Solidarität mit den streikenden Frauen in Glasgow

In Glasgow streiken 8000 Frauen, die für die Stadtverwaltung als Heimhilfen, Kantinenmitarbeiterinnen und Reinigungskräfte arbeiten, für zwei Tage.

Seit 2006 gibt es in Großbritannien ein gesetzliche Regelung, die Ungleichheit in der Bezahlung bekämpfen soll. Die Situation der Frauen in Glasgow hat sie nicht verbessert, Verhandlungen mit der Stadt sind ins Stocken geraten.

Die GPA-djp erklärt sich solidarisch mit den streikenden Frauen. Der Bundesausschuss des Wirtschaftsbereiches 17 in der GPA-djp, der die Angestellten in der Sozialwirtschaft vertritt, hat eine Solidaritätsresolution beschlossen:

Full solidarity with the striking women of the City of Glasgow!

‘Waiting for a living wage’ was a slogan of a poster of the Suffragette movement some 105 years ago. Though votes for women and many other basic rights were gained during the past decades, women still face inequality in society and especially on the work place.

8000 women, employed by the Glasgow City Council, prepare to strike. They work in a range of low-paid jobs in school administration, learning support, nurseries, home care, cleaning and catering. They don’t receive equal pay, even though the labour unions UNISON and GMB support their claim and tried to reach an agreement through negotiations.

This women’s uprising is not only legitimate, but profoundly necessary. It is a shame that we still need to tackle the question: Why is a woman’s labour worth less than a man’s? We need to raise this question all around the world.

We, the private Social Sector Employees organized in GPA-djp Austria, express our solidarity with your struggle! Through collective bargaining we fight for better wages for everyone and especially for women. The Gender Pay Gap in Austria is still 19,9%. We still struggle with the fact that in occupations, where more women than men are employed, the wages are lower than in other sectors. We campaigned this issue at ‘Equal Pay Day’ just a few days ago.

We condemn that the Glasgow City Council refuses to grant equal rights and equal pay. Particularly the public sector should be a role model for private companies. Public institutions have to recognise women’s claims and  grant equal pay otherwise policies for Equal Pay are not credible.

Dear sisters! We stand with you and fully support your fight for equal pay. We must never forget that women are faced with immense difficulties in every single country. We need to stand up for ourselves and we must stand united! We want Deeds, not Words!

Solidarity!