UITP and ETF renewed their Joint Recommendations on “Combating Violence and Insecurity on Urban Public Transport” and commit to their dissemination, awareness-raising through workshops and conferences, and monitoring their implementation at the level of national social partners across Europe. Feeling safe at your place of work or during your commute is a right, not a privilege!

The ETF Women’s Committee elected Sara Tripodi (FILT CGIL, Italy) as their new chairwoman. New women representatives in the ETF Executive Committee, a women’s representative in the ETF Management Committee and a new Committee member were also elected. Congratulations to all!

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ETF’s Acting General Secretary, Livia Spera, has joined other women trade union leaders in signing a letter to the European Commission President-designate Ursula von der Leyen, and Equality Commissioner-designate, Helena Dalli, on their proposals to increase EU action against violence against women.

The lack of accessible sanitation facilities and sufficient break times is an issue that heavily affects transport workers in all sectors. That’s why today of all days especially, the ETF calls for safe, decent and sufficient toilets and other sanitation facilities for all transport workers in Europe.

 As part of the Steering Committee of ETUC’s REBALANCE project, an ETF delegation attended the Conference: “Trade unions’ and social partners’ actions to improve reconciliation of work, family and private life for women and men” in Rome.

Digitalisation and automation are affecting a multitude of transport jobs in all sectors. However, jobs carried out by women are particularly at risk due to digitalisation and automation which threaten to deepen existing gender inequalities in the workplace even further. 

Women account for less than 20% of the railway workforce, a figure that is alarmingly below the 46% participation rate of women in the labour market. Railway companies and trade unions are convinced that the situation needs to change in order to avoid missing out on the valuable contribution of women, to promote diversity at the workplace, and eventually harmonise the railway sector’s image with the reality of the society in which rail customers live.

Now it’s time to ensure that governments in Europe ratify and implement the Convention. The ETF Women’s Committee urges all ETF trade unions to promote fair and violence-free workplaces for women transport workers.

Social partners ETF and CER have given a green light for the start of negotiations on an autonomous agreement about women in rail. Meeting at the Rail Social Dialogue Steering Committee, the two organisations also discussed working conditions for mobile workers engaged in cross-border rail services.