Women Workers

On October 16, over 110 workers' testimonies of sexual harassment were taped to McDonald's French headquarters. Just prior, 50 McDonald's workers and supporters demonstrated outside a McDonald's store in Paris where several workers have been subjected to sexual harassment.

Domestic violence is widespread and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IUF is today launching Breaking the silence, a guide on why domestic violence is a trade union issue and how unions should deal with it. It draws strongly on materials developed by IUF affiliates.

Odilia Caal Có, local leader in a branch of the IUF-affiliated Federación Sindical de Trabajadores de la Alimentación, Agroindustria y Similares (FESTRAS) was brutally beaten earlier this month in an attack which left her with multiple injuries including a broken rib. According to the ILO, Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries for trade unionists. The IUF, through its regional organisation, Rel UITA, is closely monitoring the situation and calling for prosecution of the perpetrators of the violence.

June 21, 2020 is the first anniversary of the International Labour Conference's adoption of Convention 190 (C190) and Recommendation 206 (R206) on violence and harassment in the world of work. These two standards propose practical steps that unions must take to put an end to violence and harassment and negotiate a comprehensive framework for the construction of the foundations necessary for a world that is better able to resist future economic and social crises.

On June 16, 2020, International Domestic Workers Day, the IUF and its affiliates stand in solidarity with domestic workers around the world and their organization, the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF).

The IUF and our regional European organization EFFAT-IUF have joined with the IUF-affiliated SEIU in the USA and Canada and the Brazilian national trade union center UGT to demand action to address sexual harassment at McDonald's restaurants around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deadly consequences of decades of reducing, privatizing and outsourcing public health services. Health workers putting their lives on the line every day to protect us all face overwhelming shortages of personnel, protective equipment, essential supplies and medical facilities. On the occasion of International Nurses Day, May 12, our sister international federation PSI is calling for unions internationally to endorse the call for universal health care with a petition on their site.

Since the first appearance of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso, the national IUF Women's Committee and the IUF national Coordination Committee have stepped in where employers and public authorities have been unwilling or unable to provide adequate protection for workers. They have been supplying soap, masks and disinfectant and informing members how to protect themselves, their families and their communities, on and off the job.

Uganda's Horticultural, Industrial, Service Providers and Allied Workers' Union (UHISPAWU) is fighting to protect thousands of workers on flower farms from falling into poverty and hunger as a consequence of the overnight collapse of the export market. Sales of cut flowers, the bulk of which are exported to Europe for auction, have declined by up to 90 percent and there are no government protection programs for workers in agriculture who lose their jobs.

During the last 12 months, more than one in five women in the world has been the victim of violence inflicted by their partner. The health, economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is making the situation worse. In just a few weeks, several countries have recorded a significant increase in cases of domestic violence. The response to this phenomenon is as urgent as the policies adopted to stop the pandemic itself. Unions play an essential role.

Workers from tea plantations who have migrated to other states in India to work in hotels, restaurants, plantations, construction and as daily wage workers are now returning to the plantations due to loss of work and income. The water and sanitation committees organized on plantations in Assam and West Bengal with the support of the IUF are fighting to secure the water they need to protect tea workers and their families against the coronavirus.