International working women’s day

IWD is a 100-year old holiday celebrated in different ways in our different countries. LabourStart news on yesterday’s international working women’s day.

http://www.labourstart.org/women/
Also bread and roses

http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/breadrose.html

BREAD AND ROSES
(Lyrics: James Oppenheim; Music: Martha Coleman or Caroline Kohlsaat) (1910s)

http://www.alia.org.au/~jcram/bread_and_roses.html

WE FIGHT FOR BREAD AND ROSES
Jennifer Cram address to Western Australian Local Government Library Association Perth, 5 November 1993

International Women’s Day 2009: pay gap may widen because of GFC, says new report Australian women risk losing pay, skills and access to decent work as a result of the Global Financial Crisis unless employers do more to protect jobs and we see the introduction of a Government-funded paid maternity leave scheme, say unions.

In a statement to mark 2009 International Women’s Day (on March 8), ACTU President Sharan Burrow said new international data showed women were being hit hard during the economic crisis.

The impact of the crisis could result in Australian women losing important pay equity gains and following in the footsteps of other countries, already in deep recession unless measures were put in place to improve pay equity, she said.

Women are over-represented in the most precarious employment, particularly low-paid and part-time work, and are vulnerable to losing their jobs in short-sighted business decisions, like that of Pacific Brands.

“There are a number of reasons why women still earn so much less than men, including overt and subtle discrimination against women,” said Ms Burrow, who is also president of the International Trade Union Confederation.

“There is a lack of transparency about how the private sector handle promotions to better-paid jobs. Entrenched discrimination and lack of maternity leave for women are all contributing factors.

“Women were hurt by the industrial relations policies of the Howard Government, and during the WorkChoices era the pay equity gap grew wider after many women were forced onto individual contracts that stripped their pay to the barest levels, in many cases underpaid them, and removed their rights and job security.

“The Federal Government’s pay equity inquiry is still underway and there is no time to lose on this. We urge the government to act sooner rather than later to set up a Pay Equity Commissioner in Fair Work Australia to monitor mandatory annual reporting of gender pay data by all employers, including small businesses.

Read further at http://www.actu.asn.au/

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