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By Alison Omens
This is a cross-post from the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center website.
AFL-CIO Working America staff member Alison Omens reports from Cambodia, where she is part of a four-member U.S. labor delegation sponsored by the Solidarity Center. This is the second in a series of posts about her experiences during her 10-day visit. Be sure to check out part 1.
Attention, U.S. union women: If you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than the Cambodian labor movement—specifically, the Women’s Committee of the Cambodian labor movement.
The Cambodian labor movement is made up of 45 labor federations and associations. That may not sound like a large number, until you realize we’re talking about a total of fewer than 500,000 union members. Most unions are affiliated with one of seven union federations, and most unions and federations are also connected to a political party. The relationships are complex, with lots of competing interests.
It’s also a women’s movement. Women make up about 80 percent of Cambodian union members. And women leaders of the Cambodian labor movement are broaching the politics to unite the women. (Can you detect excitement in my writing? Go women!)
But despite their overwhelming presence as union members, women fill only a fraction of union leadership positions in Cambodia. In the garment industry, for example, where the vast majority of workers are women, only 25 percent of national leaders and 24 percent of local leaders are women. In tourism, construction and civil service, the percentages are even more skewed.
We sat down with about 20 women who are leading the way in supporting and cultivating women in the labor movement and in Cambodian society. The Women’s Committee was founded shortly after the last Solidarity Center delegation visited Cambodia around May Day 2005. The women and delegation members engaged in an in-depth conversation then about how women were struggling to attain leadership positions. They talked about forming an organization similar to the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). Five years later, we’re here to report how Cambodian union women (with assistance from the Solidarity Center) have created a structure of their own to fight for power. We were so excited by their successes we often broke out in spontaneous applause.
Going around the room, speaking to women leaders from all the different unions and federations, we heard largely the same goals. They spoke about mentorship and training opportunities. About the need to create more women leaders at national and local levels. And about the need to unify to fight for what we call “women’s issues.”
One woman noted: “Our goal is to make women stronger and create women leaders. We educate and develop skills so women can be leaders in their workplace, in the labor movement, and in Cambodia.”
The Women’s Committee is THE organization of women, for women in Cambodia. And they act like it. You can tell how proud they are of having reached this point in such a short time. The Women’s Committee is working hand in hand with the labor movement to fight for a higher minimum wage for garment workers and more union power, but they’re also taking on issues not typically associated with the union movement. They educate their members about domestic violence and HIV prevention. They provide resources to women who are targets for human trafficking. They talk to bosses when women are being sexually harassed.
They are negotiating unbelievable maternity leave provisions in their contracts, 1,000 times more progressive than policies in the United States. Thanks to the Women’s Committee, a woman union member can now take 100 days off after having a child. Many contracts provide a range of time off for women to recover from a miscarriage. Talk about inspiring!
The women were quick to note that the male union leaders are very supportive of the Women’s Committee. They understand that training is important and believe that all the issues the committee is working for are crucial for all Cambodians.
I asked the women whether any were planning to run for government office. It was obvious that the answer is yes. I hope to come back someday and meet these women in their National Assembly offices…yes, it’s that clear how the Women’s Committee will continue to have power for years to come.
The Cambodian labor movement is made up of 45 labor federations and associations. That may not sound like a large number, until you realize we’re talking about a total of fewer than 500,000 union members. Most unions are affiliated with one of seven union federations, and most unions and federations are also connected to a political party. The relationships are complex, with lots of competing interests.
It’s also a women’s movement. Women make up about 80 percent of Cambodian union members. And women leaders of the Cambodian labor movement are broaching the politics to unite the women. (Can you detect excitement in my writing? Go women!)
But despite their overwhelming presence as union members, women fill only a fraction of union leadership positions in Cambodia. In the garment industry, for example, where the vast majority of workers are women, only 25 percent of national leaders and 24 percent of local leaders are women. In tourism, construction and civil service, the percentages are even more skewed.
We sat down with about 20 women who are leading the way in supporting and cultivating women in the labor movement and in Cambodian society. The Women’s Committee was founded shortly after the last Solidarity Center delegation visited Cambodia around May Day 2005. The women and delegation members engaged in an in-depth conversation then about how women were struggling to attain leadership positions. They talked about forming an organization similar to the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). Five years later, we’re here to report how Cambodian union women (with assistance from the Solidarity Center) have created a structure of their own to fight for power. We were so excited by their successes we often broke out in spontaneous applause.
Going around the room, speaking to women leaders from all the different unions and federations, we heard largely the same goals. They spoke about mentorship and training opportunities. About the need to create more women leaders at national and local levels. And about the need to unify to fight for what we call “women’s issues.”
One woman noted: “Our goal is to make women stronger and create women leaders. We educate and develop skills so women can be leaders in their workplace, in the labor movement, and in Cambodia.”
The Women’s Committee is THE organization of women, for women in Cambodia. And they act like it. You can tell how proud they are of having reached this point in such a short time. The Women’s Committee is working hand in hand with the labor movement to fight for a higher minimum wage for garment workers and more union power, but they’re also taking on issues not typically associated with the union movement. They educate their members about domestic violence and HIV prevention. They provide resources to women who are targets for human trafficking. They talk to bosses when women are being sexually harassed.
They are negotiating unbelievable maternity leave provisions in their contracts, 1,000 times more progressive than policies in the United States. Thanks to the Women’s Committee, a woman union member can now take 100 days off after having a child. Many contracts provide a range of time off for women to recover from a miscarriage. Talk about inspiring!
The women were quick to note that the male union leaders are very supportive of the Women’s Committee. They understand that training is important and believe that all the issues the committee is working for are crucial for all Cambodians.
I asked the women whether any were planning to run for government office. It was obvious that the answer is yes. I hope to come back someday and meet these women in their National Assembly offices…yes, it’s that clear how the Women’s Committee will continue to have power for years to come.
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