SUCCESSFUL “1ST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN METAL AND MINING”, HELD IN CUBA FROM 17 TO 19 NOVEMBER
The “1st International Symposium on the Situation of Women in Metal and Mining” was held in Cuba from 17 to 19 November. Organised by the Trade Unions International of Workers in the Metal Industries (TUI-M) of the World Federation of Trade Unions and the National Metalworkers Union of Cuba (SNTM), the event was attended by over 40 delegates, both men and women, from America, Africa and Europe.
Unions from Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Haiti, South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus and the Basque Country were represented at the gathering and, in addition to discussing the issues that women face in metal and mining sectors all over the world, participants gave a detailed explanation of the situation in their own countries.
This 1st Symposium is a crucial first step towards raising awareness about the situation of women working in the metals and mining sectors.
Unfortunately, women continue to experience marginalisation and discrimination in the workplace, especially when they are involved in activities that have traditionally been regarded as the domain “of men”. For example, metal and mining have always been “male” sectors in which women are pushed into the background.
Today, only 20% of metalworkers are women, and this figure is halved, to just 10%, in the case of mining. Furthermore, while the wage gap between men and women is 15% in general, in these sectors it is 20%. Women face greater unemployment and poverty rates, as well as poorer access to education and vocational training. Female employment is often regarded as subordinate to male employment in these sectors, and women’s jobs are the first to be lost in times of economic crises, such as the one we are currently immersed in. Also, as in other sectors, women are sometimes subjected to sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
The TUI-Metal is convinced that this discrimination is inherent to the patriarchal capitalist system and that it will only be eliminated when we achieve a society that is governed by different values and where the exploitation of human beings is finally eradicated.
However, we must not allow ourselves to become complacent. The trade union movement and left-wing, liberal and revolutionary organisations all over the world must take a hard, critical look at themselves: it is a fact that women encounter greater obstacles when it comes to active participation in our organisations, because running the home and caring for dependents are tasks that usually fall to them. All of this makes it difficult to reconcile work and family responsibilities, not to mention active membership of our organisations. In view of this, one of the conclusions of this first Symposium was that metal and mining unions must provide women with the appropriate means not only to facilitate their participation in our activities, but also to help them gain access to management positions in our organisations. In short, we need to exercise positive discrimination to ensure that women have access to management positions and can play an active role in trade union activities.
At the end of the Symposium, a general resolution was adopted to underline the importance of developing strategies to eradicate the sexual division of labour, which makes women economically and socially dependent.
The participating trade unions also pledged to promote the international campaign for equal opportunities by fighting flexibility and job insecurity and demanding equal remuneration, in keeping with the recommendations of ILO Conventions 100 and 111.
The TUI metal and mining unions also oppose all kinds of salary and employment discriminations and are committed to fighting situations of this type, as well as reporting gender-based violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.
We also call on the men in our sectors to take their share of responsibility in running the home and caring for children, elderly relatives and other dependents, as these are tasks that both sexes can perform.
With regard to raising public awareness about the need to fight for gender equality, we believe there are two dates that the TUI-M must do everything in its power to promote: 8 March (International Women’s Day) and 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women). From now on, these dates will be highlights of the TUI-M calendar, along with 1 May (Labour Day) and 28 April (World Day for Safety and Health at Work). At the Symposium, we called on the metal and mining sectors of the participating countries to support the 25 November event by organising demonstrations.
In addition to this general resolution, the Symposium participants adopted other resolutions calling for the release of the five Cuban heroes unfairly imprisoned in the USA, an end to the USA’s embargo against Cuba, an end to the occupation of Haiti, and the release of Rafa Díez, former secretary-general of the Basque trade union organisation LAB, imprisoned by the Spanish government for his political activities. We also adopted a resolution in support of the “Acería Griega” workers who began an indefinite strike nearly three weeks ago.
Finally, we would like to thank all the participating countries and all the delegates, both men and women, for their presence at the Symposium. We are particularly grateful to our comrades of the National Metalworkers Union of Cuba (SNTM) for their excellent efforts in organising this event. Our sincere thanks to all of them.