Initiative

Various initiatives on gender equality

Summary of the initiative

Comisiones Obreras (or CCOO) is a trade union confederation in Spain. It defends the professional, economic, political and social interests of both male and female workers in all spheres of labour. CCOO has a membership of over 950,000 workers of which almost 40% are women.

CCOO endeavours to promote greater gender equality between women and men tackles four main areas: lobbying at political level, collective bargaining (the unions as taken part and signed various national, regional and company agreements setting up equality plans (in line with law 3/2007), awareness-raising and training activities.

With respect to collective bargaining, the confederation indicates as good practice a recently signed action plan within the Newrest company. The plan is valid until 2015 and contains general and specific aims for different areas of intervention. Each one of these aims is reached by the application of different measures in the company. Each measure has a term of entrance in operation, responsible of execution and qualitative and quantitative indicators that make it possible to analyse the success of each measure and of the aim that should be reached. This plan incorporates a protocol of performance in front of situations of sexual bullying and/or by reason of sex; this protocol includes the participation of the representatives of the workers along the process.

Training trade union negotiators is a main objective of CCOO’s work. Since 2010 the CCOO Department “Secretaría Confederal de la Mujer e Igualdad” (“Confederal secretariat women and equality”) regularly organises a 60-hour training on collective bargaining and equality plans legislation. Trainings target both male and female negotiators as well as experts that take art in the negotiating rounds. The department is also in charge of the Master on gender equality, which is held annually, since 2008, together with the Institute of Public Law of University Rey Juan Carlos of Madrid. In 2013, the two have started a new Master on leadership and business management.

Awareness raising activities promoted by the union include exchanges and mutual learning exercises. For example, open days are organised to CCOO members where work-related issues on gender equality are tackled: "Empowerment, trade unions’ and work-related strategies" (2013), “Gender mainstreaming in trade unions’ objectives” (2012), “Gender discrimination in the EU and Spanish social protection system (2011), “A new economic and social model: Retos and opportunities for gender equality” (2010).

Various publications complement and support CCOO political work on gender equality. Since 1977 the confederation publishes the monthly magazine “Trabajadora” (Female worker) with information and analysis on the situation and participation of women in the labour market, in the trade unions and in the society. The magazine has been awarded by various press awards for its commitment against discrimination.

Besides, the confederation publishes research papers and studies. The most recent ones looked at the impact of the crisis on women and men on working conditions (“Crisis, políticas públicas, y desigualdad entre hombres y mujeres” – “Crisis, public policies and discrimination between women and men”) as well on the gender pay gap (“Crisis y discriminación salarial de género” – “Crisis and gender pay discrimination”).

Finally the confederation puts in place campaigns to promote trade unions candidates during trade unions’ elections “Se protagonista de tus propias reivindicaciones” (“take the lead of your own demands”). Activities of this kind aims at promoting women in decision making and political positions within the trade union movement. The confederation is currently developing a EU project on this issue “Empoderamiento, acción positiva y transversalidad de género en las organizaciones sindicales” (“Empowerment, positive actions and gender mainstreaming in trade unions) in partnership with other national confederations (CGIL Italy and CWU- UK). The project has started in 2014 and it is co-financed by the European Commission.