On June 11th, women construction workers rallied in the Brisbane CBD
outside Queensland Parliament, demanding to use the women's bathroom.
This rally was held to protest the lack of women's bathrooms on
construction sites. ---- In 2021, the ABC interviewed sparkie and
Electrical Trades Union (ETU) member Vashti Arndt, who said, "I
definitely have been on sites where there's only one portable toilet and
there's no sanitary bin in that, so you have to find the closest skip
and do like a real awkward sort of walk to the bin and hope no-one
notices you've got a handful of tampon."
She also noted that when female toilets are available they're hundreds
of metres away from her work area. "Someone complained about me not
being on site because I would go to the toilet and be gone for a
20-minute circuit, essentially."
This is just one example of a widespread issue in the industry.
Portaloos and Parliament
Despite pandering rhetoric from bosses and politicians about getting
women into construction, they are unwilling to spend the money for
women's facilities. Companies relish the opportunity to appear
progressive, but are unwilling to provide their workers with basic
necessities. This shouldn't come as a surprise for workers, if our
bosses think they can get away with depriving us of something; pay,
safety equipment, training; to save a buck, they will. Workers have to
fight to get what they need, this fight is best waged together with your
co-workers and backed by your union, rather than alone.
The women's bathrooms in Parliament are being targeted because
legislation is being stalled by female bosses and politicians who
themselves have easy access to clean women's restrooms. There are a
number of powerful female construction executives and government
officials, including Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace.
How could this happen?
The Limits of Liberal Feminism
The goal of liberal feminism is to "smash the glass ceiling" and get an
equal share of women into the ruling class. It is assumed that by
electing women politicians and promoting women executives, they will
fight for women's issues. What this ignores is that a fundamental
component of capitalism-of which governments and corporations are
integral-is the exploitation of women. When anyone enters the halls of
power, they must make concessions to the logic of capitalism, and before
long, they find themselves defending the same forces they swore to
dismantle.
We don't need women rulers to give us more compassionate orders, we need
organised, empowered women who will fight for the power to determine
their own lives.
Women's Toilets Are Non-Negotiable
All workers are exploited. Each worker creates, or contributes to the
realisation of, a certain amount of value on the job; some of this value
is paid to them, while the majority is hoarded and reinvested by the
bosses. A variety of factors influence our share of the value we
produce, including how well we can fight the bosses.
This exploitation is worse for women, who often receive a smaller share
of this value compared to male workers. This is due to capitalism's
weaponisation of sexism to undervalue womens labour. Jobs associated
with women, known as "feminised", such as teachers or secretaries, are
often poorly paid. Within construction, the most feminised jobs are
cleaners and traffic controllers. It is no coincidence that scandalous
articles about "overpaid" traffic controllers often focus on a woman
posting about her pay on social media. The bosses make women workers
look like a threat to men in order to divide and conquer.
Sexism is the Bosses Weapon, Solidarity is Our Shield
For some, it may seem strange that male dominated construction unions
are fighting for women's issues, however this struggle goes back decades.
For example, in the 70's the NSW BLF made alliances with feminists to
get women on the job. Before the union's intervention, construction was
a purely male affair. The union's membership took militant action to get
women hired and respected on the job. Workers would "work in" women who
the company refused to hire by bringing them on site to work. If the
women weren't paid, the workers would stop work until they received a
paycheck. The socialist feminists who were worked in during this time
became talented organisers in the union, contributing to the militant
force that the NSW BLF became during the 70's.
This worker's action is an important example of how women can fight for
feminist issues. Instead of hoping for female bosses or electing
politicians to disappoint us, we need to take action for ourselves. This
is difficult to do in isolation, so we need to get organised and band
together with people in the same situations as us. The most powerful way
to do this is class organisations like trade unions. By fighting
alongside our fellow workers, regardless of gender, we increase our
power. Issues that affect the whole working class often affect women the
most, the fastest growing group among the homeless is older women. By
struggling together we improve our lives and build solidarity. When
women's issues are on the table, male unionists need to stick by their
comrades, just as male tradies have done at this rally.
It will be through organising at our workplaces that we will win demands
like an end to the gender pay gap. Rallies targeting politicians and
laws are good, but the basis of campaigns like this need to be waged on
the shop floor. Powerful social forces create better laws, not the other
way around. Building workplace organisation is more realistic than
expecting top-down reforms.
No accessible bathrooms on site?
Organise your co-workers to demand better.
Your manager is a misogynist pig?
Organise your co-workers to demand better.
Maternity leave is barely enough to get you out of the hospital?
Organise your co-workers to demand better.
Ultimately, the degree to which women's autonomy can be expanded is
limited by the nature of capitalism. The system depends on the suffering
of women. If we want true freedom, we need to replace it with something
better. A system where everyone takes an active role in decision-making,
rather than leaving it to politicians: anarchism. A system where workers
can manage their work collectively for the good of society, not for
profit: communism.
Liberal feminism isn't enough. We need a working class feminism that
fights the ruling class head on. A woman's place isn't in the kitchen,
it isn't in the parliament; it's in the revolution.
https://www.acmeanjin.org/article/rally-for-restrooms
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
outside Queensland Parliament, demanding to use the women's bathroom.
This rally was held to protest the lack of women's bathrooms on
construction sites. ---- In 2021, the ABC interviewed sparkie and
Electrical Trades Union (ETU) member Vashti Arndt, who said, "I
definitely have been on sites where there's only one portable toilet and
there's no sanitary bin in that, so you have to find the closest skip
and do like a real awkward sort of walk to the bin and hope no-one
notices you've got a handful of tampon."
She also noted that when female toilets are available they're hundreds
of metres away from her work area. "Someone complained about me not
being on site because I would go to the toilet and be gone for a
20-minute circuit, essentially."
This is just one example of a widespread issue in the industry.
Portaloos and Parliament
Despite pandering rhetoric from bosses and politicians about getting
women into construction, they are unwilling to spend the money for
women's facilities. Companies relish the opportunity to appear
progressive, but are unwilling to provide their workers with basic
necessities. This shouldn't come as a surprise for workers, if our
bosses think they can get away with depriving us of something; pay,
safety equipment, training; to save a buck, they will. Workers have to
fight to get what they need, this fight is best waged together with your
co-workers and backed by your union, rather than alone.
The women's bathrooms in Parliament are being targeted because
legislation is being stalled by female bosses and politicians who
themselves have easy access to clean women's restrooms. There are a
number of powerful female construction executives and government
officials, including Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace.
How could this happen?
The Limits of Liberal Feminism
The goal of liberal feminism is to "smash the glass ceiling" and get an
equal share of women into the ruling class. It is assumed that by
electing women politicians and promoting women executives, they will
fight for women's issues. What this ignores is that a fundamental
component of capitalism-of which governments and corporations are
integral-is the exploitation of women. When anyone enters the halls of
power, they must make concessions to the logic of capitalism, and before
long, they find themselves defending the same forces they swore to
dismantle.
We don't need women rulers to give us more compassionate orders, we need
organised, empowered women who will fight for the power to determine
their own lives.
Women's Toilets Are Non-Negotiable
All workers are exploited. Each worker creates, or contributes to the
realisation of, a certain amount of value on the job; some of this value
is paid to them, while the majority is hoarded and reinvested by the
bosses. A variety of factors influence our share of the value we
produce, including how well we can fight the bosses.
This exploitation is worse for women, who often receive a smaller share
of this value compared to male workers. This is due to capitalism's
weaponisation of sexism to undervalue womens labour. Jobs associated
with women, known as "feminised", such as teachers or secretaries, are
often poorly paid. Within construction, the most feminised jobs are
cleaners and traffic controllers. It is no coincidence that scandalous
articles about "overpaid" traffic controllers often focus on a woman
posting about her pay on social media. The bosses make women workers
look like a threat to men in order to divide and conquer.
Sexism is the Bosses Weapon, Solidarity is Our Shield
For some, it may seem strange that male dominated construction unions
are fighting for women's issues, however this struggle goes back decades.
For example, in the 70's the NSW BLF made alliances with feminists to
get women on the job. Before the union's intervention, construction was
a purely male affair. The union's membership took militant action to get
women hired and respected on the job. Workers would "work in" women who
the company refused to hire by bringing them on site to work. If the
women weren't paid, the workers would stop work until they received a
paycheck. The socialist feminists who were worked in during this time
became talented organisers in the union, contributing to the militant
force that the NSW BLF became during the 70's.
This worker's action is an important example of how women can fight for
feminist issues. Instead of hoping for female bosses or electing
politicians to disappoint us, we need to take action for ourselves. This
is difficult to do in isolation, so we need to get organised and band
together with people in the same situations as us. The most powerful way
to do this is class organisations like trade unions. By fighting
alongside our fellow workers, regardless of gender, we increase our
power. Issues that affect the whole working class often affect women the
most, the fastest growing group among the homeless is older women. By
struggling together we improve our lives and build solidarity. When
women's issues are on the table, male unionists need to stick by their
comrades, just as male tradies have done at this rally.
It will be through organising at our workplaces that we will win demands
like an end to the gender pay gap. Rallies targeting politicians and
laws are good, but the basis of campaigns like this need to be waged on
the shop floor. Powerful social forces create better laws, not the other
way around. Building workplace organisation is more realistic than
expecting top-down reforms.
No accessible bathrooms on site?
Organise your co-workers to demand better.
Your manager is a misogynist pig?
Organise your co-workers to demand better.
Maternity leave is barely enough to get you out of the hospital?
Organise your co-workers to demand better.
Ultimately, the degree to which women's autonomy can be expanded is
limited by the nature of capitalism. The system depends on the suffering
of women. If we want true freedom, we need to replace it with something
better. A system where everyone takes an active role in decision-making,
rather than leaving it to politicians: anarchism. A system where workers
can manage their work collectively for the good of society, not for
profit: communism.
Liberal feminism isn't enough. We need a working class feminism that
fights the ruling class head on. A woman's place isn't in the kitchen,
it isn't in the parliament; it's in the revolution.
https://www.acmeanjin.org/article/rally-for-restrooms
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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