NTUC Phl Women Action Agenda on the Future of Work, 2019-2023

Published by rudy Date posted on September 3, 2019

The NTUC Phl Women Assembly, meeting in Quezon City on 18 August 2019, adopts this Women Action Agenda for 2019 and beyond — addressing the concerns of women to ensure a Future of Work consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and with the goals and objectives of the NTUC Phl and its associated organizations, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its Asia Pacific regional organization (AP);

While women feature in all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, and Goal 8 on promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all, are particularly essential to the realization of women’s economic rights and achieving inclusive growth with social justice.

In conformity with the Priorities for National Policy and Action contained in The Bali Declaration, which was adopted at the 16th ILO Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2016 – Closing gender gaps in opportunity and treatment at work through:
(a) Measures to break down barriers to women’s labour force participation and advancement;
(b) Promotion of equal pay for work of equal value;
(c) Extended maternity protection measures;
(d) Measures enabling women and men to balance work and care responsibilities.

Among many action points highlighted in ILO documents and in NTUC Phl discussions, the Women Committee stresses what should be priorities for the Committee and NTUC Phl:
1. Education on trade unions, freedom of association and collective bargaining rights of women workers;
[Adapting modules on these subjects]
2. Strengthening laws and regulations, and developing targets and action plans, to achieve gender equality, prevent and end violence and harassment, discriminatory recruitment practices, pay gaps and unfair bias;
[Campaign for ratification of ILO Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment;
Continuing actions for enterprise-based mechanisms against violence and harassment;
Advocacy for implementing measures of Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710)]
3. Skills for employment and future types of work,
including active labor market policies that target young women;
[Plant-level orientation on the Future of Work]
4. Security of tenure, non-standard forms of employment and informal employment among women;
5. Women participation in union leadership and operations, and in social dialogue mechanisms and decision-making processes, including in communities;
[Engagement in ITUC AP/DGB/ATUC project on women and youth participation]
6. Effective implementation of the new law on occupational safety and health standards;
7. Advocacy for supporting family-friendly workplace policies and practices, including reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, and work-life balance;
[Implementation of new expanded maternity leave act, universal health care law,
HIV and AIDS act of 2018, increasing paternity leave;
Decent working conditions in the care sector, including for domestic workers]
8. Climate justice and just transition
[Plant-level orientation on climate change and just transition]
9. Social media and information technology for awareness-raising and education, employment services, organizing women workers;
10. Mobility and labor migration of women workers;
[Women committee engagement in ATUC information system]
11. Collecting data and carrying out research on these priority areas, including baseline information.
[Baseline surveys on #4, #5, #9 and #10]