Workers on Vancouver's docks will put equality on the agenda
Vancouver Sun
Oct 21 2009 
By: Tom Dufresne, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada.

Today, there are 344 women who work on the waterfront in longshoring jobs on the Pacific coast, or almost eight per cent of the total workforce.

This is truly surprising given troubling reports of barriers and harassment faced by women on the waterfront that were uncovered by a recent union-sponsored investigation.

It is all the more surprising considering that there are few if any workplace policies or benefits to help balance domestic and workplace demands that many female workers in other sectors take for granted….

Women working in longshore jobs who bring children into the world do not enjoy any workplace maternity leave benefits beyond those that are provided through the Employment Insurance program. Most women who work on the waterfront can't afford to take time off even in the weeks immediately after giving birth.

There are no workplace provisions to allow parental leave for longshore workers who become parents through adoption. There are no workplace benefits for child care, care for adult dependents with special needs, or care for elderly parents. All of these duties frequently fall on women to perform, yet the women and men who work on the waterfront must face these responsibilities without the support of any workplace programs or benefits.

…. Bargaining is set to get under way Dec. 1 and negotiations will tackle the equality of women in our workplaces.

The ILWU Canada will be bringing forward a number of proposals to address the issue of women's equality in our workplaces because Pacific Coast ports must change to offer workers a better balance between domestic and workplace demands. These ground-breaking proposals cover maternity leave, paternity and adoption leave, child care, elder care and dependent care. Improvements of this nature will deliver benefits to all longshore workers and will pave the way to attracting and retaining more women….