women`s talk

INSIDE:
PAGE 7
AID TRIP TO
MOLDOVA
Heather Park reports on
a CWU Humanitarian Aid
trip to a women’s
institution in Moldova
PAGE 10
WOMEN ON THE
PICKET LINES
Linda Roy writes about
recent disputes and
looks at women’s role in
trade union history
PAGE 14
THE HORROR OF
HONOUR KILLINGS
Women in Iraq are being
controlled by fear. Patricia
Clarke reports from a joint
regional meeting
WINTER 2008
WWW.CWU.ORG
WOMEN’S TALK
THE MAGAZINE OF THE WOMEN’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE
DIGNITY!
PERIOD.
A campaign in
Zimbabwe is
providing women
with much-needed
sanitary products,
as Annmarie
McCall reports
02 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
EDITOR’S COLUMN
UNEQUAL PAY PERSISTS
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CWU
The communications
union
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W: www.cwu.org
General Secretary
BILLY HAYES
T: 020 8971 7200
E: [email protected]
W: www.billyhayes.co.uk
Head of
Communications
KEVIN SLOCOMBE
T: 020 8971 7200
E: [email protected]
Publications Editor
ANNMARIE McCALL
Women’s Advisory Committee
Contributors
Annmarie McCall, Linda Roy,
Karen Bosson, Heather Park,
Mo Hooper, Patricia Clarke,
John Marsh, Pat Clouder,
Elaine Dalgleish,
Simon Alford, Sian Jones
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© WOMEN’S TALK
2008
BILLY
HAYES
GENERAL
SECRETARY
he day that I
write this
column,
October 30, has been
declared “Women’s
No Pay” day by the
Fawcett Society. The
gender pay gap
means that women
are effectively
working for free from
now to the end of
the year.
That is what the
17 per cent wage
difference means by
the calendar. Yet only
T
126 women won
equal pay cases in
2007. Court cases
alone will not close
the gap. Women need
further legislation on
equal pay.
In the negotiations
with Government at
the Labour Party
National Policy
Forum in July, the
unions pushed the
case for legislation
for mandatory equal
pay audits. The
Government was not
convinced. Further
campaigning is
needed here.
For the CWU’s part,
we have been
pressing the case
with Harriet Harman,
minister for women,
to extend the
statutory duty to
public sector
corporations like
Royal Mail and the
BBC. There may
be movement here,
but we’ll keep
pushing anyway.
WAC action plan
News for women
Welcome to this edition
of Women’s Talk. Firstly,
I must apologies to
Karen Bosson and
Jackie Gatward,
whose names were
spelt incorrectly in
ANNMARIE
McCALL
the last edition of
EDITOR
Women’s Talk.
A new Women’s
A.McCall Advisory Committee
(WAC) was elected at
general conference in Liverpool. They
met for the first time on July 17 at the
Wimbledon headquarters, to set out the
work action plan for the forthcoming
year. The plan focuses on: equality laws
and how they impact on women;
Women’s Conference; and,
supporting the Regional
Women’s Committees
(RWCs).
Should you want an article
in the magazine or perhaps a
letter printed, simply email it
in Word format to:
[email protected]
or you can contact me on
07925 507365.
Since the launch of the new
Women’s Talk magazine we
have had nothing but
positive feedback from you.
We have also spoken to
groups of women and
KEVIN
random polled to ask for
SLOCOMBE
your views.
HEAD OF
You have told us that what
COMMS
you want from a women’s
magazine is news on what
affects you at work as well
as a diverse and interesting read. You told us
your key concerns are respect, family
friendly working and discrimination.
This edition includes articles on those
very issues that affect you in your life,
including sex discrimination at work,
women on picket lines and childcare. The
magazine also includes a feature on a
campaign to get sanitary products to
women in Zimbabwe and another on
women’s health.
We want you to give us your views again
to help us deliver an interesting magazine.
You can contact me with opinions direct on
[email protected] or on 020 8971 7497. I
hope you again enjoy the read.
WINTER 2008 WOMEN’S TALK 03
UPDATE
MARION’S BRAVE
STAND ON ABORTION
Marion Brain believed she should speak out during the debate over amendments
to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, as Simon Alford explains
t takes courage to make a
strong public stand on a
deeply emotive issue. For
CWU member Marion
Brain, Birmingham, Black
Country and Worcester
branch, that moment came in
May as debate was raging on a
looming Parliamentary vote
on a series of amendments to
the Human Fertilisation and
Embryology Bill.
I
Marion Brain,
who volunteered
herself as a case
study
TIME AMENDMENT
Amongst the amendments
were proposals to cut the
normal legal time limit for
abortions from the current 24
weeks to 22, 20, 16 or even 12
weeks. These proposals struck
horror into the heart of a
woman who is certain she
would never have had the
opportunities she enjoys
today had her ability to have
an abortion at the age of 19
been restricted.
“I know I would never have
been able to progress with my
union work or felt able to
speak in public if I hadn’t
finished my education. There’s
no way I would have finished
my education if I’d been
forced to continue with the
pregnancy,” said Marion.
Appalled by the potential
consequences for women in a
similar situation if their “right
to choose” was curtailed and
with the Bill looming, Marion
decided the time was right to
The rights of
women needed to
be placed at the
centre of the
discussion
speak out. Having contacted a
pro-choice campaign group
and volunteering herself as a
“case study” for interviews,
Marion was plunged into a
maelstrom, appearing on BBC
News at 6pm and 10pm, ITN,
More 4 and a raft of bulletins
across the Midlands.
Marion believes that in a
small way she may have
helped influence the public
debate prior to the
Parliamentary vote, which
left the current 24 week limit
in place, something which
she believes is a “great victory
for women”.
“It was clear to me that up
until then the debate had
focused on the rights of the
foetus and not enough
attention had been given to
the rights of the women.
“I just felt it needed to be
addressed that the woman
had to be placed in the centre
of the discussion.”
NO HOSTILITY
Marion continues: “Quite a
few people have spoken to me
since seeing me on the telly.
As yet I haven’t had any
hostility and I’m hoping it
stays that way.
“It wasn’t an easy decision
to speak out because there’s
definitely a concern that you
are opening yourself up to
hostility. Also it’s your private
life and you don’t necessarily
want it to become public. I do
believe, however, that
sometimes there’s a need
for the greater good that
you’re prepared to expose
yourself a bit.” w
04 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
NEWS
Calls for more
representation
Chair Katrina Quirke
opened the 160strong women’s
conference 2008 in
Belfast with a call to
push harder for more
proportional
representation.
“We need to take
diversity seriously,”
said general secretary
Billy Hayes, who is
backing childcare
amendments and the
abortion rights
campaign.
After supporting
the postal strike,
president Jane Loftus
said she is involved
in the fight with
pensions, especially
now the retirement
age for women is
going up to 65.
Guest speaker
Evelyn Collins, chief
executive of the
Equality Commission
for Northern Ireland,
spoke about
vulnerability and
exploitation. She
congratulated the
CWU on electing its
first woman
president: “It’s a very
big agenda to shift
the balance of power,
remove the glass
ceiling and gain
equal pay for
women.”
Michelle Emerson,
outgoing equalities
officer, closed by
urging delegates to
get involved at
branch level.
Elaine Dalgleish
Trafficked women tend to be identified as immigration offenders, which undermines their status as victims of crime
Why MPs must ratify the
anti-trafficking convention
The international
community views
sex trafficking as a
human rights issue.
Sex trafficking
within the UK is a
hidden problem,
embedded in the
less visible off-street
side of the sex
industry set aside
from the world of
kerb crawlers and
red-light districts.
No one knows
just how many
women and girls are
trafficked into this
country each year.
They’re expected to
have sex with 20 or
30 men a day. These
men are happy to
pay for sex with
beaten, terrified
women or underage
girls who speak
barely any English.
The fact that these
are terrified women,
who are being
controlled by threats
or actual violence,
means they cannot
give meaningful
consent to sex.
The UK’s countertrafficking strategies
have situated the
issue firmly within
the framework of
immigration, but
largely ignored its
links to prostitution
in general.
The sex industry,
with its de facto
policy of tolerance,
means that
trafficked women
tend to be identified
as immigration
offenders or
“common
prostitutes”, which
undermines their
status of victims of
crime. They’re often
deported from this
country without an
opportunity to
recover from their
ordeal or provide
evidence against the
gangs who brought
them into this
country illegally.
One of the British
Government’s
commitments during
its EU presidency
was to take tougher
action against
trafficking, but did
this go far enough?
Many individuals
and organisations
have campaigned
and lobbied the
Home Office and
MPs to ratify the
new European
convention against
trafficking.
If ratified by the
UK, it would finally
reveal the true
extent of the
problem, giving
victims at least 30
days’ breathing
period during
which they can
receive medical
treatment and
much-needed
support, and further
aid the authorities
with prosecutions.
Pat Clouder
WINTER 2008 WOMEN’S TALK 05
NEWS
Your rights to parental leave
Working parents
have the legal right
to a period of unpaid
leave. This can be up
to four weeks in a
year or, overall, no
more than 13 weeks
within the first five
years of your child’s
life as long as you
have worked for
your employer for a
least a year.
Leave has to be
taken in blocks of no
less than a week.
Employees wanting
less than a week
off lose a week of the
13-week entitlement.
The right applies
to each parent and
for each child. If a
child is adopted,
leave for the first
five years is
calculated from the
time of adoption,
but expires if the
child reaches the age
of 18 before this
time.
If a child is
disabled, leave can
be taken up to the
child’s 18th
birthday; however,
the overall total
remains at 13 weeks
and is still unpaid.
Leave for family
reasons gives
employees the right
to reasonable time
off to deal with
family emergencies
involving parents,
children, spouse, co-
habitee or anyone
who looks to the
employee for
assistance.
A family
emergency can be
defined as sickness,
accident, criminal
injury, death,
funerals, absence of
the carer for a family
member or serious
problems at the
child’s school.
Equal Ops
department
Women Chainmakers’ Festival biggest to date
Over 3,000 families,
trade unionists and
locals gathered at
the Black Country
Living Museum,
Dudley, in
September to
celebrate the biggest
Women
Chainmakers’
festival to date. The
event is unique in
terms of the Labour
Movement because
it is the only festival
that celebrates the
achievements of
working women
specifically.
The CWU had the
heaviest
representation out
of trade unions
present on the day,
and the newly made
CWU women’s
banner was given it
first public outing
by the women’s
InBrief
Events
7 FEBRUARY 2009:
CWU Black Workers
Conference, Holiday
Inn, Belfast
28 FEBRUARY 2009:
CWU Women’s
Conference, Britannia
Hotel, Manchester
8 MARCH 2009:
International Women’s
Day. Local and
national events to
be held
If you want to attend
any of the above
events or want more
information, please
contact your branch
secretary.
CWU TV
CWU launched onto
the small screen with
three episodes of CWU
TV this autumn. The
programmes cover a
variety of issues,
including dog attacks,
pensions and agency
workers so why not
tune in? It’s aired on
Sky Information TV,
channel 166 or
download on demand
from the CWU website
www.cwu.org
Views
CWU members at the 2007 Chainmakers festival
committee.
Annmarie McCall
from the WAC said:
“The festival seems
to be growing every
year. I was
surprised by how
many banners were
there this year.”
Festival-goers
were treated to a
speech from
Baroness Margaret
Prosser, deputy
chair of the
Equalities and
Human Rights
Commission, among
others, and music
from the band
Chumbawamba,
along with a fair
and procession.
Sian Jones
Have you got an idea
for an article? Would
you like to respond to
something you’ve
read, or let people
know about an event
in your area? Write to:
Women’s Talk, 150 The
Broadway, Wimbledon,
London SW19 1RX; or
email: annmarie.
[email protected]
06 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
NEWS ANALYSIS HEALTH
ENDOMETRIOSIS
The condition endometriosis can impact severely on a woman’s life, causing acute pain, emotional stress and affecting
her ability to work. Mo Hooper and Annmarie McCall, WAC, describe the symptoms and treatment, and explain
what the Women’s Advisory Committee is doing to support women’s reproductive, menopausal and sexual health
The condition
affects women of
reproductive age
and can cause
infertility
hat is
endometriosis?
Endometriosis is
a puzzling
disease affecting
women in their reproductive
years, and can cause female
infertility. The uterus
endometrial tissue grows
outside the uterus and attaches
to other organs. Most common
locations of growths are in the
abdomen, involving the
ovaries, fallopian tubes and
ligaments supporting the
uterus. Tissue outside the
uterus responds to the
menstrual cycle in the same
way the tissue inside your
uterus responds – it swells,
thickens, then sheds to mark
the beginning of the next cycle.
However, blood in your
abdominal cavity has no place
to go, resulting in pools of
blood causing an inflammation
that forms scar tissue, this can
block the fallopian tubes or
interfere with ovulation.
A common assumption
W
made about endometriosis is
that it’s not a serious disease
because it’s not a killer like
cancer, for instance. Some
women’s lives are relatively
unaffected by it, especially in
the early stages; others have
suffered severe pain, emotional
stress, been unable to work or
carry out normal activities, and
have experienced financial and
relationship problems because
of the disease.
SYMPTOMS
Pain before and during
periods
Pain with sex
Infertility
Fatigue
Painful urination/bowel
movements during periods
Other gastrointestinal
upsets such as diarrhoea,
constipation, nausea
TREATMENT &
DIAGNOSIS
Diagnosis is a minor surgical
procedure done under
THE NATIONAL ENDOMETRIOSIS SOCIETY: WWW.ENDO.ORG.UK
anaesthesia as an outpatient: a
laparoscope (a tube with a
light in it) is inserted into a tiny
incision in the abdomen. After
the initial diagnosis, your
physician will classify your
condition as stage 1 (minimal),
stage 2 (mild), stage 3
(moderate) or stage 4
(extensive) based on the
amount of scarring and
diseased tissue found. Based
on this, your physician will
determine the best treatment
plan for you, which may
include medication or surgery,
or a combination of both.
Conservative surgery seeks
to remove and destroy
endometrial growths either
done by laparoscopy or by a
larger open operation – a
laparotomy. Radical surgery
may be necessary with severe
endometriosis, but should be
the “last resort” treatment and
not contemplated until all
other treatments have been
tried or ruled out. There are no
clinical trials based on the
NORTH WEST WOMEN’S REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
WINTER 2008 WOMEN’S TALK 07
HEALTH NEWS ANALYSIS
WHAT IS THE CWU
DOING?
WAC members are aware and
concerned about many aspects
of women’s reproductive,
menopausal and sexual health
issues and how these impact
adversely on working, social
and family life. We campaign
to raise awareness and offer
advice and guidance to
members. Sick absence
procedures particularly have
for too long ignored the
special circumstances only
applicable to women.
The Disability
Discrimination Act covers
some but not all sufferers of
endometriosis. This means
you can ask for appropriate
medical referral, consideration
of working pattern flexibility,
sensitivity and a common
sense approach. C
For more information or expert advice on
Endometriosis, please contact the
National Endometriosis Society
Tel (information/helpline): 0808 808
2227; Tel (Admin): 020 7222 2781
Web: www.endo.org.uk
Or see the North West Women’s
Regional Committee’s website:
www.cwunwwomens.cjb.net
We welcome input from members or
family members of their own experiences
of any aspect of sexual and reproductive
health impacting on daily activity, sick
absence or capability to perform duties.
Please send information to: Equality
Department, CWU, 150 The Broadway,
Wimbledon, London SW19 1RX or email
[email protected]
WWW.CWUNWWOMENS.CJB.NET
Aid trip to Moldova
CWUHA assistant secretary Heather Park reports on her CWU
Humanitarian Aid trip to a women’s institution in Moldova
efficacy of complementary
therapies treatment, such
acupuncture, aromatherapy,
homeopathy or reflexology. It
is probably wise to seek help
from a qualified practitioner
and not self medicate.
CWUHA’s
Heather Park
visited women and
girls at an
institution for
women in Bender
S
teve (my husband) and I
usually take out aid to the
psycho neurological institution in
Transnistria, where boys from four
years old live with psychotic
adults. They stay there for the rest
of their lives, from the cradle to the
grave. I recently heard of an
identical institution for women and
girls, so we jumped at the chance
of taking our aid to the women’s
institution in Bender, Moldova.
We were delighted to see a
wonderful building with beautiful
grounds, which we wandered
around meeting many lovely
teenagers and ladies.
The institution has come on in
leaps and bounds since it was
visited by two of the CWUHA
drivers five years ago. They were
so moved by the state of the
institution and the girls and
women in there they could not
speak about it immediately.
It was obvious to us that there
is still an ongoing need for basics:
clothing, sanitary wear and
footwear. We left many personal
gifts from all the drivers.
We then travelled a short
distance to meet the younger
children but, unfortunately, they
had left the site for their daily
walk. We did meet three young
children who were unable to walk
a great distance.
Great efforts had been made
to treat the children as children,
with flowers and cartoons painted
on the walls in the foyer, hallways
and bedrooms. Much of their
craftwork was proudly festooned
on the walls.
We left many toys and sweets
for the children as personal gifts. It
is such a shame that we didn’t get
to meet them and see the smiles
on their faces. Maybe next time!
If you are interested in doing something to
help, ie fundraising, travelling on convoys,
etc, check out the website
www.cwuha.org or contact Heather on
[email protected]
COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION HUMANITARIAN AID : WWW.CWUHA.ORG
08 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
COVER STORY WOMEN’S HEALTH IN ZIMBABWE
DIGNITY!
PERIOD.
S
L
ince Action for
Southern Africa
(ACTSA) launched
the DIGNITY! Period.
campaign in solidarity
with Thabitha Khumalo, the
general secretary of the
Women’s Advisory Committee
for the Zimbabwean Congress
of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the
plight of Zimbabwean women
has captured the hearts of
people both in the UK and
Southern Africa.
ACTSA has tirelessly
campaigned to obtain sanitary
products to be distributed
amongst those with greatest
need since October 2005, when
Khumalo highlighted the
devastating conditions that
women face due to the rapidly
declining economy, which
means women can’t afford
sanitary wear. Instead, they
are inserting old pieces of
cloth or newspaper, but the ink
from the newspaper is causing
them infections and there is no
medication to cure them.
The unemployment rate in
Zimbabwe sits at around 80
per cent and the average
monthly wage is £12.50. With
inflation reaching a high of
ACTSA now
has a million
sanitary products
to distribute to
women in the
most need
over 1,000 per cent and
sanitary products costing
around £6 for a pack of 10
pads, it is near impossible for
even employed women to
afford such a “luxury”. In 1999
the economic crisis forced all
manufacturers to leave the
country. Only recently has a
small manufacturer of sanitary
products been set up again.
Millions of women are
forced into the drastic measure
of using newspaper, rags and
in some cases leaves and bark
because they cannot afford
sanitary products. These
short-term solutions are
causing severe infections for
which medication is not
available. The medical
problems caused are often
attributed to sexually
transmitted infections and
wives are accused of infidelity
and subsequently caused
extreme social embarrassment.
In some cases women have
been beaten by their husbands
because of this.
The health risk of such
afflictions is deplorable.
Vaginal infections make
women much more
susceptible to sexually
d
With inflation running at over 1,000 per cent, even sanitary
products are beyond the financial reach of millions of
women in Zimbabwe. Annmarie McCall decribes how a
campaign organised by ACTSA is helping to save women
not only from embarrassment but from severe infection
MILLIONS OF WOMEN
ARE FORCED INTO USING
NEWSPAPER AND RAGS
BECAUSE THEY CANNOT
AFFORD SANITARY
PRODUCTS
d
transmitted infections,
including HIV/AIDS. In a
country where four out of five
married women are HIV
positive, the consequence of
this is horrifying; in some
instances, the infections caused
by unhygienic practices have
lead to infertility and
hysterectomy.
Aside from the health
implications, this lack of
products is impacting on every
other aspect of a woman’s life.
Families suffer from increased
poverty as women are unable
to work when they have their
periods. This means that they
do not earn money to buy
food, clothes or pay for their
children’s education. Young
girls’ education also suffers as
they are unable to go to school
or college for the week they
have their menstrual cycle due
to a lack of products. Further
time off from education is
Image credit: ACTSA
demanded when the
symptoms of infections
worsen. How can these young
women be expected to grow up
and be the future leaders of the
country, when they are lacking
these basic human rights?
generous donations from the
public and pharmaceutical
companies that produce
sanitary items, ACTSA has one
million products to be
distributed amongst women in
the most desperate need.
There were problems
THE CAMPAIGN
initially with getting the
The hearts and minds of men
sanitary products into the
and women have been touched country without paying a 40
by the situation Zimbabwean
per cent import duty, despite
women face. The campaign is
the Zimbabwean government
supported by Kate Hoey MP,
agreeing to exempt them.
actresses Anna Chancellor,
ACTSA and the ZCTU strongly
Niamh Cusack, Maureen
oppose this duty as the
Lipman and Zoë Wanamaker,
purpose of the campaign is
comedian Jo Brand and
fundamentally humanitarian.
cricketer Henry Olonga.
While political debate
Articles have been published
continues, the duty was paid
by prominent newspapers and once. Women could not – and
websites in the UK, South
still cannot – wait for these
Africa and Zimbabwe. SABC
products any longer. It is
5fm in Johannesburg motivated essential they get help to
mass public support by setting restore their health and dignity.
up collection points all over
To avoid the issue in the
South Africa. Through
future ACTSA has established
a partnership with the one
existing manufacturer in
Harare. Now products can be
distributed without import
cost whilst helping
Zimbabwean industry and
local people. ACTSA has just
purchased 40,000 sanitary
products that have been
distributed through the ZCTU
to the most vulnerable women
in Zimbabwe. However, the
crisis continues each day.
ACTSA hopes that this will
be the start of products being
purchased and distributed
regularly in Zimbabwe free to
the women and girls in such
desperate need. It is essential
that they continue to generate
awareness of this violation of
women’s rights and raise
funds to supply more sanitary
products to these women. C
G For more information on the Dignity!
Period. campaign, please visit:
www.actsa.org
10 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
FEATURE WOMEN ON THE PICKET LINE
WOMEN WHO
STAND ON THE
PICKET LINES
Linda Roy, the newly elected national equal
opportunities officer, writes about her experiences of
women’s involvement in recent industrial and political
disputes. She also looks at the role of women in trade
union history – which will be covered in future issues
I
support of 31, mainly female,
workers sacked by Critchley
Labels of Newport, Gwent,
for daring to want their trade
union, the CWU, recognised.
This was one of the longest
running industrial disputes
in labour history, which
ended after two and half
years of struggle in June
1999. That’s 30 months of
picketing in all weather. A
prolonged period of financial
hardship was alleviated by
the support of the CWU
and other unions. Led by
women, this struggle
attracted support from the
UK and worldwide.
OTHER DISPUTES
I’ve attended rallies and
fundraising events in support
of colleagues in other unions,
for example the sacked
Liverpool Dockers in 1997.
Who can forget the
contribution that the Women
of the Waterfront made to
that dispute? They joined
d
t’s been a turbulent time
in Royal Mail for CWU
members. Eight days of
industrial action last year
undoubtedly inflicted
hardship on us all. We faced
bad weather on the picket
lines, loss of wages, facility
time being withdrawn from
lay officials and an
intransigent and dictatorial
management.
As I toured the picket
lines over the eight days I
recalled my involvement in
previous protests at too
many mail centre and post
office closures.
I also reflected on the
increasing involvement of
women, not only in this and
other disputes but in the
affairs of the CWU and trade
unions generally. This has
been a development over
many years as women’s
participation in the labour
force has increased.
In the late 1990s I travelled
to Stroud for a rally in
WHO CAN
FORGET THE
CONTRIBUTION OF
WOMEN
AGAINST PIT
CLOSURES?
d
picket lines, raised funds and
gained worldwide publicity
for the sacked dockworkers.
As did Women Against Pit
Closures during the 1984-5
miners dispute.
I live in a former mining
community in West Yorkshire.
The experiences of Women
Against Pit Closures during
this dispute is fresh in my
mind. Hundreds of likeminded women stood
shoulder to shoulder on
picket lines in Orgreave
and elsewhere.
Anne Scargill and others
were prominent in their
opposition to pit closures.
They toured the country to
publicise what was
happening and raised tens of
thousands of pounds. Women
also organised food and
clothes collections and
manned soup kitchens.
By so doing, these women
followed in the footsteps of
the Pankhursts, Annie Besant,
Mary Macarthur, Millicent
WINTER 2008 WOMEN’S TALK 11
Fawcett and other founding
sisters of the women’s
industrial and political
movement. These pioneering,
courageous and committed
women endured severe
hardships in the fight for
fair treatment in industry
and society. You can read
more about these women
and the history of women
in the trade union movement
in following editions of
Women’s Talk.
ROLE MODELS
So CWU sisters, next time you
are on the picket lines
remember the role that
generations of women have
played in the struggle for
equality and justice. Consider
the hardships endured by the
match girls and women
chainmakers. Reflect on the
courage of the Suffragettes.
Take inspiration from the
Dagenham sewing
machinists. Adopt Annie
Besant, Mary Macarthur, the
Pankhursts and Emily
Wilding Davison as your role
models. These pioneering
women were instrumental in
gaining rights that we take for
granted today.
The world of work has
undoubtedly changed since
the industrial revolution. We
now have a strong trade
union movement that is
dedicated to promoting and
protecting the interests of
workers. It is through the
CWU and other trade unions
that workers have
successfully campaigned for
equal pay, family friendly
working, maternity rights,
anti-discrimination
legislation, dignity and
respect at work, and a fair and
just society.
You can express your
concerns about issues
affecting women through the
CWU Advisory Committee.
Come to our Annual
Conferences. If your branch
has a Women’s Committee
L Top left:
Women join the
picket line during
the recent Royal
Mail dispute
L Top right:
National equal
opportunities
officer Linda Roy
(right) marches
with the CWU
women’s banner
attend it. If it hasn’t, you can
put a motion to your annual
general meeting to create one.
Women can make their voices
heard through the CWU.
The postal dispute shows
how we need a trade union
when employers try to attack
our pay and conditions of
employment and strip away
our rights – as do other
workers.
BBC BROADCAST
I watched a BBC outside
broadcast from a picket line
during the dispute. The
reporter asked a woman why
she was there. Her reply was:
“Because I believe what we
are doing is right.”
That belief is what
motivates me and every
officer, lay official and
representative of this union.
Women workers unite
through your trade union. We
have nothing to lose but the
chains of oppression,
inequality and exploitation. W
12 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
FEATURE WORKPLACE INEQUALITY
PAY INEQUALITY LIVES ON
Despite the Equal Pay Act and anti-sex discrimination laws, women still face
inequality in the workplace, as John Marsh, Manchester Combined, explains
L Part-time
female
employees earn
nearly 40 per
cent less than
full-time men
omen still face
inequality in
the workplace
30 years
after the sex
discrimination laws came into
force. Many women are stuck
in menial jobs, paid less than
men and sacked for becoming
pregnant. Women in parttime work earn nearly 40 per
cent less an hour than fulltime men – a gap that has not
narrowed since the Equal Pay
Act came into force and the
Sex Discrimination Act
became law in 1975.
According to the Equal
Opportunities Commission,
30,000 women are sacked
each year for being pregnant.
W
The part-time pay gap is
stuck at 38.4 per cent
compared with 42 per cent in
1975. The pay figure
compares a part-time
woman’s hourly rate with the
hourly rate of a man in fulltime work. Even full-time
women earn 17.1 per cent less
than men.
MAKING THEIR MARK
The number of working
women has increased by a
third since 1975 but, despite a
lack of progress on pay and
conditions, women are
increasingly making their
mark in previously male
dominated areas.
In the 1970s, women made
up just 33 per cent of the
university student
population; now men are the
minority, taking just 43 per
cent of places.
Women have juggled work
with having babies and
proved that they are as
capable as men at work.
Single women and men earn
roughly the same amount of
cash, but wives and mums
forced by financial needs to
work anything up to 30 hours
a week are the real victims of
sex discrimination. Part-time
cleaners, care workers and
factory staff earn nearly 40
per cent less than full-time
men. At the same time, the socalled part-timers raise
ÉGALITÉ IN FRANCE
Last year, then president of
France, Jacques Chirac
ordered his government to
draw up legislation to force
French companies to pay equal
wages to men and women.
The French leader promised
tough measures after it was
revealed that in some sectors,
women were earning onethird less than male colleagues
doing the same job.
So all we need now is for Mr
Brown to follow suit and make
sure that employers address
the issue and stop ignoring the
laws that have been put in
place in order to protect
female workers. w
Don’t doubt yourself
On her retirement, former deputy general secretary Jeannie Drake,
the only woman to have held one of the CWU’s top jobs, offers some
advice and encouragement to other women. Sian Jones reports
L
families and run homes –
daily unpaid work that many
men still fail to share.
Women are less likely to be
satisfied with their take-home
pay than their male
colleagues, but less likely to
complain. In workplaces with
no union presence, where
there are no collective pay
bargaining agreements in
place, an even smaller number
of employees actually feel
brave enough to ask for a pay
rise. Again, the gender
difference is clear with twofifths of men raising the issue
and only just over a third of
women feeling able to ask
their boss for more pay.
For employees fortunate
enough to work in unionised
workplaces they have less to
worry about when it comes to
pay. Not only are they likely
to earn more per hour than
workers in non-unionised
firms, they also don’t have to
worry about plucking up the
courage to ask for a pay
rise as their union does this
for them.
Jeannie
Drake CBE was
deputy general
secretary from
1995
J
eannie Drake retired in June
after 30 years as a national
trade union official, having held
the position of deputy general
secretary since the CWU was
formed in 1995. As the only
woman to have held one of the
CWU’s top jobs, Jeannie has
some advice and encouragement
to pass on to other women.
Jeannie believes that
stereotyping is a huge issue.
“Stereotyping trade unions as
aggressive and confrontational
and therefore not places for
women is wrong and needs to be
challenged,” she says.
“Unions are not always
confrontational and women
provide good leaders and can
deal with challenging issues. You
don’t need to be an aggressive
person to be an effective trade
unionist. I did feel in the early
stages of my trade union
career that I had to challenge
the stereotype.”
Dealing with barriers
When it comes to equal
treatment, Jeannie has a clear
view about where women
stand. “Sometimes when
people talk about equalities they
talk about having to make
women equal to men and this is
wrong,” says Jeannie.
“Women and men are equal
but sometimes their
circumstances can be different.
It’s about dealing with the
barriers which prevent equality of
opportunity and treatment.
“Women are equal but
sometimes they need to be given
confidence and the union needs
to challenge the barriers and the
systemic sources of prejudice.”
In terms of the CWU, Jeannie
feels women should have a
greater role. “We have four
female full-time national officials
employed by the union, which
is great but we need more.
There are lots of talented
women out there who are
capable and able to take union
office and we need them to
come forward. We need to
create a culture within the union
which encourages and
motivates them,” she continues.
Engage on your terms
“To women who want to get
more involved, I’d say go for it –
don’t hold back, it’s your union,
engage on your terms, don’t feel
you have to conform to the
stereotype; the culture of the
union needs to change to reflect
the diversity of our membership
and of the workforce.
“The key thing to say to
women is ‘don’t doubt yourself’.
It’s the barriers that need to
be addressed.”
14 WOMEN’S TALK WINTER 2008
REPORT HONOUR KILLINGS
THE HORROR OF
HONOUR KILLINGS
Houzan Mahmoud of the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq told a regional
joint meeting how women are being controlled by fear. Patricia Clarke, WAC, reports
ouzan Mahmoud
from the
Organisation of
Women’s
Freedom in Iraq
and coordinator of the
International Campaign
against Killings and Stoning
of Women in Kurdistan
spoke at the joint meeting of
the Eastern and London
Regional Women’s
Committees this May.
She said the regime of
Saddam Hussein was one of
the worst in the world but
women had not been
targeted simply because of
their gender. Now, under the
occupation by Britain and
America, a sectarian war
has been created and
women are suffering all
kinds of violence, including
honour killings.
Houzan’s family was
H
Houzan Mahmoud
from the
Organisation of
Women’s
Freedom in Iraq
involved in the struggle
against Saddam and many
of her family, friends and
relatives were killed. As a
young person she didn’t
care about things like who
was a Sunni or who a Shiite,
but the current Iraqi
government is religious,
tribal and sectarian. It is a
divided government installed
by the occupation.
Houzan said that Islamist
militias are running the
streets and in some areas
women cannot go out at all.
She gave an example of 20
women workers returning
home from their work who
were stopped by militias
and beheaded because they
didn’t belong to the same
religious sect.
L
NOT A CRIME
In some areas
of Iraq women
are afraid to go
out because the
streets are
controlled by
Islamist militias
In Iraq the killing of women is
not a crime. Houzan talked
about a man in Birmingham
who went back to Iraqi
Kurdistan and killed his wife
because she had an unknown
number stored in her mobile.
Also, she spoke about the
recent case of a 17-year-old
girl in Basra who fell in love
with a British soldier and her
father killed her in broad
daylight. After he was
arrested all the man had to
say to the police was that he
was protecting his “honour”
and he was set free and given
support and solidarity for
what he did.
So called “honour killing”
is about controlling women
and their sexuality. Young
girls are living with the fear
of arranged and forced
marriages. Houzan speaks
out about these issues and
has a Fatwa issued against
her because of it.
Political Islam and its hand
in the religious oppression of
women was discussed.
Houzan explained that she
had first-hand experience of
politicised religion and its
oppression of women. She
added that it is important to
create a culture of universal
human rights and to speak
out about these issues and
denounce religious and
cultural violence and
oppression of women.
Houzan believes that
many of our colleagues at
work might be at risk of
honour-related crimes. She
said that we must all take a
stand against honour killings
and denounce it.
Women’s rights and
equality are the issues of our
class and society, we cannot
ignore them. She added
that all political parties,
unions, organisations
and individuals have
responsibilities and are duty
bound to stand up against
these barbaric crimes. W
WINTER 2008 WOMEN’S TALK 15
WOMEN ACTIVISTS FOCUS
KAREN BOSSON
Manchester Combined
Being... A Women’s Officer
Karen Bosson explains what inspired her to become a CWU activist and what the role offers her
hat got me started as an
activist in the CWU? I’d been
a member for years but
hadn’t seen any reason to go
to branch meetings, AGMs or
get involved as there was always someone
else doing that.
My branch did a mail shot in 2004 to all
female members – we only had five per
cent, us being an engineering branch. It
was recognised that there were no female
reps who could act as a point of contact if
there were any specific women’s issues
or someone felt more comfortable talking
to a female rep.
We were invited to a two-day workshop
– the first one set up by the North West
Regional Women’s Committee (NW RWC)
– paid for by the branch. We learnt a lot
about the CWU, challenging assumptions,
dealing with harassment and women’s
health issues. I also met the CWU’s then
deputy general secretary for telecoms,
Jeannie Drake, who has been an inspiration
to many women activists.
Returning from the workshop inspired
and driven to get more involved with the
CWU, I could see how much there was a
need to increase female officers and
activists. I took on the role of women’s rep
for my branch and attended the NW RWC
meetings. These are extremely interesting,
with guest speakers covering topics
including pensions, employment law and
abortion rights.
In 2006 I was elected to my branch on a
part-time basis as assistant secretary and
was elected as women’s officer, too. I still
spent most of my time working for BT but
did one day a week for the branch. The first
thing I did was to set up a group of female
members who we could utilise in an
W
W
advisory and support capacity covering
office-based as well as field engineers.
In 2007 I was elected as secretary for the
RWC. This was not something that I
expected to happen but is a role I have
embraced and thoroughly enjoy! With the
help of the regional secretary I’ve
introduced a campaign plan that is
designed to cover areas from the Charter
For Women. The Charter covers three
broad areas: social policy; the labour
market; and, the labour movement.
The time I spend as a female activist in
the CWU continues to be extremely
rewarding. I have expanded my knowledge
on many issues currently facing women,
my thinking is challenged regularly, I have
met and know I will meet even more
inspirational women. All this has
contributed to me being better able to help
and support our members and move the
women’s agenda forward. W
The role
Some of the
areas a
women’s officer
covers are:
I Promoting issues
affecting women
I Escalating
relevant issues
where necessary
I Acting as a point
of contact
between members
and the branch
I Providing
information to
female members
I Attending
Regional Women’s
Committees and
the CWU women’s
conference