|
WOMEN'S MONTH 2021 SPECIAL EDITION
   TRADE UNIONS AS A SITE FOR STRUGGLE FOR
GENDER EQUALITY IN ESWATINI AND INTERNATIONALLY Today 08 march 2021 marks international women’s day a day in which
the whole world celebrates the contributions of Women. The United Nations Women
theme for the year 2021 states that, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal
future in a COVID-19 world” and the International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC) ‘s theme is “A New Social Contract for a gender-equitable recovery and
resilience”. Both themes reveal that the contribution of women in society and at the workplace cannot be ignored and infact needs to be acknowledged if the world is to achieve a better society with gender equality as a core and unnegotiable principle in the post COVID-19 pandemic period. The trade union movement is an important site of struggle for gender equality and equal rights. However, trade unions are also sometimes accused of not practicing gender equality as they are expected to. For instance, in a number of trade unions gender equality is still not embedded in their policies and constitutions and therefore not being pursued. In this special edition of the Eswatini Labour Insight we feature six (6) women who are leaders of different trade union organisations in Eswatini. They will share their stories of trials, tribulations and triumphs as trade union leaders, community leaders and members of the community. We thank them for sharing their perspective with us. Long Live Gender Equality, Long Live!! MAUREEN NKAMBULE SECRETARY GENERAL SWAZILAND ELECTRICITY SUPPLY,MANTAINANCE AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION (SESMAWU)  Comrade
Maureen Nkambule (MN): I started
serving at branch level on different positions in different departments of
the Company. The main interest began around 2014 when our current leadership
(NEC) were in office for more than 10years and were mostly using autocratic leadership
style. Majority of members were not happy and began to advocate for new
office bearers. The following year in 2015, I was elected as an Assistance
Secretary General and I served until 2018. From 2018, I was elected as the
Secretary General of the Union which will be until 2022. It has not been an
easy journey since 2018 up to now and it has taught me that you have to know
your story in order to succeed and that experience is the best teacher in
life. MN:
It is not easy for a women to
upscale the ladder in the trade union movement, more especially in my work
place, where the majority of workers are men. The
main challenge is patriarchy. The environment in the workplace just says “Men
are leading and women only submit”, which simply means men are considered to
have monopoly power and women have to submit. Decision
making becomes a problem when you are leading as a woman. For instance, you
can say the same sentiments said by a man but yours will sometimes not be
accepted because you are a woman or even being scrutinized or criticized as
if it’s not the same thing. This creates low self-esteem in most women. MN: I mostly use democratic leadership style because it
has a way of motivating the membership and makes them feel part of the team.
However, in some instances the leadership style changes direction according
to prevailing circumstances and situations. MN: Yes, convention 108 needs to be adopted, amended
and implement policies in a workplace especially in areas where patriarchy
dominates. An Employment
Equity Act should also be introduced and it should focus mainly focus on
women protection. ELI:The ITUC has called for a new Social Contract for a gender equitable recovery and resilience “. In your view is Eswatini what should the new social contract entail? MN: In Eswatini there should be Gender Equality and
more focus on women empowerment. There
should be changes in both the national laws and constitutions of trade
unions in order for all these legal
instruments to be gender sensitive. ELI: In your opinion how fare are we from a trade union movement and society in which gender equality is a key cornerstone? What needs to be done to get there? MN: I think we are very far away, may be 100 years from
now. 1st DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION (NAPSAWU)  Eswatini Labour Insight (ELI): Can you briefly tell us about your journey
in the trade union movement? How and where you start, up to where you are
now? Thabile Zwane (TZ). I
joined the Civil Service in the late 2009 and I was just fortunate to have
already been part of the progressive forces in the previous years, in the
youth and student struggles. So being part of the trade union was a must for
me to make sure that I continue with my contribution to the larger vision of
a democratic society. I then took up
membership with the second largest trade union in the public sector NAPSAWU.
Not very long after my participation in the union I was elected a shop
steward of my department where I served for around 2 years. I was then elected to the position
of Branch Secretary of the Malkerns Branch of NAPSAWU where I served for 2
terms. At the 2019 congress of NAPSAWUI
was elected to the position of 1st Deputy General Secretary where I still
serve up to now. ELI: Have you found it harder to upscale the ladder as a woman in the trade union movement? What are some of the hardships you encountered as a woman leader that perhaps your male comrades have not gone through? TZ: Oh yes, it has not been any easy journey, I happen to work in a male dominated department so the attitude of being led by a woman and a young woman for that matter habitually cropped from the time I was a shop steward. At times it was very difficult to convince some colleagues of what we were doing. It got better as you climbed up to the higher level of the branch as people had now seen your commitment and effort they now wanted you to be part. The national office position was
not an easy one because we still have people in the trade union movement that
don’t believe in women leadership even amongst women themselves there are
still those that cannot support a woman not because of her capabilities but
because they think she is going to fail. Trade Unionists in most cases have a
tendency to think for you to articulate issues properly you have to be a man.
We have always associated quality with how well of a public speaker you can
be and in the process we have overlooked so many other qualities that we need
in leadership. We still live in a patriarchal
society and it will take time to unlearn some of the habits entrenched in us.
ELI: Can you tell us more about your leadership style as a trade union leader? TZ: Hahahahaha! I hope I
will be totally honest on this one I am democratic I believe in leadership
where the collective is important and should always be in agreement of
whatever is to be implemented. I believe so much in team work because I know
that there is nothing you can achieve when you do something alone. For anything
to be successful you need others with different skills to contribute. However, I must say I am a very
strict person I like delivery and discipline when you work with me you ought
to bring in commitment and focus to what we are doing. I have weaknesses as well I am not
very good at tolerating people who lack discipline and commitment so what I
have learned is that it is possible to unlearn some of this traits as they
are not needed in leadership. ELI: Do you think there is any law that needs amendment to better the lives of women in the workplace and also to close the wage gap? TZ: In the civil service
there are no existing pay gaps we are paid equally for the same job done. I
believe there is need to look into the Employment Act specifically on
employment of women and children. The Act gives rights to women but also
takes away some employment opportunities as they are also restricted to
working after certain hours (section 101 a). For instance, where the employer
cannot provide transport they will prefer to employ males than females. Also
why are women excluded from working underground are they regarded as people
who cannot be able to do the tasks? Also in section 102 and 103 on
Maternity leave there is provision that this leave must be given to employees
but also the employer is given the right to determine how much of those weeks
can be paid, for instance, in the textile industry only 30 days are paid and
in manufacturing only 3 weeks is paid.
ELI: The ITUC has called for a new Social Contract for a gender equitable recovery and resilience “. In your view is Eswatini what should the new social contract entail? TZ: The ITUC is always in
the forefront in safeguarding the interest of the workers and that is
appreciated. I believe as a country we still have a lot to do in protecting
women in employment. I think we must make sure that existing laws meant to
protect women in the workplace are respected and followed at all times and
not only used for certain class interests. We also need to ratify C190 which
protects women against violence in the workplace. We have seen how violence
has risen the past year during the pandemic. Workplaces must also introduce
insurance policies to cater for such emergencies as COVID-19 so to make sure
that workers are not negatively affected financially by such occurrences. ELI: In your opinion how fare are we from a trade union movement and society in which gender equality is a key cornerstone? What needs to be done to get there? TZ: In my own assessment we
are not where we would want to be as a trade union movement. Our policies
still lack a lot in terms of addressing the gender disparities that exist. I believe we need to make sure
that the development of women doesn’t lag behind. We must make sure that they
are always included in our programs and activities. The unequal relations
between men and women must be defeated and it’s important that we create ways
in which issues affecting women directly are always addressed and given
priority. We must make it a point that in
the workplace responsibilities are shared equally and women are also given
influential roles. We must create a gender diverse
workplace this will promote a culture of respect and trust. BONGIWE MANGO-KHUMALO CHAIRPERSON OF TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF
SWAZILAND’S WOMEN’S COMMITTEE  Eswatini Labour Insight
(ELI): Can you briefly tell us about
your journey in the trade union movement? How and where you start, up to
where you are now? Bongiwe Mango-Khumalo (BMK):
My journey started at Shopsteward level, and in two years’ time, I was elected into a National Committee.
Within two years again, I was then identified and encouraged by other
comrades in the teachers union (SNAT) to run for a National Executive
position as a National Gender & Human Rights coordinator. The rest is history. I served for 2 terms as SNAT’s
National Gender and Human Rights Coordinator and I'm currently the Chairperson of the Woman's structure in the federation, TUCOSWA. ELI: Have you found it harder to upscale the ladder as a woman in the trade union movement? What are some of the hardships you encountered as a woman leader that perhaps your male comrades have not gone through? BMK: Obviously, it's never
easy for a woman to climb the leadership ladder because of the hostilities of
our environment emanating from the patriarchal system. As a woman, you are
subjected to constant pressure to deliver in order to prove your worth.
Issues of meetings that are held until very late at night and protest marches
when I was heavily pregnant are some of the hardships I've had to endure as a
woman leader. ELI: Can you tell us more about your leadership style as a trade union leader? BMK: Experience in the
trade union movement has taught me to posses an infective optimism as a
leader. I have combined the democratic
and autocratic leadership style as and when the need arises. Effective
communication and systematic planning together with strategic planning are
key for effective leadership. Conflict Management skills coupled with decision making have been my cornerstone. ELI: Do you think there is any law that needs amendment to better the lives of women in the workplace and also to close the wage gap? BMK: Infact, our Employment
Act should have been amended years ago. We also have a huge assignment as
Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions to push for the ratification and domestication of
convention 190. This conventional has a great potential of improving the
lives of women at the workplace. ELI: The ITUC has called for a new social contract for a gender equitable recovery and resilience “. In your view is Eswatini what should the new social contract entail? BMK: We are not very far
from achieving Gender Equality as a Trade Union movement and as a
society. We just need to explore more options and approaches to garner more
support from Traditional, Religious and Trade Union leaders, so as to get the
much needed political will, establish Male Gender Champions structures, and
encourage all unions to be Gender Responsive Unions, that will enable them to
identify the barriers in order to combat gender disparities. BMK: We are not very far
from achieving Gender Equality as a Trade Union Movement and as a society. |
|
|
PHUMELELE
DLAMINI-ZULU PRESIDENT SWAZILAND UNION IN LEARNING AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS (SULAI) DEPURTY ORGANISING
SECRETARY-TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF SWAZILAND (TUCOSWA)  Eswatini Labour Insight (ELI): Can you briefly tell us about your journey
in the trade union movement? How and where you started, up to where you are
now? Phumelele Dlamini-Zulu:
What I can say is that my journey has not been an easy one. I had to unlearn
what I had learnt through socialisation where a woman cannot lead and even
when they lead they need to respect men. I had to unlearn all that to say
here I am and I am now a leader I am where I am today as a leader and my
leadership should be like that of the other gender, which is men. I joined the trade union
movement in 2006 as an ordinary member of a union. I served in the branch
committee in Hhohho until we were formally registered as a union. I was then
elected as a President of the Schools Secretaries Union at that time. While we were 95% female
in the union there were already challenges with gender dynamics. I remember
in the first committee that there were two men who became part of the
committee because it was suggested during the elections that the committee
needed men. I then proceeded and I am now the Deputy
National Organising Secretary at TUCOSWA, I also am a member
of a Wages Council in the sector where SULAI organises, a member of TUCOSWA
Women’s Committees, a paralegal at Women and Law where we do civic education
and refer cases to other organisation, an organiser of Liphimbo Labomake, a
Community Facilitator, A member of the IRALE, A founder and coordinator for the Domestic
Workers Union ,An educator and trainer in the Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs)
campaign in TUCOSWA ,a trainer in the education programmes of TUCOSWA and an organizer
of the 1 Billion Campaign. Basically I have grown
from zero to where I have managed to get as a woman. ELI: Have you found it harder to upscale the ladder as a woman in the trade union movement? What are some of the hardships you encountered as a woman leader that perhaps your male comrades have not gone through? PDZ: As a woman leader,
firstly the hardships begins at home, the day you inform your family that you
have been elected to leadership. So many question arise such as who will look
after the home when you are in the different meetings, who will be taking
care of the family duties? These are things men are never asked when they
assume leadership. Once you are a leader
the working hours increase because you have to do organizational duties as
well as domestic duties because a lot needs to be done by you at home as a
woman as well. Lastly, as a woman you are undermined until you prove yourself
to the people that you are indeed a worthy leader. There are also high
expectations from both genders regarding your leadership. PDZ: I am a visionary
leader as I have highlighted that I was the first President elected in the
union. I had to have a vision of where we needed to take a new union.
Secondly, I am a transformational leader because there are people I can point
to say I have mentored. Thirdly, I am democratic because as a leader I
believe in delegation so that we all contribute to the development of the
organization. Lastly, I am a servant leader because I serve the union at
times without expecting any income from the union because it is not stable
financially. ELI: Do you think there is any law that needs amendment to better the lives of women in the workplace and also to close the wage gap? PDZ: If there could be laws
to enable women to occupy key positions. For examples if our (trade union) constitutions
can set quotas so that when we go for elections we could have 40% of
leadership to be women. Then the key positions need to be shared between
males and females. If, for instance, the President is a male the Secretary
General or Treasurer needs to be a female. On the gender pay gap I
think the law is clear there. People should be remunerated according to their
qualifications and positions regardless of their gender. However, what is
happening is that women are doing care work that they are not paid for. Women
wake up early and sleep later than their male colleagues because of care work
that is unpaid. Laws need to take this reality into consideration because it
sets women apart from men. Women and men need to
enjoy equal opportunity to participate on social activities equally and willingly.
Both genders need to enjoy equal political and economic and cultural benefits
and share responsibilities equally. ELI: The ITUC has called for a new Social Contract for a gender equitable recovery and resilience “. In your view is Eswatini what should the new social contract entail? PDZ: Women should be
supported because a majority of them earn their living in the informal sector
such as hair salons, domestic work, dressmaking etc and a majority of them
have been severely affected by covid-19. It has been a hard time for women.
Laws to boost the income for small businesses is needed. ELI: In your opinion how far are we from a trade union movement and society in which gender equality is a key cornerstone? What needs to be done to get there? PDZ: I think we are still
far, though we are trying. Gender issues require a political will and the
challenge remain that it seems that at all times the key positions in organisations
are taken by males. Positions like President, Secretariat and Treasurer.
These are principal positions that make decisions and as I have said before it
seem that men feel threatened by gender equality because of their
socialization. However, a lot can still
be done especially with the assistance of the international community. For
example, currently SADC is speaking of 50/50 participation in the activities
and if that is there automatically the trade union movement would be pushed
towards that direction. Currently in many trade union constitutions and in the boards there is not much that speaks to gender issues. We need to know and understand the important benefits when both genders are in leadership, working together. For example, when going for negotiations, there are issues that men cannot adequately negotiate such as challenges with women reproduction, pregnancy, childbirth and newborn rearing. It is important that women negotiators are included to articulate such challenges at all times. JABULILE (JABU)
SHIBA SECRETARY GENERAL SWAZILAND UNION
OF FINANCIAL INSTITUITONS AND ALLIED WORKERS (SUFIAW)  Eswatini Labour Insight (ELI): Can you briefly tell us about your journey
in the trade union movement? How and where you started, up to where you are
now? Jabu Shiba (JS): My union membership dates back to 1988
when I joined Union bank but I was only elected as a shop steward in 1996 and
I served in that role up until 2002 when I got to be elected into the
National Executive Committee as a member representing the Nedbank
constituency. In 2003 when the 2nd assistant secretary general
resigned, I was elected to that role until 2004 where I got to be elected the
1st assistant secretary general. I held this position up until
2012 when I had to leave the Bank to work for the union as the secretary
general, which is the position I hold up to now. I am currently serving as an
executive committee member in UNI Africa having been elected in February
2017. ELI: Have you found it harder to upscale the ladder as a woman in the trade union movement? What are some of the hardships you encountered as a woman leader that perhaps your male comrades have not gone through? JS: I would say for me I was fortunate because I got to be an
assistant to a comrade who has a passion for grooming people so it was not
difficult for me to learn in the secretariat space, in fact I almost chocked
because of information overload. Having said that, it does not mean that I
have not seen women comrades struggle in the trade union movement. That would
be naïve of me. For women it will always be difficult to get to be elected to
the “niche” positions because each time a female comrade campaign for
positions she gets to be asked to justify why they should elect her something
that is not the case for our male counterparts. ELI: Can you tell us more about your leadership style as a trade union leader? JS: I believe in being a self-starter and the sharing of
information because without information it would be difficult to function at
any level. It is important to fully understand the mandate because you will
never push and protect a mandate that you do not understand. I also believe
in moral leadership and that means that one must develop and maintain a great
work ethic. ELI: Do you think there is any law that needs amendment to better the lives of women in the workplace and also to close the wage gap? JS: Our laws are, by and large, ok and for me the issue is
with implementation. It is true that there are those areas we can improve on
especially in areas such as maternity leave. The statutory two weeks with pay
effectively means we have no benefit in that regard as two weeks is just too
little to spend with the newborn child. ELI: The ITUC has called for a new Social Contract for a gender equitable recovery and resilience “. In your view is Eswatini what should the new social contract entail? JS: The most important thing in everyone’s life is sound
social protection programs to take care of one when the time for retirement
comes. In the country most women are in the industries where there are no
such programs except for the meagre National Provident Fund which is never
sufficient for retirement purposes. The conversion of the SNPF to a pension fund may mitigate this gap, however there is a need to ensure that not only do we put in place laws that will issues like long hours of work, decent minimum wage etc but also have robust mechanisms to ensure compliance thereof. ELI: In your opinion how fare are we from a trade union movement and society in which gender equality is a key cornerstone? What needs to be done to get there? JS: We have not made meaningful progress because we still fail
to embrace women leaders. Even those that have moved from the periphery
positions to the mainstream position, there are not enough programs to
support them. Their mistakes are always amplified as if the male counterparts
never get to make mistakes. Let us learn to allow the women leaders to make
those mistakes as they can only learn from them. NATIONAL ORGANISING SECRETARY NATIONAL WORKERS UNION IN SWAZILAND HIGHER INSTITUTIONS
(NAWUSHI)
Eswatini Labour Insight (ELI): Can you briefly tell us about your journey in the trade union movement? How and where you started, up to where you are now? Nonhlanhla Nhlabatsi: When I
joined UNESWA in 2004 I was excited, hardworking and enthusiastic. I was happy to have joined an organisation
that had good terms and conditions of staff that adhered to the agreements
unlike the Government standing orders (where I previously worked) that were
drafted years ago and nobody bothers to amend even if they are no longer
relevant to day to day activities of the workers. Everything was smooth and going well until six
months later when I seconded to a senior office. It was a pay day when I decided to go for
my pay day as it was the norm in the institution that workers from Luyengo
are provided with transport to take
them to Manzini for 3 hours to attend to their needs. As one of the workers I took my time one afternoon but when I returned the next morning. A letter was written to me as to why I left early the previous day. I replied and gave my reason and asked why was I treated differently from the other staff members since even the incumbent of the office behaved the same way as I have done; she would arrange with the other secretary in the other administration office staff members to attend to the office while she is away. In that same morning the other lady had taken her time but she never received any letter, so I replied to the letter and then copied to the union. I never got any further correspondence from my
bosses until such time that my time of secondment was over and I returned to
my office. After that incident whenever
there was need for my service I was given the tasks in my office and not
rewarded for the job done. In 2008 there were elections where I was elected to
a shop steward position in my sector (Admin) and at branch level I was
elected the vice chairperson of the Luyengo branch. I was active in the branch so much so that
I would even be a representative of other workers when there were disputes
with supervisors. In November 2016 I was elected the National organizer
of NAWUSHI which now had a bigger scope of members as it migrated from
non-academic union to a general higher institutions union. In this position I have been exposed to
negotiations, I am a negotiator in 2 of our branches and we have been able to
sign recognition agreement and have put a salary structures in place. I have also been able to be elected into a
new committee in my work place; named ‘equal opportunities for all’- it
safeguards human rights and unfair treatment to individuals in the UNESWA
community. I have also been included in the Job Evaluation committee where I
understood that workers are not treated equally and fare by the employer. The
employer promotes by favour and not by merit.
To date I still hold the same post that I was recruited
to because I question what is unjust yet whenever there is something that
needs special expertise I am always the first one to be detailed. ELI: Have
you found it harder to upscale the ladder as a woman in the trade union
movement? What are some of the hardships you encountered as a woman leader
that perhaps your male comrades have not gone through? NN: The
journey has been hard both at home and in the workplace. At home as a woman
I was not supported to enrich myself with information by attending workshops
that our federation would send us to so that we acquire knowledge develop confidence
and self-discovery. Instead I was threatened and told that I will not be
successful in anything since I am anti-government. In the workplace the employer would send staff members for training and development but would never include me in any of her activities hence whenever I try to bring awareness to staff members of their rights they felt I wanted them to be failures like myself. As a result I did not have anybody to lead and develop and enjoy the fruits of my leadership. ELI: Can you tell us more about your leadership style as a trade union leader? NN: I am
democratic, innovative, dynamic and result oriented leader who likes to get
feedback from the members (open door policy), I also consult in matters where
I feel I need the input of others. As
I have mentioned in the previous question I feel motivated when the feedback
is positive and has yielded good fruits.
ELI: Do you think there is any law that needs amendment to better the lives of women in the workplace and also to close the wage gap? NN:
Rectification of C190 would do good in the country. ELI: The ITUC has called for a new Social Contract for a gender equitable recovery and resilience “. In your view is Eswatini what should the new social contract entail? NN: Most women
in my country are single mothers; they were mainly affected by the pandemic
especially the lockdown. Their
survival in providing and supporting their children are their daily business
enterprises to mention a few vendors hairdressers, waitresses, sheeben queens
whereas the male counterparts were not affected because the construction
sites, motor mechanics, bus conductors and drivers it was business as
usual. In means to mitigate the impact of the pandemic the government could give allowances to all children and single mothers that were affected by the lockdown. The small enterprise business women should be given refuelling capital that would help the women start their businesses again. The allowances should be distributed for 6 consecutive months so as to give the businesses time to stabilise again. ELI: In your opinion how fare are we from a trade union movement and
society in which gender equality is a key cornerstone? What needs to be done
to get there? NN: Gender
Equality as a cornerstone – it is still very hard for gender equality to prevail
be it in the trade unions or the society at large yet so much has been done
and said in the importance of gender equality. The problem is that the
generation of today originates from the patriarchal society. It is not easy to accept gender equality
and its importance. For gender equality to be easy and acceptable, women should be empowered economically and socially. It is easy to accept follow and respect a financially independent person. Although a small number of women are socially empowered: far less are financially empowered hence people ignore their importance. |
|
|
|
Comments
Post a Comment