- Македонски
- English
Thanks to the successful cooperation of the Construction, Industry and Design Union of the Republic of Macedonia (SGIP) and the International Construction and Forestry Union BWI (Building and Wood Worker`s International), the Women's Section of the CSM, at the invitation of BWI (Building and Wood Worker`s International), had the opportunity to join their activities to hold online workshops under the title - "ILO C.No.190 and P.No.206 - Trade Unions in Action: Necessary Steps for Change" intended for the active participation of women trade union leaders and trade union representatives coming from countries that have successfully ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, No.190.
The workshop began with a short presentation dedicated to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, No. 190, prepared by the representative of the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), and continued with a successful discussion and active participation of all participants, which achieved its main goal, which is to discuss the provisions of the Convention and to make comparative analyses, which will result in future activities and measures that will strengthen its implementation and develop practical ideas for successful application.
The participants who are part of the Women's Section of the SSM shared their views on the progress and challenges that Macedonian citizens, workers and unions face in implementing the Convention in our country, noting that although almost two years have passed since it became legally binding, its practical implementation remains very limited.
It was particularly emphasized that although women workers often informally turn to trade unions for advice, formal complaints and the initiation of official procedures remain rare. As for the activities of the SSM dedicated to a more successful implementation of this Convention, the representatives of the SSM noted that the Confederation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) has been making its expertise available to its members, but also to all workers, for this entire period through its trade union organizations in all branch unions in both the public and private sectors, through free legal aid and through the possibility of submitting reports to the SSM, which can also be anonymous, through our digital application “SSM-My Labor ’Rights”, and which reports will later be appropriately not only forwarded to the DIT but their resolution will be properly monitored by our legal sector, and all this as a way to prove to the workers that when initiating these procedures they will not be left to their own devices, but that their trade union representatives will stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
The President of the Women's Section of the SSM, who is also the President of the European Women's Committee of the BWI, Ivana Dimitrova, emphasized that unfortunately in sectors dominated by men, such as the construction sector, discrimination, violence and harassment against women remain almost invisible and unreported.
She also emphasized that most often the information that is received and shared in the public comes from sectors dominated by women, such as education and services, while sectors such as construction are neglected and often perceived as sectors without women, hence the lack of real information that would come from these sectors. Thus, it is emphasized that the most often imposed need to deal with violence and a discriminatory environment in the workplace deters women from sectors dominated by male workers. "Successfully dealing with these issues in a concrete, practical and comprehensive way will determine whether more women will enter or remain in these sectors," concluded Dimitrova.
Just to mention, at the initiative of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM), first in 2013 the Law on Protection from Harassment at Work was adopted, and in 2023 again at the initiative of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM), the Economic and Social Council first unanimously supported the ratification of the ILO Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Field of Work (K - 190), and officially our country ratified this ILO Convention with the promulgation of the Law on Ratification on June 14, 2023 and of course it has enormous significance in ensuring greater protection of workers, which proves that the protection of workers and the elimination of violence and harassment in the field of work is always an important part of the CSM's work program, which will continue in the future.
Finally, it was emphasized that in the past period, the Ministry of Economy and Labor, in partnership with the International Labor Organization, has already begun the process of preparing a new law on
preventing violence and harassment in the workplace with the aim of developing a functional legal solution, which will be a true alignment with the ratified Convention of the International Labor Organization on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, No. 190.
The Confederation of Trade Unions of Macedonia as the largest and most representative trade union is part of this tripartite working group and in the coming period will aim, in cooperation with its branch unions from all sectors and through its member in the working group, to provide proposals for provisions and solutions that will significantly improve the implementation of legal provisions, and in particular will encourage all workers not to remain silent on this topic, to report, to be loud and together with their union and their union representatives to fight for safe workplaces.
As a result of the successful workshop, the continuation of cooperation on this, but also on all other significant trade union topics between the Women's Section of the SSM and the International Union for Construction and Forestry BWI (Building and Wood Worker's International) was emphasized in the coming period, because any joint successful trade union action will also mean achieving real changes at the national level.
