Women

People working in domestic establishments in Ghana will soon be recognized as formal workers. This new regulation is expected to come into force as soon as the Parliament of Ghana considers a bill to regularize the work of domestic workers.

After 30 years of neoliberal globalization, it has been increasingly acknowledged that austerity, privatization, deregulation of finance, markets and corporations, and trade and investment liberalization have had a devastating and discriminatory impact on women and have driven inequality. Recent large multilateral agreements, designed primarily to enable the unhindered flow of global capital, are significant barriers to the realization of the human rights of women.

According to the signatories of the letter, including PSI, the declaration “fails to address the adverse impact of WTO rules and instead appears to be designed to mask the failures of the WTO and its role in deepening inequality and exploitation”.

The Australian Union movement is campaigning to enshrine 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave in the National Employment Standards, making it available to every worker who needs it.

Three years ago, the PSI Women’s Committee in Chile decided to support this struggle with a range of actions, including lobbying parliament, visits to the national congress, alliances with women’s organisations and raising the profile of this issue in the street and in the press.

On the eve of Africa Day, 24 May, PSI affiliates in Swaziland - the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and the National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NUPSWAU) - embarked on a march against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the workplace and in society.

The Government of India has passed a landmark bill increasing mandatory paid leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for women employees working in companies with more than 10 staff. This brings India at third position globally in terms of the number of weeks of maternity leave after Canada (50 weeks) and Norway (44 weeks).

Following two years of negotiations, the Government announced on 18 April the details of an historic pay deal that will lead to significant pay increases for workers in aged residential care, home support, and disability services. This will help to address the pay inequity in the predominantly female aged care sector in New Zealand.

The Conclusions of the Session 61 of the United Nations Commission on the Legal and Social Status of Women recognised important objectives on PSI's policy agenda, although there were also gaps on issues that the global union will continue to champion tirelessly.

Today, 22 March, World Water Day, PSI's General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli states the importance of tax-funded public water and sanitation for all, but especially for realizing women's rights. In an interview*, Pavanelli talks about the major challenges in achieving this goal.