Celebrating 20 Years of Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee & looking forward Railway social partners and the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) gathered with ETF for the annual plenary meeting of the Rail Sectoral Social Dialogue. Social partners negotiated their joint work programme for the next two years and agreed to focus on women’s employment and equal opportunities in the railway sector, ensuring railway safety in an open and competitive market, working and resting time rules, and employability in the light of digitalisation and automation. News 6 Nov 2019
Celebrating European social dialogue in the railway sector (November 2019) Since its conception in 1972, the railway social dialogue has become one of the longest-standing social dialogues in Europe. As part of the reform and the strengthening of the European sectoral social dialogue, CER and ETF reconfirmed this dialogue between employers and workers of the railway sector at European level in 1999, by jointly establishing the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Railways (SSDC Railways). CER and ETF take the 20th anniversary of the SSDC Railways as an occasion to look back and celebrate the joint work of rail employers’ and workers’ representatives in Europe. resource
Rail social partners start negotiations on agreement to promote women’s employment 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. News 16 Oct 2019
CER and ETF start negotiations of an autonomous agreement on Women in Rail. Joint press release (October 2019) On 16 October 2019, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), representing railway sector employers, and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), representing employees, started negotiations on an EU level agreement aimed at promoting the employment of women in the sector. Find below the joint press release. resource
It’s all on track for women in rail! 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. News 5 Jul 2019
Rail Mobile Workers – Joint Conclusions (July 2019) On 4th July 2019, the President of the Rail Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (SSDC) Giorgio Tuti (ETF) and the Vice-President Matthias Rohrmann (CER) together with Sabine Trier, Deputy General Secretary of ETF and Libor Lochman, Executive Director of CER, signed the joint conclusions of the “Rail Mobile Workers” project. This project focused on the implementation and application of the ETF-CER agreement on working conditions of mobile workers engaged in interoperable cross-border rail services (Council Directive 2005/47/EC). In order to follow-up on these project findings, CER and ETF have decided to give further attention to the topic of monitoring and enforcement in the next work programme 2020-2021 of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Railways. resource
Joint Recommendations for better representation and integration of women in the railway sector. Mid-term review (October 2009) Joint Recommendations for better representation and integration of women in the railway sector. Status and how to apply the CER-ETF Joint Recommendations. Mid-term review done in October 2009. resource
Good practice and implementation guide: DOs and DON’T DOs (2012) The Good Practices and Implementation Guide explains the main problems and current developments for women’s employment in the rail sector in the areas of recruiting, reconciliation of work and private life, career and equal pay and overall equality policy,. It suggests actions that should and should not be done to improve women’s employment and it describes ten case studies from six countries in the different areas. This guide will be available in English, French and German. resource
Women in Rail study (2005) The study published by ETF and CER in 2005 is available in English, French, German, Hungarian, and Italian. It is the outcome of a one-year project coordinated by the European social partners within the frame of the European sectoral social dialogue and benefited by the financial support of the European Commission. The aims were to provide an overview of the sector from the perspective of women employees and to facilitate exchange of good practice in the area of equal opportunity and integration of women in the railway sector. Trade unions and employers’ from 11 EU Member States participated in the project and in the survey. resource