Press Conference by Fernanda Mateus, member of the Political Committee of the Central Committee of PCP, in Lisbon
March 7, 2012
The commemoration of March 8 takes place in a context of a very violent offensive against women’s rights and their struggle for emancipation. Every measure imposed by the Pact of Aggression deepens the gulf between the aspirations of a vast majority of women to assert their role, their knowhow and capacities – at the professional, social and cultural level – and a brutal worsening of their living and working conditions, together with their increasing impoverishment, namely among women coming from the popular and working classes.
The national troika (PS, PSD and CDS-PP) and the international troika (ECB, EU IMF), with the excuse of the “crisis” and “Portugal’s commitments to the creditors” are penalizing the people and the country for a crisis (of the capitalist system) for which they are not responsible. Hence, the Portuguese women have reasons in common with most of the Portuguese to reject the Pact of Aggression, and they have, also, strong reasons connected with their situation and specific rights: there is a fast ongoing march to “institutionalize” old and recurring ways of women’s discrimination and inequality (due to reasons of class and gender) at work, in the family, in the social and political life. This represents a qualitative leap in the right-wing policy executed during the last decades by successive governments, a policy that embodies a process of liquidation of values, rights and achievements gained by the Portuguese women following the April Revolution and set down in the Constitution of the Republic.
On this March 8 and given its seriousness, the PCP points out the following aspects that can only be stopped by the struggle, particularly by the struggle of women:
1. –The withdrawal of thousands of women from the labour market who, trapped by forced unemployment, are denied their right to work – a fundamental condition to achieve equal rights – their economic independence and professional fulfilment. A withdrawal which means a female unemployment rate that in a broad sense hits 21.8% of women: around 57.7% of those inactive available to work are women, of which 37.7% are the young.
2. –The worsening of inequality and discrimination among women in the labour market despite their increase in this share – 47.1% of the active population and 47% of the total employment in Portugal – and which can be identified in the following aspects:
In the expansion of a “new generation of working women” without rights who are trapped in the mazes of labour precariousness, in its many forms: around 24.5% of women workers have insecure jobs (compared to an average rate of 22.8%), a situation that gets worse for the younger ones when 60.9% of the youth from 15 to 24 years of age and 34% from 25 to 34 years do not have a stable job.
In the increase of low wages and wage discrimination regarding women. Between October 2007 and October 2010, the number of women who received the minimum national wage rose from 8.8% to 14.4%, which means a net income of 432 euros, that is, below the poverty line, and around 40% of women workers earn a monthly salary of 500 euros. The wage gap between women and men sometimes exceeds 30%, a fact that crosses various sectors of activity. However, the higher the qualification the greater the wage discrimination, which sometimes reaches 26.1% in the case of senior officers in public administration, leadership and high cadres in companies (2009 Personnel Maps).
One should note, however, the persistence of indirect wage discrimination between women and men who, although being part of the same productive process and having different categories, perform work of equal value. Some examples: a specialized operator in the fish department of a large supermarket who earns 84 euros less than a specialized meat worker, or a cork chooser, in the cork industry, who earns 46.83 euros less than a plank chooser.
3. The denial of a woman’s right to be a mother without any penalization. Although assuming different dimensions and expressions, it has as common denominator a disclaimer of responsibility by the State or employers to renew the generations or regarding parenthood by women or men. We could give many examples, but we would like to remind a few: the postponement of the decision to have children due to job insecurity; the increasing pressures (both direct and indirect) for the women to forsake their full maternity leave; cuts in important social family benefits (child allowance, prenatal allowance, etc.).
Pact of Aggression and changes in labour legislation: work more for less money, plus discrimination for women workers
The package of amendments to the labour legislation introduced by the PSD/CDS-PP government in the Assembly of the Republic, following the agreement between the government/employers’ associations/UGT trade union, represents an unacceptable aggression against workers’ rights: promotes forced and unpaid labour, the attempt to cut holidays and vacation days, the increase in daily working hours up to 12 hours and 60 hours a week (hour bank), and the easing and cheapening of dismissals. It is a path that promotes, encourages and eases the “institutionalization” of specific inequalities and discriminations regarding women and seeks an unacceptable regression in their condition of a working woman. A regression that, if not stopped, will reflect very negatively in more difficulties to organize family life and support for our children, and new constraints on the right to have more time for themselves and to participate in the social, political and cultural life.
What is in march with the Aggression Pact and the changes to the labor legislation is in counter-cycle with the interests of the country and the reiterated desire of successive generations of women for the right to work with rights, in seeing their wages valued, progression in their professions, being mothers and workers with rights. The subscribers and executioners of the austerity measures - PS, PSD and CDS-PP - obscure and omit the devastating consequences upon the development and expansion of poverty as a structural phenomena in Portuguese society with serious reflexes in the denial of fundamental rights to women in the working and popular classes.
PCP salutes the women's movement organisations that in Portugal, faced with the brutal offensive against women's rights, commit the best of their efforts so that the commemorations of March 8th, 2012 represent and important day of mobilization of Portuguese women that will take into their hands the struggle in defense of their rights.
On March 8th, PCP will have a vast number of actions throughout the country, distributing pamphlets to women, specially working women, that will affirm the trust in their role in the struggle in defense of their rights. An action that will appeal to the strong participation of workers, from the public and private sector, in the General Strike of March 22th, called for by CGTP-IN. Because it is through struggle that women defend their rights.
In the National Parliament, PCP will highlight on March 8th the reasons why it will present a Project of Resolution valuing the work and wages of women and fighting, direct and indirect, wage discrimination.
PCP will hand in to the National Parliament a Project of Resolution related to poverty among women, aiming to proceed to a rigorous evaluation of the impacts of the Pact of Aggression the deepening of poverty in Portugal and its incidence, particularly among women and children. PCP reaffirms, in its commemorations of this date, its commitment in the struggle for effective equality in the right to work, in the law and in life, for the social emancipation. It is in the struggle demanding a rupture with right-wing policies and in building an alternative policy, that we can lead to a Portugal that will fulfil:
The right to work with rights, the right of motherhood and working without penalizations, the fight against unemployment and the diverse forms of precariety; quality of life and a more just partition of income in favor of women workers, pensioners, disabled and immigrant, with valuing their wages, their pensions and reinforcing their social protection (health and social security); guaranteeing the right and articulation of their professional, personal and family life; reinforcing their social and political participation, eliminating economic, social, political and cultural factors that condition that participation in the work place and in trade-union life, as well as in other important expressions of community life; implementation of a public network of social equipments and family support available to families with quality and accessible prices; adoption of preventative measures and measures to fight violence against women, no only domestically but also fighting trafficking, prostitution and pornography, and supporting victims
On the International Women's day, dozens of commemorative initiative took place throughout the country.
