Why women’s structures are still needed
The Service and Food Workers’ Union Nga Ringa Tota* is an amalgamation of various unions in New Zealand, and so its membership is very diverse, from care workers to food processing to hotels and casinos. Today, about 70% of the members are women, and there is strong women’s representation at all levels in the union. Over half of the regional executives are women, as are over two-thirds of the National Executive. Women’s issues are integral to the union’s agenda, with apparently the agreement of the overwhelming majority of men in the union.
*Nga Ringa Tota is Maori for ‘Busy Hands'
So, if women have now achieved so much in the SFWU Nga Ringa Tota, why does the union still have women’s committees? Julie Kahaki, the union’s Women’s Convenor, reflects on why women’s structures are still needed.
“I would say 90 per cent of our men are very supportive of women in the union and our structures. I have been active in the union for nearly ten years, and I have never noticed any adverse comments. We have won the argument with the majority and are very settled about it.
In fact, when you consider our women’s committees, plus the structures we have for Pacific Islanders, Maori, our ‘Yummies’ (the Youth Union Movement) for the Under-28s, and our ‘Out at Work’ group, then the only people who do not have their own specific structures are the white, heterosexual men! Sometimes there are semi-serious rumblings about ‘When are we going to have a blokes’ committee?’ but no-one ever gets it organised.
I think specific women’s committees are needed because there are still many women who are not union members - the private sector in New Zealand remains very under-unionised. It makes it easier for women to join if they feel there is somewhere specifically for them. I think this is especially true for migrant women coming from the Pacific or Asia.
Then, for women to be able to rise up in the union structures, they need the training, confidence-building and tools to do this. Women coming to regional women’s conferences and committees gain so much in that respect.
And we still need special ways to bring in the new generation of women, and give them the confidence to speak up. Even though New Zealand is supposed to be an ‘equal’ society, women are not used to facing male bosses and negotiating with them. For all the progress, it is still a patriarchal society.”
Interviewed by Celia Mather, Bali, 10 October 2006
“The level of representation and activity in our union has come about because of the specific women’s structures, and I want to encourage other organisations to establish such structures. Our union is a much stronger, better union for having the full and active participation of women.”
Campbell Duignan, Southern Regional Secretary, SFWU Nga Ringa Tota, New Zealand, speaking at the IUF Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Bali, 11 October 2006