Summary of content No 3
summary of content

POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET

The third issue of the regional newsletter “Voice of the Worker” is dedicated to the position of women in the labour market. In addition to thematic texts, the newsletter also published news about the most important activities of the trade union headquarters of the countries of the region – members of the regional trade union network Solidarnost.

Thematic texts and news were written by professional members or the members of the information services of trade union headquarters, as well as trade union members hired for the needs of the newsletter. All the texts were edited by members of the Voice of the Workers Editorial Board.

General observations in thematic texts:

– Although there are more women than men in the countries of the region, the majority of employees are men

– Women dominate in lower paid occupations compared to men

– Women are more educated in the countries of the region than men, but there are many more men in management positions and, on average, they have higher salaries. The gender pay gap has even widened in some countries in recent years

– Women, on average, have significantly more hours of unpaid work (household work and childcare) than men

– Legislation solidly protects the rights of pregnant women and parents, and additional rights are provided through collective agreements

– Although the legislation explicitly prohibits discrimination against women in the workplace, it often occurs in practice and is sometimes deeply rooted due to the traditional understanding of the relationship between the sexes in society.

Similarities and differences in the regulations regulating the special rights of women and parents on the labour market in the countries of the region:

An employed woman in Montenegro has the right to maternity leave of 98 days and after giving birth to parental leave of up to one year. Men also have this right, and the employer is obliged to return them to the same work position or a different one at the end of the leave, but with the same or higher salary.

In Serbia, an employed woman also has the right to maternity leave, and then both women and men also have the right to leave to take care of the child, up to one year. During that period, they have the right to compensation, in the amount of the average salary over the previous 12 months. During pregnancy, maternity leave and childcare leave, the employer cannot fire employees who exercise these rights.

In Slovenia, the leave is divided into maternity, parental and paternity leave and lasts a total of 320 days. The fee for all three types is 100% of the base on which contributions have been paid in the past 12 months. One of the parents is also entitled to compensation for the care of a member of the immediate family (child or partner) for up to 20 days. Collective agreements also provide an additional day of paid parental leave for fathers after the birth of a child, additional days of paid leave for everyone (for various personal and family reasons) and 100% of sick pay for sexual harassment and abuse at work.

Employed mothers in Croatia use maternity leave until the child is 6 months old, after which parental leave begins, which can be used until the child is 8 years old. It lasts 8 months if both parents use it, or 6 if only one uses it, and during it one can work half the working time. Croatia also has paternity leave of 10 days for one child, or 15 for twins, and it is used no later than 6 months after the birth of the child. Pregnant women are protected from dismissal and have the right to return to the same jobs.

In Republika Srpska (RS), women have the right to maternity leave of 12 months for the first and second child, or 18 months for twins, the third and each subsequent child. Fathers also have the right to parental leave. Pregnant women and mothers of children up to three years old are prohibited from overtime work, and night work is prohibited for women starting from the sixth month of pregnancy and mothers with a child up to two years old. Postpartum mothers receive compensation of 100% of the average gross salary in the last 12 months, with the compensation being adjusted monthly to the growth of average salaries in the RS. Additionally, unemployed women in the RS, after giving birth, have a maternity allowance of 450 convertible marks (KM) for 12 months, and for twins and every third and subsequent child – for 18 months. Unemployed parents of four or more children receive a monthly allowance of 750 KM until the youngest child turns 18.

During pregnancy, delivery, and childcare, employed women in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) have the right to leave for up to one year. After returning to work, if there is a need, women can work half the working time. A woman who is breastfeeding a child and works full-time – has the right to be absent from work twice a day for an hour, until the child’s first year of life is completed.

Also in North Macedonia, working women represent a special structure of the active workforce, so they are protected according to modern international regulations. They are a special category of workers on whose safety and protection at work depend on well-being and progress, as well as increased birth rate, as a support in the creation and development of social policy.

Rights violations, discrimination and unpaid work of women in the countries of the region:

In Montenegro, the legal regulations, although widely set, clearly do not provide sufficient protection and legal security to employed women and pregnant women, especially those who have temporary jobs. Thus, women are often forced to avoid maternity to keep their jobs, because after reporting pregnancy, it often happens that their employers do not want to renew their contracts. Besides, large abuses were observed during the payment of wages during maternity leave.

The coronavirus pandemic contributed to the double worsening of the position of working women in Serbia. The majority of workers in the sectors which were mostly active during the pandemic, such as healthcare, education, trade, food production and pharmacy were women, At the same time, women took over most of the care of the elderly in their families and were more involved with children. Statistics show that during the pandemic, women spent four and a half hours a day in unpaid work, three times less than men.

In Slovenia, the union constantly raises the awareness of its members about the prohibition of discrimination and supports victims in reporting such acts and in court proceedings. The number of lawsuits for sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace is on the rise and most are brought by women, but the courts usually award low damages.

Croatian trade unions believe that the problem of inadequate protection is most visible among women who worked fixed-time during pregnancy or leave. That is why they are advocating for the introduction of measures that would encourage employers to offer pregnant women permanent contracts. Gender inequality is also visible in the domain of unpaid work. According to research by the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, the average woman has 15 hours of unpaid household work every week, compared to 4.5 hours that a man does, and the market value of such work could be up to 600 euros per month.

Despite numerous benefits that women have in the regulations of Republika Srpska, a large number of them are engaged for a fixed time or on the basis of a contract outside of employment. In addition, pregnant workers are dismissed without any warning, as soon as the employer finds out that they are expecting a baby. Besides, it often happens that employers invite female workers to return to work before the end of maternity leave, in order to get free workforce.

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H), many women had to leave school and professional training due to household work and caring for children and the elderly. Furthermore, although the law prohibits different treatment due to pregnancy, childbirth or the right to maternity leave, there are still many employers (especially in the private sector) who ask job candidates about their plans regarding marriage, starting a family and potential pregnancy, and use it as the reasons for not offering a job to them.

Also, in North Macedonia, women are more exposed to violations of labour rights on the labour market. As many as 80 percent of women are employed in the textile, leather and clothing industry, where rights violations are a common practice and wages are extremely low. Although in practice gender discrimination evidently exists, there is still a fear of reporting it.

News on trade union activities in the region:

The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro announced the news about the strike at Crnogorski Telekom, which demanded respect for the collective agreement and the extension of the rights and benefits prescribed by it.

The Confederation of Trade Unions of Montenegro informed about their activities aimed at improving the social and economic position of women, as well as ensuring the participation of at least 30% of women in trade union bodies.

The Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia reported on its jubilee – 120 years of existence and recalled the history of the largest trade union headquarters in Serbia.

The Confederation of Trade Unions “Nezavisnost” informed about the implementation of the “Civil Society for Energy Transition” project, in which they are participating, whose goal is to bring the strategic document “Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan of Serbia” closer to the public and present its importance for local community.

The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia announced the news about the increase in the minimum wage in Slovenia, which occurred due to the dissatisfaction of employees in the public sector.

The Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia reported on the successful strike of Zagreb’s “Čistoća” workers, after which their wages were increased and their rights from the collective agreement were improved.

The news of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska (RS) is about the decision of the Constitutional Court of the RS, which rejected the request of the Union of Employers to cancel the article of the Labour Law, which regulates that the minimum wage is increased based on length of service.

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) has informed about a series of protests and warning strikes in the Federation in order to repeat one-time payment aid to workers in the public and private sectors.

The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Macedonia published news about the large gender gap in employment, wages and pensions in that country.

The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia informed about its lawsuit against the government of North Macedonia due to discrimination against employees because approximately 138,000 workers in the public sector were treated differently in the calculation and payment of wages.

Author of the summary: Radomir Kračković – journalist and editor-in-chief of TV Vijesti (Editorial board of The voice of the Workers – VoW)