policies in order to develop a shared understanding and contribute to shared solutions.



We once more want to stress the need for the inclusion of violence against women at the workplace, the link between the workplace and domestic violence and recovery, decent work, the importance of quality public services, sexual education and the recognition of trade unions as legitimate stakeholders in the fight to end violence against women."



Launch of UNI's That's Why Campaign

On this same occasion, UNI launches a new campaign entitled That's Why and kindly ask all our affiliates, followers and sympathizers for their active participation so that genuine changes can eventually happen to improve and achieve gender balance and stop violence against women and girls, at home, at workplace and everywhere.



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#mustwatch - @uniglobalunion That's Why Campaign! http://goo.gl/1l3AI #VAW #IWD #UNCSW57