On Friday 12 and Saturday 13 July 200 union women from 18different unions are coming together in Wellington for the Council of TradeUnions biennial conference ‘WāhineToa: Organising for change’.
RachelMackintosh, CTU Vice President is excited about what the two days have instore, “Union women are a force for change. At this conference we have workingwomen from across Aotearoa. Cleaners, teachers, doctors, locomotive drivers,diary workers, nurses, seafarers, senior public servants, retail workers,mental health workers, wood processing, actors, midwives, are just some of theoccupations represented in the room.”
“We haveachieved so much together as working women in the last two years; thepassing of law to provide for paid domestic violence leave, increasing of paidparental leave to 26 weeks (from July 2020), there have been significant equalpay claims and cases, and internationally the passing of an internationalconvention on the elimination of gender based violence at work.”
Tonight theCTU Women Council Awards acknowledge the work, commitment and leadership ofeither individuals or a group on issues that are critical to advancing betterworking conditions for working women.
Theawardees in 2019 are:
Unionwomen activists and leaders:
- PaulaScholes – PSA
- StellaTe Ariki – PSA and Komiti Pasefika
- CarolineMareko NZEI and
- CarolBeaumont – E tū
- NZEIsupport worker leaders who led the first successful pay equity claim ineducation:
Kathy Power
Denise Tetzlaff
Mary Jones
Jacoline Brink
