"The impact of broader violence against women and girls has direct and indirect impacts on workers and workplaces. This is visible, among others, in terms of absenteeism, ill-health and reduced productivity. And with over 60% of victims of domestic violence in paid work, the workplace is a unique entry point to tackle this issue. The panel discussion will stimulate dialogue and propose relevant policy recommendations on how decent work can contribute to eliminating and preventing all forms of violence against women and girls."
Panelists included:
Elizabeth Broderick
Sex Discrimination Commissioner - Australian Human Rights Commission
Ludo McFerran
Project Manager, Safe at Home, Safe at Work
Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse
Julie White
Director, Women's Programs - Canadian Auto Workers TCA
Elena Lattuada
Confederal Secretary - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL)
Jane Hodges
Director, Gender Bureau - ILO
Sister Julie White highlighted the history and the concept of the CAW's innovative and highly respected Women's Advocate program to a crowded room of #CSW57 delegates.
Following the event, White said,
"The opportunity to showcase the CAW Women's Advocate program on a world stage was an extremely proud moment for the CAW; a moment which would not have been possible without the courage, dedication and determination of the 267 CAW Women's Advocates."
The following is the complete text of sister White's presentation:
UNCSW57 – March 6, 2013
The Impact of Domestic Violence in the Workplace
Millennium Hotel- Riverview Room
Speaking Notes: Julie White, Director, CAW Women’s Department
Greetings
I can’t tell you how great it is to be here. I'd like to thank Jane, Raphael and the ILO for the invitation to speak with you today about a program that is unique to my union – the Canadian Auto Workers union – and that is the Women’s Advocate Program.
But before I expand on the Women's Advocate Program, I'd like to start by sharing a few things about the history and the makeup of the CAW.
The roots of our union lie in the auto industry, and up until 1985 we were part of the United Auto Workers union, an international union based in the United States. Then in 1985 the Canadian section of the UAW went on to form an independent Canadian union and a new militant and progressive social union was borne, known today as the Canadian Auto Workers union – or the CAW.
At that time we represented 88,000 members of which 11% were women – largely working in auto, aerospace and the transportation sector. Building on that traditional base, the CAW has since been transformed through new organizing and mergers with other unions into a broad-based, general workers union representing workers in sectors and industries such as auto assembly, auto parts manufacturing, aerospace, shipbuilding, fisheries, railway transportation and gaming. We also have a major presence in several other sectors such as airlines, mining, electrical products, retail, health care and hospitality.
Since 1985 our membership has more than doubled and today, with 282 local unions and over 1,600 bargaining units, the CAW represents over 200,000 workers making us the largest private sector union in Canada, with women now representing nearly 34 percent of the total membership.
The CAW has always had a rich history of supporting community and workplace efforts to end gender-based violence. We do this because we believe in a world based on principles of equality and social justice. We believe it is our collective responsibility to work towards eradicating gender-based violence.
As it is around the world, violence against women in Canada is a serious, pervasive problem that crosses every social boundary and affects communities across the country. It remains a significant barrier to women's equality and has devastating impacts on the lives of women, children, families and Canadian society as a whole.
We have achieved significant victories at the bargaining table to advance women’s equality and human rights. Some of our collective bargaining achievements include anti-discrimination clauses in virtually all of our collective agreements, harassment and complaint procedures, right to refuse work based on harassment, harassment prevention training and what I am here to talk with you about today, the Women’s Advocate Program.
The catalyst to increasing our efforts in ending violence against women came as a result of the tragic events that took place on December 6th, 1989 when a lone gunman entered L’Ecole Polytechnique University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He separated the women from the men and he systematically murdered 14 female engineering students – 14 students who were shot dead solely because they were women. That day in 1989 became indelibly imprinted on the minds of a nation who struggled to comprehend the worst gender-based massacre in Canadian history.
In the wake of what is now known as the Montreal Massacre, there was a lot of dialogue taking place both inside and outside of the labour movement. Activists were demanding that governments, employers and society address gender-based violence and engage as they never had before.
In response, CAW Activists and leadership gathered to discuss and strategize around what role the union could play to assist our members facing violence in their personal lives, at home or in the workplace. As a union we understood that legislatively we needed to continue to lead the fight on ending gender-based violence by pushing for enhanced legislation on issues like gun control, child care and affordable housing – all programs that provide women with the means to leave a violent relationship. But we knew we needed to do more...and as a result of those early discussions, we decided that we needed to use our collective strength at the bargaining table as a vehicle to create change - and thus, the concept of the Women’s Advocate Program was borne – a program that would see the creation of a workplace leadership position to assist women facing violence in their lives.
The Women’s Advocate Program would become a referral program with specially trained workplace representatives who assist women with concerns of workplace harassment, intimate partner violence or abuse. Advocates are not counselors but rather assist women with workplace supports and community resources needed to leave a violent relationship.
The concept was sound and in 1993 the necessary language to support the program was tabled during collective bargaining, where it became a bargaining priority during negotiations with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. As a result, the first CAW Women’s Advocate Program was negotiated – 27 positions in total.
In the early years of the program the union began to understand the value of the Women’s Advocate program and so did our members. It was through connecting with their workplace Women’s Advocate that women found that they were not alone, that it was their right to be free from violence, and it was where they sought out support and community resources they needed to leave a violent relationship. Their jobs were protected when they needed time off work to find safety. Women who found support through their workplace Women’s Advocate often went on to live a life free from violence rather than becoming another statistic, another number in the long list of women killed in Canada each year by their partner or ex partners.
Since negotiations in 1993, Women’s Advocates language have remained a bargaining priority within the CAW, and today we have negotiated 262 Women’s Advocates across the country in every sector of the economy.
And not only has bargaining Women’s Advocate language been a priority, but negotiating an employer paid training fund has as well. The CAW Women’s Department offers a 40 hour basic training program to all new advocates, as well as a 3 day annual update training program to assist the Advocate in her new role at a state-of-the-art training facility known as the CAW Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, Ontario.
And while the actual number of advocates and their training is important, the success of the Women’s Advocate Program will be measured not solely by our gains at the bargaining table, but also, and more significantly, by the hundreds of CAW women who have been supported, believed, validated and empowered.
In our ongoing efforts to create safer workplaces and safer communities, from its inception in 1993, the Women’s Advocate Program has helped to save the lives of women and their children in communities across Canada - something my union is truly proud of. We have continued to build upon its early successes to achieve the amazing program it has become today: a highly respected program that is unique to the CAW.
The Women’s Advocate Program has received recognition from outside organizations working in the area of gender-based violence as well:
Barb MacQuarrie, community director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women and Children at the University of Western Ontario said "Programs like the CAW's Women's Advocate Program raise awareness about violence and better allow women a way out of violent situations. The Women's Advocate Program is a model program which should be implemented in all workplaces across the country."
Belinda Leach, Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph said "Women's participation in the labour forces has long been recognized as essential to the promotion of equality. Our research suggests that dedicated Women's Advocates promote workplace equity at the same time that they assist individual women."
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has also recognized the CAW Women’s Advocate Program in the ILO Gender Equality and Decent Work – Good practices at the Workplace Guide. The practices compiled in the guide highlight how gender equality concerns are central to any effort to promote the ILO’s Decent Work agenda and to achieve its four strategic objectives: rights at work, employment promotion, social protection and social dialogue.
The ILO guide states "One of the ways the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) defends women workers’ rights is by addressing violence against women and sexual harassment, negotiating practical benefits for women leaving abusive relationships and insisting on strong anti harassment language in collective agreements"
But the CAW clearly understands that the Women’s Advocate Program cannot begin to address the root causes of gender-based violence in society. We know that violence against women persists as a result of women's economic, social and political inequality. This is where violence has its roots. Ending violence against women means ending inequality – fighting for issues like gun control, reproductive justice, and child care are just a few of the other ways our union work to address the issue. Like most things in our society, this too is about political will. I believe that our union has contributed to breaking the silence around gender-based violence, but until governments make this, one of our society's greatest tragedies, a national priority it will never be enough.
With this in mind we continue to work with the Canadian Labour Congress, our coalition partners and civil society to continue to push our Federal Government to commit to a National Action Plan that involves Territorial, Provincial and Aboriginal governments. A National Action Plan that includes legislation, as well as specific resources, strategies and timelines which have measurable results and display real progress for women in Canada.
As much as unions do, we cannot negotiate language at the bargaining table to eradicate gender-based violence in society let alone fight for those changes for non-unionized workers in our country. But through our union actions and activities we can and are making a difference through organizing, collective bargaining and lobbying. We are working towards building the conditions for change.
In conclusion I want to acknowledge what a proud moment this is for the CAW, a moment that without the courage, determination and commitment of the hundreds of CAW Women’s Advocates this would not have been possible.
Thank you.
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