IUF Latin American women’s committee to promote the housekeepers campaign

The IUF Latin American Women’s Committee (CLAMU) pledged ongoing support for the IUF global housekeepers initiative at their meeting on October 16, 2014. The event took place at the headquarters of UTHGRA, with interventions from Patricia Alonso, President of the IUF Latin-American Women’s Committee (CLAMU); Norberto Latorre, President of the IUF Hotels, Restaurants, Catering and Tourism Sector (HRCT); Gerardo Iglesias, General Secretary of Rel UITA and Patricia Mantovano, UTHGRA Director and promoter of the campaign in Latin America.

Patricia Mantovano emphasized the importance of the concept of decent work, saying “it is based on the recognition that work is the source of personal dignity and family stability. That is why I denounce the conditions of work faced daily by this group and underline the need to improve their conditions of work”. She demanded the implementation of preventive measures such as the recommendations adopted in IUF-HRCT, and a general commitment to fight for the objectives.

Video on the campaign, in English and Spanish

CLAMU’s Commitment

Patricia Alonso, President of the IUF Latin-American Women’s Committee (CLAMU) said that “the launch day of this campaign was very important and the result was highly satisfactory. Not only did we have the development of the technical part based on the study carried out by the UTHGRA team headed by Patricia Mantovano, but also the involvement of women workers in the sector who graphically illustrated to us the problems they faced”.

She also highlighted the importance of the coordination between CLAMU and UTHGRA in pushing for legislation to regulate conditions of work in the sector based on this initiative and their support for these demands: “There is no doubt that this is a proposal that we in CLAMU always wanted to drive forward. Although it stems from the hotel workers union, it is a banner under which we have always fought and will continue to fight. Shining a light on the problems of these women workers will be a core component of CLAMU’s work agenda”.

Source: ALBASUD-REL UITA, to read more