03) LABOUR’S ROLE IN STOPPING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

By Helen Kennedy

            The issue of violence against women has been amplified recently by the Ghomeshi trial. There is a renewed call for reforms to the judicial system which re-victimizes women who testify against their abusers. We also need to focus on shifting our societal norms and expectations about violence against women and building on the role labour unions and the broader labour movement can play in educating and preventing violence against women.

            Just before December 6, 2014, the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, Zahra Abdille and her two children Faris and Zain were murdered by her abusive partner. Zahra Abdille was a public health nurse and member of CUPE Local 79, the inside workers in the City of Toronto. The tragedy hit many of the women in the local and the Labour Council particularly hard. Did the sister know that the union would have helped her? What role could the union have played in helping this sister? What role should the union play in letting members know about domestic violence? As it turns out, Abdille was in contact with the union; she was being disciplined for missing too many days at work and had been placed into the ‘attendance management’ program.

            The Women’s Committee at the Toronto and York Region Labour Council developed a checklist in response to the Ghomeshi allegations and the murder of Sister Abdille. The Committee believes that if union locals begin to take these steps within their organizations, it will build the labour movement as a powerful organization that speaks out and takes action to stop violence against women.

            Some of the highlights of the Labour Council checklist:

* Ensure every local union has a Women’s Committee and that this committee is developed as a safe place for sisters to go to discuss any issues related to violence against women;

* Develop and/or implement a program like Unifor’s Women’s Advocate Program that educates local members about issues like domestic violence and workplace harassment, and develops referral contacts to whom to refer sisters facing difficulties;

* Develop an ongoing and meaningful relationship with a local women’s shelter. This could include donating money, fundraising, and/or developing programs for women from the local to implement at the shelter;

* Have our brothers take the pledge to end violence against women, join and publicize the White Ribbon Campaign and become advocates that speak out about violence against women;

* Encourage active reporting about harassment in the workplace; institute a zero tolerance policy - don’t turn a blind eye – eliminating workplace harassment is everybody’s responsibility;

* Encourage our affiliates to develop and implement feminist education courses for the sisters and brothers in our unions.

            In addition, the labour movement must ensure that its leadership reflects its membership. If a sister doesn’t see herself reflected in the makeup of the steward body or leadership in the local, they are less likely to feel comfortable enough to come forward to seek assistance. The same is true for national or international union affiliates. At one time, CUPE, for example, was seen as a feminist union and champion for women’s issues. With 12 years of brothers in the two key leadership positions at the National level, this is no longer the case.

            The Toronto and York Region Labour Council has successfully organized community specific networks over the past few years – including the Chinese, Filipino and Tamil Workers Networks. It will be important for these organizations to also provide leadership on issues of domestic violence and its impact in the workplace.

            Over the past several years, the Canadian Labour Congress has undertaken research on the impact of domestic violence in the workplace. According to a recent cross-Canada survey conducted by the CLC and researchers at the University of Western Ontario, one in three workers has experienced domestic violence, and this violence follows them to work. Over 80 percent of victims reported that their performance was negatively impacted, and more than half said the abuse occurred at or near their workplace. The research is summarized in the report “Can Work be Safe When Home Isn’t?”

            Most recently, the CLC has developed a Domestic Violence at Work Resource Centre (at www.canadianlabour.ca). The online resources include warning signs, model collective agreement language (including setting up a Women’s Advocate Program), how to talk to a member who is a victim of domestic violence and a member who might be a perpetrator.

            Labour unions can do much more in addressing the issue of violence against women in the workplace, in society and in the union itself. We must begin by building more representative unions, taking our responsibilities to prevent domestic violence seriously, and providing concrete collective agreement language to assist women in the workplace. The tragic death of our Sister Zahra, trying to fight off her narrow-minded employer’s attempts to fire her for attendance issues as she dealt with an abusive partner, reminds us that change cannot come soon enough.

(The above article is from the March 1-15, 2016, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)