{"id":8056,"date":"2021-01-08T04:12:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T04:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newmandala.org\/?p=54510"},"modified":"2021-01-08T04:12:02","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T04:12:02","slug":"the-triple-work-burden-of-indonesias-women-unionists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/08\/the-triple-work-burden-of-indonesias-women-unionists\/","title":{"rendered":"The triple work burden of Indonesia\u2019s women unionists"},"content":{"rendered":"
The COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating gender inequality in global supply chains. Because COVID-19 has hit low-paid manufacturing sectors where women work in large proportions, these consequences are not gender-neutral. The ILO reports<\/a>, for example, that 2 out of 5 workers in the Asia-Pacific garment industry have not returned to work after factory closures. Women in the garment sector represent a majority of workers in the industry and contribute to 5.2% of the region’s total women’s labour force.<\/p>\n Yet amid the pandemic, the invisible labour performed by many women in Asia has not merely doubled but tripled. Not only are many women workers primary caregivers at home, some are also active unionists facing an uphill battle to protect the rights of the region\u2019s most vulnerable workers.<\/p>\n The disrupted global supply chain, where demand from global buyers has dropped, sets suppliers up in a position of weak bargaining power. Demand for garment production has dropped by some 70%, with the availability of input supplies also down<\/a>. The cancellation of buyers\u2019 orders and lockdowns have necessitated temporary and indefinite factory closures. Actions taken by industrial companies have mostly transferred the risk to women workers. Approximately 60% of garment suppliers in Asian countries have dismissed some workers, while half have terminated more than 10% of their labour force.<\/p>\n For those still in work, many women workers in Asia from manufacturing sectors are suffering both reduced and delayed pay. According to Willis Towers Watson, 34% of 3,800 companies across 22 Asia-Pacific countries have adjusted their wages.<\/a> In Bangladesh, some 32 per cent of workers in 80 factories have experienced late payment<\/a>s<\/u>.<\/p>\n Unions are a crucial channel for workers to exercise their bargaining power through dialogue with companies and governments. Rights to organise and collective bargaining are ways for unions to propose, design and evaluate social protection schemes to improve the livelihoods of workers. Unions are also pillars of democracy that support political organising and the mobilisation of collective power.<\/p>\n But for women union leaders, the triple burden of work in the house, workplace and union is a delicate balancing act. With children expected to do online schooling from home during the pandemic, many working mothers are now carrying larger burdens outside of work hours, with gender expectations placing the lion\u2019s share of domestic work on their shoulders.<\/p>\n