WORK
Turkish Women's Bureau
A Women's Bureau of the Trade Union Confederation of Turkey was formed seven years ago. It has held seminars and slide shows on health hazards at work, birth control and other subjects. Attendance is always high despite the lack of time women workers have. The bureau encourages women to participate more fully in the Trade Union movement and provides information on legislation, their rights as workers and issues affecting women workers. Courses are also organized in factories or, if the employer prohibits this, in the trade union centers. The
courses cover topics such as nutrition, childcare and contraception.
The bureau campaigned for some time to have creches provided at workplaces. They insisted that this must be seen as a men's as well as a women's issue. There are now creches in many factories. The government stipulates that a certain number of women must be working in a place before a creche must be provided.
Source:
Outwrite, issue no 59
Pregnancy Defined as an Illness
Employers in Turkey have been provided with the opportunity to end contracts of women employees on the grounds of pregnancy without prior notice. According to the newsletter of the Women's Group from Turkey, certain clauses of the new Employment Act put into force after the 1980 military coup permit employers to harass and sack employees at will.
Two women lawyers, working in the legal consultancy department of one of the biggest companies in Turkey fell victim to the new law recently. On becoming pregnant, they were told that they had to leave their jobs because productivity in the office was bound to fall as a result, and furthermore, the company thought that it would be difficult for them to continue to work anyway.
On investigation of the legal documentation on the matter, the lawyers found that the employers were quite within their rights since, according to the Turkish law books, pregnancy was classified as an illness.
Domestic and Garment Workers Struggle in Asia
At several places in Asia, women in the lowest categories of labor are conducting struggles to improve their positions.
Korea and Thailand
Since March 1987, over a thousand women workers in Flair Fashion Co., Ltd have been putting up a militant struggle for wage increases and the restructuring of their union.
This German-owned factory runs two 11-hour shifts, on which workers have to alternate. Many of the employees suffer diseases like tuberculosis, malfunction of the digestive system, arthritis and constipation. Their monthly wages are between US$ 74.00 and $123.00.
A similar struggle is taking place in Thailand, where 800 garment employees are deadlocked in a struggle with a Thai factory for basic wages.
Philippines
In Hong Kong, Filipino domestic workers recently staged a campaign to protest against the new regulations governing their stay in that country. The new regulations prohibit domestic workers from changing employers within the first two years of their employment contract, forcing them to return to the Philippines to submit new work contracts, and prohibiting them from staying in Hong Kong for more than two weeks after contract termination. These harsh regulations were passed without prior consultation with the Filipino associations in Hong Kong.
The 6000-strong United Filipinos in Hong Kong have been mobilizing the domestic workers to protest against these discriminative regulations. They launched a signature campaign and sent petition letters to concerned authorities to urge for review of the regulations in consultation with the Filipinos.
At present, there are around 30,000 Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, the majority of whom are Filipinas.