Pan-European mapping study on trade union practices in fighting discrimination and promoting diversity
What is your trade union doing about discrimination?
It is more than eight years since the Racial Equality and Employment Equality Directives were passed. The aim of these EU key instruments was to prevent and combat discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation as stated in Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
As Europe’s largest voluntary civil society organisations, many trade unions have strong policy commitments to combating discrimination and prejudice in all their forms. However, only 8 per cent of respondents to the Eurobarometer survey of 2007 identified the trade unions as playing a significant role in challenging discrimination at work. Little is known about the work of the trade unions in this field, while 36 per cent of respondents consider that trade unions are key players in dealing with injustice at work as a whole.
For this reason
DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has commissioned the Working Lives Research Institute, based at London Metropolitan University to map Europe’s most significant and innovative trade union policies or practices in fighting discrimination promoting equality and diversity. The study is supported by the
ETUC.
The study will:
- Map trade union anti-discrimination initiatives;
- Classify them, assessing their outcome and impact and identifying potential gaps;
- Suggest further actions that trade unions and the European Commission could take to promote trade union "good" practices in combating discrimination and in promoting equality and diversity; and
- Organise a seminar to validate the project findings and its recommendations in Spain in March 2010.
To this end, the Working Lives Research Institute (the project co-ordinator) is cooperating with national experts in discrimination and/or trade unions in the 34 countries listed below. These experts will conduct interviews and will prepare reports on the national situation in their country in relation to trade union policies and practices in combating discrimination and in promoting equality and diversity. A team of thematic experts - one for each of the five areas of discrimination which the project will examine - will work with the co-ordinator and will provide subject specific advice in the preparation of the research instruments and in the production of the project reports.
The research will identify and select 125 initiatives taken at European and national level by trade unionists since 2003 to combat discrimination and to promote diversity in the working environment. There will be a special focus on trade unions engaged in the public sector or in the delivery of public services, including healthcare, education and media professional unions. The emphasis will not only be on the external workplaces, in which unions operate but also on how the unions work. The mapping will include those positive measures trade unions have introduced within their own structures and activities to promote diversity among their membership and their paid or elected officers.
We would very much like to know what your trade union has done or is doing to challenge discrimination?
Should you wish to contribute and make any initiative you are aware of more visible at EU level, please contact:
Dr Sonia McKay,
s.mckay@londonmet.ac.uk
Max Watson,
m.watson@londonmet.ac.uk
List of 34 countries covered by the study:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia,
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lichtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Turkey
- UK
