After the successful Congresses held in Barcelona 1996, in Rio de Janeiro 1999 and in Stockholm 2002, The Society for Working Life –an affiliate of Women, Work and Health Initiative- was proud to host the IV International Congress on Women, Work and Health from 27-30 November 2005.
The focus was on key issues involved in the evaluation of occupational health and safety and its performances; to ensure women’s well being by ‘striving for a better work life ‘ and by introducing ‘gender as a crucible for work and living conditions.’
Keynote speakers representing both academia and practitioners initiated debate and open-ended, thought provoking discussions on the issues which formed the main themes of the Congress. For the first time short films/videos had been initiated.
Experts chaired thematic papers, invited symposia, oral and poster presentations relevant to the themes to the Congress. Posters were also evaluated in a competition.
The Welcome Address included these inspirational words:
“We are living through exciting times where research and practice are going hand in hand to address the constant challenges put forth by women’s work and health issues. This is the age of consensus, of resolutions, of positive change, of making possibilities into realities.
The IV International Congress will be an attempt to live up to the promises of our age.”
The Fourth International Congress convened on the three main themes:
• Gender Mainstreaming at Home and at Work
• The Changing World of Work
• The Scientific Practice of Health and Development
This Congress endeavored to achieve a major thrust area of concern: the integration of gender as perspective into work and living conditions, even as it passed the baton to Mexico to host the Fifth International Congress on Women Work & Health in 2008.
The significance of this IV International Congress on Women, Work and Health is not only the themes, events, research and knowledge sharing; but also that during this International Congress- WWHI was given the mandate by the International Scientific Committee of Women, Work & Health to create a network of women, work and health in Asia.
Steering Committee
- Sr. Dorothy (Chair)
- Prof. S.B Lall (Co-Chair)
- Sunita Kaistha
- Amita Sahaya
- Arif Ali
- Rekha Dayal
- Dinesh Adlakha
- Anshu Dogra
- Indira Saxsena
- Kamlini
- Anupama Sirinivasan
- Rakhi Jain
Drafting Committee
- Christine Nathan (Chair)
- Amita Sahaya(Co-Chair)
- Hanna Westberg
- Carina Bildt
- Carme Valls Llobet
- Ana Maria Seifert
- Karen Messing
- Kaisa Kauppinen
- Prof. S. B Lall
- Anshu Dogra
- Dr. Astrid Lobo
- Elisabeth Llagerlof
- Lena Karlqvist
- Sr. MonicaScientific Committee:
Secretary General : Sunita Kaistha
Research Head : S. Balakrishnan
Symposia Head : Amita Sahaya
Outcomes:
a) Mandate to set up WWHI Asia
b) Recommendations emerging from the Congress of 2005
The following recommendations are a minimum to start promoting women’s health and safety at work.
1. Education
• Training and communication
• To incorporate sensitivity to gender issue, complemented by policy so as to make workplace healthy for women
• Integral training in primary health care centre on HIV and women and integral child development services
• Successful models-emulation-production of model case studies
• Mentorship is a way to allow-respect the experience of wise women.2. Awareness and conscientisation
• Information and public awareness
• Campaigns – intensify at national, regional and international levels
• Advocacy
• Human rights
• REACH program (chemical)
• Ban on production of asbestos
• Promote worker awareness of health, safety and accident prevention in the workplace.
• Recognition of employer responsibility in work accidents; and the myth that injured workers are fakers
• Understanding and recognizing that women experiencing disability due to occupational health and safety problems and solidarity with these working women
• Awareness that young workers are at specific risk for health and safety problem due to their working conditions and their stage of physical development.3. Networking
• Electronic management –global dissemination and access (e.g. Medline)4. Government Funding and Financial Institution
• Gender equality, parity-politics
• Budget allocation and policy implementation related to women, health and work
• Banks / institution micro finance program for women self help groups / cooperatives5. Structures
A) Government should create an enabling environment for working for organization, unionization of unorganized sector workers
B) Promote women’s participation in occupational health and safety promotion.
• Develop structure for social dialogue
• Integrating women in leadership positions in trade unions
• Promoting equality departments in trade unions
• Women to be members of the OSH committees
• Structures for inclusion of women’s issues in OSH discussions and negotiations
• To develop and sustain gender conscious organizations-
• Support for women’s participation in union activities (child care, leadership training etc.)
6. Rehabilitation and re-training of the disabled (due to worker accident / genetic) :
• Vocational training and empowerment
7. Legislation:
• Implementation of existing occupational health and safety legislation
• Train labour inspector and ensure that they understand the hazards in women’s work
• Ensuring that women are denied compensation due to lack of understanding of women and their work
• Pay equity
• Formulating laws / guidelines for protection of workers in the informal economy
• Protection of the rights of sex workers
• Provide adequate child care which includes a stimulating and educational environment for children
• Provide breast-feeding opportunities for working women (time off, appropriate places etc.)
• Protect the rights and health and safety of domestic and those who do subcontracted work in their homes.
• Legislate measure to prevent and remedy psychological and sexual harassment in workplace
• Ensure that sexual assault and workplace violence can be compensated under occupational health and safety law
• Protection for women (and others) working in unsafe areas (accompanying for those working alone at nights etc.)
• Adequate paid maternity and paternity leave for all workers
• Precautionary leave for pregnant women whose jobs expose them to a danger for themselves or their foetuses (ex: chemical workers)
• Initiate ergonomics regulations
• Regulations for labeling hazardous chemicals, radiation and too-heavy weights (right to information)
• Guidelines for labeling in local language, appropriate language
• Right to refuse unsafe work and protection for those who take advantage of this right
• Right to health and safety training at work and to regular updating8. Occupational health and safety
• Principal of prevention health risks at source
• Active OHS prevention in the workplace
• Inspection of worksites for comfort, safety and health
• Data collection on women’s occupational health and safety
• Research and documentation of women’s occupational health and safety problem and development of better indicators to follow these problems over time
• Policy research on women’s occupational health and safety
• Participatory structures so that women are consulted on necessary changes in worksite arrangements so as to reduce awkward postures and movements and prevent musculoskeletal disorders
• Ergonomics training for workplace health and safety officers
• Prevent prolonged standing, excessive lifting and overtly repetitive work
• Prevent stress, don’t “manage” stress!
• Ensuring that women’s worksite are adjustable to their anatomy and adapted to their size
• Provisions for adaptation of tools and equipment for pregnant workers because of their specific physiology and anatomy
• Adaptation of personal protective equipment for women’s size and shape
9. Strengthen structures for equitable participation of government, employer and worker’s organizations, while ensuring women’s participation at all level and in all sectors.
10. Women and AIDS
• Training, medication, counseling for family and workers
• Availability of alternative employment for affected workers
• Universal precautions to prevent disease among health care workers
11. Social auditing and Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)
• Information about corporate social responsibility jargon
• Necessity to require companies to go further than current legislation when it is inadequate
• Training on how to deal with incoming CSR teams
• Women workers should be members of CSR teams
• Women workers should participate in formulating CSR guidelines
12. Night work for women
• Call centers, nurses (refer to ILO convention 171 on night work guaranteeing minimum conditions for night work)
• Awareness of the possibility of complaining to ILO
13. Work Organization
• Work organization should ensure more worker autonomy, fewer excessive job demands and thus lessening of stress at work
• Support systems for women in their multiple roles as caregivers and wage earners.
• Rationalizing work organization so as to minimize or do away with irregular, inflexible, extended or split-shift work schedules
• Facilitating teamwork
• Ensuring equity in workplace for older, younger, disabled workers
• Do away with racial / ethnic segregation of the work force.