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TUC-NGWF programme trains B'desh women in labour rights
14 Jul '15
2 min read
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) Aid programme with National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) in Bangladesh has trained over 500 women workers in the last 6 months in organising skills and their rights at work in order to develop them as future union leaders, it said on its website.
The Trades Union Congress is the umbrella group for trades unions in the UK.
Women make up the majority (85 per cent) of workers in the garment industry in Bangladesh. They frequently face harassment by male supervisors, particularly those who are in a trade union. There is a lack of women in leadership positions in Bangladesh trade unions which makes it more difficult for women to bargain for their rights at work.
67 per cent of NGWF members (34,037) are female while 17 out of 30 members of the central executive are female including the vice-president, secretary and treasurer.
NGWF have now completed a series of training sessions which created awareness amongst new trade union members of the role of unions in defending their employment rights, how they can play an active role in the union as organisers and develop confidence amongst female trade union members to play a more active role in their union, the TUC report said.
Twelve one-day training sessions were run for new female members of NGWF trade unions, training a total of 354 women. This training focussed on Bangladesh labour law and trade union rights.
Six in depth, three-day training sessions on collective bargaining and taking on leadership roles in a union were also run for female union organisers from NGWF unions. A total of 163 female organisers attended these trainings.
Participants reported that they found the training particularly useful for giving them skills to mentor other workers, confidence to take on roles of responsibility in unions and tackling discrimination at work.
An evaluation will now be conducted to assess the success of the programme to achieve its aims and consider where future union support could be useful to develop women leaders in garment unions, TUC said. (SH)
The Trades Union Congress is the umbrella group for trades unions in the UK.
Women make up the majority (85 per cent) of workers in the garment industry in Bangladesh. They frequently face harassment by male supervisors, particularly those who are in a trade union. There is a lack of women in leadership positions in Bangladesh trade unions which makes it more difficult for women to bargain for their rights at work.
67 per cent of NGWF members (34,037) are female while 17 out of 30 members of the central executive are female including the vice-president, secretary and treasurer.
NGWF have now completed a series of training sessions which created awareness amongst new trade union members of the role of unions in defending their employment rights, how they can play an active role in the union as organisers and develop confidence amongst female trade union members to play a more active role in their union, the TUC report said.
Twelve one-day training sessions were run for new female members of NGWF trade unions, training a total of 354 women. This training focussed on Bangladesh labour law and trade union rights.
Six in depth, three-day training sessions on collective bargaining and taking on leadership roles in a union were also run for female union organisers from NGWF unions. A total of 163 female organisers attended these trainings.
Participants reported that they found the training particularly useful for giving them skills to mentor other workers, confidence to take on roles of responsibility in unions and tackling discrimination at work.
An evaluation will now be conducted to assess the success of the programme to achieve its aims and consider where future union support could be useful to develop women leaders in garment unions, TUC said. (SH)
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