On February 20, the first meeting of the Women’s Committee of the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) after the last elections was held in Brussels, Belgium.
Opening the event with an introductory speech, Roya Garayeva, the head of the international relations department of the Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation, the president of the Women’s Committee of PERC, gave information about the issues to be discussed and the preparation of the work plan for 2023 and the next 4 years. Owen Tudor, the Deputy General Secretary of the ITUC, gave a speech and touched upon the strengthening of the role of women in the ranks of trade unions, the training of female leaders, the provision of decent work for the fairer sex, the enjoyment of social justice and other issues. He noted that we were not ready for the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an unexpected situation for us. We lost a lot of time until we found solutions. However, we are still not sure that we have reached a complete solution. One day, the pandemic may return with the same force, perhaps even more. Therefore, we should not lose our vigilance, we should be prepared for such situations. We’ve seen the pandemic hit the economy unbelievably hard. People remain unemployed en masse. Women are the ones who suffer the most from the closure of workplaces. That’s why we need a new social contract to be adopted at the 5th World Congress of ITUC more than in previous years.
- Tudor highlighted 6 issues currently facing trade unions: availability of better and more jobs; safe and green workplaces; stronger rights for workers; social protection and social contract; equal rights for all; a world of peace.
Emphasizing the importance of establishing peace around the world, O. Tudor expressed his regret about the war in Ukraine, which will soon be 1 year old. He said that he hopes that this war will end soon, and that peace will be established in Ukraine and in the whole world.
At the meeting, Paula Simonetti, director of the Equality department of the ITUC, heard the report of the ITUC.
He noted that they have prepared a gender-based project program for the meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women to be held in New York. He said that representatives of more than twenty organizations registered by ITUC will participate in the event. Regarding gender issues, the department has close cooperation with the ILO. They also plan to develop new measures to strengthen relations with trade union organizations at the national level.
Paula Simonetti clarified the issue regarding the representation of the PERC Women’s Committee in the Women’s Committee of the BHC: “The PERC Women’s Committee has 6 seats in the ITUC Women’s Committee, and its president has the title of vice-president of the Women’s Committee of the ITUC.”
Goda Neverauskaite, political adviser of PERC, informed the participants about the issues facing PERC in 2023 and the events to be held. He emphasized the importance of meetings of the Steering Committee of PERC, as well as the Executive Committee, before the General Assembly of ITUC to be held on March 11.
Adviser on gender policy of the European Trade Union Confederation, Aline Bruser, spoke about the ETUC women’s policy, the implementation of the works envisaged in the Istanbul Convention together with the UN, and the demonstrations to be organized on March 8 – International Women’s Day. He also stated that a survey is being prepared in order to collect information from places.
In the second half of the day, the members of PERC Women’s Committee discussed the Work plan for the next 4 years. The work plan was accepted with additions.
At the end of the meeting, the members of the PERC Women’s Committee adopted a declaration on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine and March 8 – International Women’s Day.