ESF: Trade injustice and women

“Fighting against the rules of organisations like the WTO is very difficult. However there are alternatives and we must use them to protect the local economy and help it to function better”, Jean Lambert (member of the European Parliament in the Green Group, representing London) started the debate. “The strongest point that came out of the seminar was that we all need to work together on these issues”, adds Tracy Sortwell (Public Affairs Chairman of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI).

But can really solidarity trade work efficiently? An example from rural regions of Poland and CEE shows that many Western companies have built their plants there, using the people as underpaid labour force. “Solidarity work may involve putting pressure on the headquorters of these companies to observe the labour rights not only in their own countries, but also in the plants they built in the East”, proposed Malgorzata Tarasiewicz (Director of the Association for Women’s Cooperation NEWW, Poland).

She explains how Polish women quickly discovered the reality of the “free market”: unemployment grows, as well as gender gap in salaries (the average monthly wage in the country is 600 € while it is 100 € less for women). The conditions of work and life have become more and more difficult. “Women accept any job to survive.”

A wonderful opportunity for the “sex market” are Western European countries, which do not try to stop its expansion. The powerful Catholic Church supports this process, hoping it will conduct women back to their “traditional” rule: mothers and homeworkers. Meanwhile poverty, sexism and domestic violence are increasing. “We had to make up the deficit of communism", concludes Malgorzata Tarasiewicz. Now, we have to make the deficit of the market.”

Sandra Demarcq (Sud-Ptt trade union, France), reports that the situation is also getting worse for the women workers in West Europa countries. Unemployment facilitates the “little jobs”, sometimes transformed in longer contracts ignoring totally the labour rights. How would you refuse when you have no qualifications, no experience to fight, and when so many places close because of delocalisations?

Tracy Sortwell is very clear on this issue: “We know that women are going to suffer the most from any changes in working practice in the world and local situation, related to labour. Women should prove that they are not pregnant before starting a job, and these issues are so fundamental to basic human rights that there needs to be a global action on that.”

Yes, but… How to resist and support alternatives? Tracy Sortwell recommends to make pressure on the governments so that they integrate a gender perspective in trade. “Progress is done step by step”, says this fair trade supporter.

Sandra Demarcq insists on the emergency to build international solidarity, “to make up for lost time with the owners”. In particular with the women in Africa or anywhere else, for who e-commerce is a source of income they could not expect before, and from which they will soon discover the perversity.

And how do we give space and opportunities to the solidarity based economy? In UK, people want to keep the small farming enterprises and the organic markets because they are trading with local production. “There is a lot that can be done to build that solidarity, and the question is whether we can build it fast enough. I think that is possible”, affirmed Jean Lambert. “We need to improve the working conditions there and to stimulate moral solidarity, to have women’s voices heard.”

“Women also need confidence to start solidarity economy. It is a step by step process. Women need to be treated equally in West and East.”, concludes Tracy.

Here or there, rural areas are disaster victims. Instead of subsidizing the intensive agriculture, European Union should support small agricultural productions, as well as economic alternatives. For the women this would mean: to keep source of income, instead of accepting a starvation wage for a heavy unpleasant job. There is still a lot to do to ensure them a statute and a Social Security cover, the key of autonomy.

Speaking about visibility and awareness on this issue, there were not a lot of men on the seminar this afternoon – maybe 15-20 men out of 250 participants. But how can we raise the awareness among the people on the topic of trade injustice and women? On the existing problems and discrepancies between West and East?

“You can tell a man something and he will learn it. You can tell the woman something, and that’s the family who will learn it. The women will tell the men. We just need to keep the education going on and send messages across all the time.”, says Tracy Sortwell on this issue.

“The issue of solidarity goes across all the other social issues. You have to be iclusive in your actions, it is an inclusive movement that sould be”, concludes Jean Lambert. In addition, Malgorzata Tarasiewicz says: “We should also make sure we include women, because there wouldn’t be justice societies without the women taking part in them!”