UNI-Africa, a regional organisation advocating the welfare of service sector workers, has called on unions to prioritise gender equality policies in their Collective Agreements (CAs) to promote inclusive and fair workplaces.
Madam Patricia Nyman, UNI-Africa Women President, made the call at a workshop in Accra on: Gender Equality, Collective Bargaining and Parental Rights, organised by the Trades Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (UNI-SASK).
The workshop, which brought together three unions in Ghana – the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), and the TUC Security Union, forms part of the ongoing SASK Project.
The project, funded by Finnish Unions, began in 2022 and will run until 2025.
It aims to enhance the capacity of UNI-Africa affiliates and potential affiliates in Ghana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.
Madam Nyman stressed the importance of incorporating gender-responsive provisions into CAs, as that was crucial in the fight against workplace gender disparities.
She led participants through various topics, including the concept of gender and gender equality, the status of women in the workplace, the impact of sexual harassment, as well as strategies for addressing them.
Madam Nyman, also the National Gender Coordinator, emphasised how those issues collectively hindered women’s progress and called for deliberate policy interventions by unions to mitigate their impact.
“Women face numerous barriers in their careers, education, and personal development, many of which stem from societal expectations such as household chores and caregiving roles,” she said.
“These tasks, including cooking, washing, and caring for children, are not inherently female roles, but socially constructed responsibilities.”
She urged unions to advocate gender policies that supported women’s career advancement while recognising the dual roles they often played in society.
On sexual harassment, Madam Nyman described it as “an unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that undermines the dignity of victims, most of whom are women.”
She called for increased education and training on the issue, and the inclusion of clear anti-sexual harassment clauses in CAs to protect workers.
Ms Leocadie Bodjouo, UNI-Africa Regional Representative for Women, and a facilitator at the workshop, reiterated the need to dismantle gender-based obstacles in both professional and domestic settings.
“Achieving gender equality begins with shared responsibility. Both men and women are capable of performing household chores like washing, ironing, and cooking.These tasks should not be left to women alone,” she said.
Participants were encouraged to act as agents of change within their unions and workplaces, championing gender-inclusive policies and equitable practices.
By Agnes Ansah, GNA
