In Cambodia, the new leader of the CTSWF Women’s Committee, who is based in the tourist centre of Siem Reap, near the famous Angkor Wat temple, has been assisting local unions in Siem Reap to recruit more women members. One successful example is the Siem Reap Airport Catering union, which in mid-2006 had only 25 members. Now 51 of 60 employees have joined the union and a woman has been elected as leader.

In Indonesia, progress continues in women’s involvement in collective bargaining by local unions in the hotel federation FSPM. At the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta, negotiations for a collective agreement (CBA) are currently underway. As the Women’s Committee Chairperson and her Deputy Chair are now experienced activists who are routinely involved in CBA negotiations, they have instituted a system by which other women activists take turns accompanying them in order to observe the negotiations, to build up their experience and confidence in bargaining skills. Other CBAs recently concluded by FSPM member unions in Jakarta and Bandung have seen further gains towards gender equality, including:
o Inclusion of a comprehensive definition and policy regarding sexual harassment and procedures for handling this issue (this policy was drafted by the Women’s Committee);
o Extension of health insurance to cover not only male workers’ families but also the husbands/partners and children of women workers;
o Inclusion of a comprehensive wage scale within the CBA for the first time, bringing transparency to the issue of pay equity;
o Lactation rooms provided at the workplace for women employees;
o Flexible working hours for breastfeeding women.

In New Zealand, IUF-affiliated unions, the NZDWU (Dairy Workers’ Union), SFWU (Service and Food Workers’ Union Nga Ringa Tota) and the EPMU (Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union), have joined more than 20 other trade unions, community groups and professional organisations in a Coalition for Quality Flexible Work. The Coalition was launched in support of a private member’s bill which was put before New Zealand’s parliement in 2005. Public submissions were then sought by the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee in late 2006. The bill seeks to enshrine the legal right to request flexible working hours for all employees and impose an obligation on employers to negotiate these requests seriously and seek to accommodate them in their workplaces. For more information on the Coalition, to read the submissions made by IUF’s affiliates and to view a copy of the Flexible Working Hours Bill, visit http://flexihoursnow.wordpress.com.

Report by Sarah Gardner, IUF A/P Women & Solidarity Officer