Protection of maternity? Undermining of women workers' rights!
On 26th June, the Environment & Labour Standing Committee of the National Assembly made a decision to revise the Basic Labour Laws, strengthening the clauses on maternal protection, but overall undermining the basic rights of women workers.
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Protection of maternity? Undermining of women workers' rights!
On 26th June, the Environment & Labour Standing Committee of the National Assembly made a decision to revise the Basic Labour Laws, strengthening the clauses on maternal protection, but overall undermining the basic rights of women workers.
In April, the ruling parties had decided to delay the revision and the enactment of maternal protection, but faced broad criticisms from women and labour organizations, who had been holding consistent rallies in front of the National Assembly for the last couple of months (refer to PICIS Newsletter #84). While women workers and organizations struggled, employers have been lobbying with the politicians, asking for a decrease in the protective measures on women workers. Thus the policy-makers made a 'compromise' - increasing the 60-day maternal leave to 90 days and introducing paid nursing leave. This may seem like a big step, since the women-related clauses in the Basic Labour Laws have never been revised since it was first enacted in 1953. But the revisions have turned out to be a mere 'sweet' thrown to tame the angry workers, and not anything close to a reformation for the protection of women workers' rights.
During the revision, the Committee also decided to abolish the clauses restricting overtime work and night work, ones that prohibit placement of women workers in areas that can be health-threatening, and paid leave when a child or an elderly gets sick. Employers argue that these abolishments will allow women workers to 'freely' work overtime and gain more allowance, but in fact will expose women to the exploitative conditions of the flexible working time system, making women work in the most notorious conditions. Under the flexible working time system, workers can be forced to work up to 68 hours a week. The abolishment will also enable employers to place women in health hazardous situations, without any responsibility to potential deterioration of women's (even worse, pregnant women's) health. In simple words, the latest and 'historic' revision will in fact deteriorate women's working conditions and will expand the grounds on which employers can further exploit the already exploited women workers. Yet the employers' groups are criticising the increase of maternal leave, saying that this revision will only make them avoid employment of women altogether and that it will hinder the restructuring process. To them, what seems to be even the minimal protection of workers' rights is an encumbrance.
In response to this retrogressive move, about 20 women workers and students, who were watching the Committee meeting through a monitor in the building lobby, took direct action and started to demonstrate. There was a brief moment of physical struggle between the security guards and the demonstrators, and the security guards dragged and literally 'threw' the women out. One disabled women worker was toppled over during the process. The women tried to push into
the building once again, but were eventually locked out. Women's trade unions and the members of KCTU has vowed to continue its all-out struggle against the deterioration of the
Labour Laws.
As elsewhere in the world hit by the blow of globalization, women have been the foremost victims in the process of accumulating profit. Women are the first ones to be fired on the basis that their 'original' place is at home, first to be turned into unstable part-time workers with no access to legal protection. The percentage of women part-time workers has increased to near 80% of the total part-time work force. Unlike a couple of years ago, when the issue of fighting for women workers rights was seen as a secondary issue compared to the interest of 'entire' working class (which actually refered to 'male' workers), the fact that many social and workers' organizations are now paying attention and unifying in this struggle against the derogation of women workers' rights is quite encouraging. Numerous autonomous women workers' trade unions have been formed over the last few years and many women's groups have emphasized and persuaded that there cannot be true solidarity without a focus on women. Nevertheless, with still minimal participation and representation of women in trade unions and other progressive groups, coupled with strong patriarchal ideologies, there are still high mountains to be crossed before there can truly be an equal solidarity and struggle against globalization and cutbacks on labour rights.
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