Role of the Working Women in Trade Union Movement

Role of the Working Women in Trade Union Movement

The Emancipation of Women- The enslavement of women, historically, is the legacy of development of class society based on private property relations i. e. Private ownership of the Means of Production. Though the society transformed from Feudalism to Capitalism, the exploitation and inequality did not end. The status of the women also continued to be secondary even in Capitalist society and in fact it further deteriorated due to commodification of women and severe exploitation of working women. The emancipation of women is impossible without total emancipation of the society as a whole and this can be achieved only under a non- exploitative system like Socialism. Working Class is the vanguard of the Struggle against Capitalism. Women can never be emancipated in the capitalism because the system itself is based on exploitation of the Working Class and women are inseparable part of the toiling Masses. The Gender inequality is not a feminine issue but a class issue and must be fought against by the workers as a class by both men and women. Thus organising working women is not a task of only women but a task of the whole working class.

Working women have an important role in Trade Unions. Their participation is vital not only as part of working class but also in the Democratic movement. They add new dimensions to the struggles. Once they are convinced and motivated their participation is total and militant. Women become loyal members of the Unions if their specific issues are taken and some gains are achieved through struggles. Women workers are ready to make any sacrifices needed for their struggles and they also have a clear vision of Rights and Wrongs. They are morally very strong and do not easily back out from the struggles. They are also very clear about their Class Enemies and the nexus between their Employers, Police and Politicians.
The Trade Union Movement and Working women’s Movement have achieved many things through their struggles such as equal remuneration, Maternity benefits, no deployment in night shift, provisions of Creche, rest rooms etc. The Movement was demanding an Act against Sexual Harassment at workplace for a long time. Now Bill has been introduced in Loksabha. Though most of the provisions are applied to organized sector only and Un-organized sector does not get any of its benefits. The Working Women’s movement should now give a united fight for the Legislations, their application to all sectors and strict implementation.
Though there is a need to organize Working Women on a greater scale, there are some hurdles which we have to overcome to engage them in Union work. Some of them are-

• They have to bear the triple burden- Work at Factory/office; -Work at home; -Work in the
trade union.
• They have less access to Education, further trainings and skill up gradation programs. They
also have a very little opportunity for self-study and development.
• They are victims of religious taboos, inhibitions imposed by customs and tradition.
• Restrictions from the husband and in laws for participating in Trade union work.
• They are easy targets of character assassination when they work in public along with male
colleagues.

If the Unions take a sympathetic view of all these handicaps they face and adjust to their time availability and show some flexibility and also take up the special issues which they face, their participation in the activities can be ensured.

Need of the Women’s sub-committees in the Unions- The specific issues and problems faced by the women workers do not get sufficient importance in the main agenda in the union meetings, struggles or negotiations with the management, sometimes due to lack of time or sometimes lack of perception. If there are women’s subcommittees in the unions, women can have their own meetings at the suitable time, discuss these specific problems and take the issues in the unions at the right time. They can also discuss the issues which they find difficult to discuss in front of their male colleagues.

Tasks of the Women’s Subcommittees- The tasks of the women’s subcommittees are

• Campaigns- They can take up the campaigns about the general demands or programs, or their
specific issues.
• Advocacy- They can study the conditions of working women, their problems and issues and
follow them up in the unions.
• Mobilization- They can mobilize the women members for the general and common struggles or
special programs.
• Coordination- They can coordinate with the women of different departments within their own
establishment or with the women of other industries on a common platform of working women.
• Publication on working women related issues- They can publish leaflets or booklets or
journals in which they can take up the issues.
• Training and Education- They can arrange training programs especially for women on the
subjects of their interest and also equip them with the necessary skills regarding work or
union activities.

The Functions of the Working Women’s coordination Committee- The subcommittee is the internal committee of an union while coordination committee coordinates working women from all industries coming together to have impact on the government at policy level and the society as a whole. The functions are

• Study the Government policies regarding the working women, formulate the stand on the issues
and refer them to their respective unions.
• Study the employment of women in various industries and their problems; determining
priorities and suggest steps to organise them.
• To assist the unions in organising working women in the priority sector.
• Make periodic reviews of the functioning of the unions among working women; of the
subcommittees of the unions; progress of enrolment of women members in the unions;
promotion of women cadres to positions of leadership etc.
• Discuss the problems of education and training women cadres and submitting suggestions to the
concerned committees and their execution.
• Make efforts to develop coordinated movement on the specific issues of working women
involving women’s sub committees in different industries.
• Make efforts to take policies and programs to broader sections of working women who may not
be in any unions at all through campaigns, journals and literature.