Trade unions at EDDs 2018

Trade unions participated in the 2018 edition of the European Development Days, which took place in Brussels on 5-6 June 2018.

The European Development Days (EDDs) is a yearly event organised by the European Commission that brings together a broad cross-section of development cooperation partners that work with the EU. The theme of this year’s edition was Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development: protect, empower, invest.

The TUDCN organised a Brainstorming session, with the participation of ActionAid and the ILO, entitled Tackling Gender-Based Violence at work - Identifying, mitigating and pre-empting risk factors. Moderated by Equal Times editor Tamara Gausi, the session aimed to draw on the diversity of perspectives present at the EDDs to identify common risk factors and think collectively about how to address them.

The session featured trade unionist Khouloud Mannai from UGTT Tunisia who provided insight into the actions trade unions are taking at national level, in particular through social dialogue, to tackle gender-based violence in the world of work. Fleur Rondelez of ILO-Brussels also provided participants with a window onto the International Labour Conference, where a discussion was focussing on this very topic. There is no international binding agreement on gender-based violence and the exchanges focussed on the ITUC’s campaign for an ILO Convention on the issue. A note was also made of how development cooperation efforts can mobilise partners around this issue, notably through strengthening participation of target beneficiaries. To complete the perspectives, Bridget Amenfi provided insight into how ActionAid’s Young Urban Women programme is building momentum among working women in Ghana to improve their safety and living conditions.

The TUDCN participated in both days of the event, contributing to talks and brainstorming sessions on issues that relate to its work. It also engaged with participants visiting the stalls of both the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness and the International Cooperative Alliances. The EDDs also provided a good opportunity to strengthen existing alliances and sow the seeds of future collaborations.

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