   |
|
afrol.com, 18 October -Re-elected to the Women's Committee of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Cherifa Ait Benamar, of the Union Générale des Travailleurs Algériens (UGTA), provides a brief overview of Algerian society, emphasising the leading role played by women in the gradual re-establishment of democracy. - How do you see the political situation in Algeria? During the month of September alone, over 200 people were killed. Must we fear that a new wave of violence will sweep the country? - The UGTA backed President Bouteflika's electoral platform and his campaign in favour of civil reconciliation, which was also supported by a majority of the people. The number of terrorist attacks has decreased considerably. We can move more freely, and overall we feel safer. In my view, the latest attacks have been carried out mostly by isolated fundamentalist groups, and I believe that sooner or later they will stop. - Trade unionists, and women in particular, have been the main targets of terrorist attacks. What impact have all these years of violence had in people's lives and their work? - Women have a high degree of political maturity. Already at the time of the war of independence, many joined the freedom fighters in the countryside. More recently, when the country experienced this wave of violence, women were at the forefront of the struggle for democracy. During the toughest period, notably at the time of the social march for democracy, they took to the streets. I would say that they did that naturally, spontaneously. Many women are practising Muslims and they do not approve of the use the fundamentalists make of the religious scriptures. - Within the trade union movement, if we take, for example, the case of the Tisi Ousu region, where I'm the general secretary of the regional women's committee, there are more than 100 female trade union officials. And women trade unionists are present in all sectors, including electronics. But there are also women in the Senate, women doctors like myself, women who are active in the political parties. In the case of Algeria, I think we can say women are a major social force. And I believe we can explain this by the fact that schooling is obligatory for girls as well as boys until they are well into their teens. - The educational level of Algerian women is fairly high. Currently, for example, at the university where I work, out of 11 undergraduate students living on the campus, two-thirds are women. - Could we say, therefore, that Algerian women have a relatively privileged position? - Let us say that Algerian women are very patient. They are everywhere but they are not looking for prestige. Yet I believe trade unions must be vehicles of social change, they must combat male chauvinism. Clearly, present-day society does not sufficiently recognise women and the work they do. - What balance sheet would you draw of the economic reforms imposed by the IMF? - We had to bear the effects of the reforms and it certainly wasn't easy. Between 1991 and 1994 the cost of living was very high. Today the situation is rather more stable. The reforms also led to the closure of many companies and to some 400,000 redundancies, including both men and women. Some of them received financial support through a national unemployment benefit fund established thanks to the UGTA, which was the initiator of this project. Today we are going through a period of privatisation, and the UGTA is laying down some very stringent conditions for its implementation. The UGTA wants these reforms to be accompanied by measures to revitalise economic growth and create new jobs. - Did these developments have repercussions on the working conditions of women? - In our country, Convention 103 on the protection of motherhood was adopted very early and many sectors such as education, jewellery-making, health care, textiles, manufactures and handicrafts are dominated by women. However, organising workers into unions is becoming increasingly difficult in the private sector. The system based on employment contracts that are renewable every six months is leading workers away from the trade unions. Workers are afraid of losing their jobs and don't dare to assert their rights. Many judicial decisions are never implemented. When, for example, judges rule in favour of reinstating workers, companies refuse to carry out the decision.
|
