IUF West African affiliates step up housekeeper initiatives

IUF affiliates in French-speaking West Africa expanded their work with housekeepers in connection with the third annual global week of action as part of their commitment to combating the vulnerability, abuse, unsafe working conditions and exploitation by unscrupulous and hostile employers facing many workers.

Workshops, conferences and seminars organized by unions in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo all identified fighting sexual harassment and securing safe, healthy and dignified working conditions as common demands of workers towards employers.

Training programs and greater awareness and knowledge of the specific rights of hospitality workers, and housekeepers in particular, as well as employer obligations were identified as necessary tools for improving working conditions. Negotiating good practices and building stronger union organizations were seen as integral parts of improving conditions for housekeepers.