In the services sector
Fairness in every opportunity and decision.
Equality at work goes beyond women and men being in the same place. It includes access to jobs, training and promotion, how work and pay are assessed, and safety and respect in everyday interactions. Gaps can arise even when rules seem the same for everyone if they ignore actual working conditions and the different barriers workers face.
The Public Services Workers’ Union in Nablus Governorate places equality within its commitment to social justice and decent work. It seeks to ensure women workers’ needs are represented in dialogue and trade union representation, while encouraging all workers to challenge stereotypes and marginalisation. This role rests on awareness-raising, advocacy and bargaining to turn equality principles into everyday practice.
Equal opportunities from the start
Equality begins with job advertisements and selection criteria and extends to task allocation, skills development and promotion. Assessment should be based on job requirements, competence and ability to perform the task, rather than assuming certain jobs suit one gender rather than another.
In services, this includes workers in administration, accounting, sales, reception, cleaning and digital work. Published, understandable criteria help reduce bias and enable discussion of decisions affecting career paths.
Equal pay for work of equal value
Convention No. 100 explains that the principle concerns the value of work, rather than identical job titles alone. Comparison may require considering skills, responsibility, effort and working conditions, using objective criteria that do not undervalue work often performed by women.
From a union perspective, transparent pay rules, allowances and promotion opportunities are matters for dialogue and bargaining. Establishing entitlement in a particular case still requires reviewing actual work, documents and applicable legal rules, rather than superficially comparing two jobs.
Dignity and safety in the world of work
Combating discrimination
Convention No. 111 serves as a reference for equality of opportunity and treatment in training, employment and working conditions, and for addressing practices that undermine it.
Preventing violence and harassment
Convention No. 190 highlights preventing harmful behaviours and threats in the world of work, alongside policies, training and worker representatives’ involvement in prevention.
Respect for family life
The union seeks to discuss working arrangements that take care responsibilities into account without assigning them only to women or using them to exclude workers from development opportunities.
Participation that shapes decisions
Demands for equality are complete when women workers can express their priorities, help formulate demands and participate in meetings and representation. Meaningful participation means taking everyday experience seriously, beyond attendance figures or photographs.
The union promotes a culture of respect in workplaces and within the union itself, and encourages discussing barriers such as meeting times and access to training. These discussions must respect privacy and should not ask people to disclose sensitive experiences publicly to prove the issue matters.
From awareness to action
What is our union’s role?
Awareness linked to practice
Explaining equal opportunities and equal pay for work of equal value in simple terms, with examples from service occupations.
Dialogue and fair demands
Seeking to discuss pay and promotion rules and the prevention of discrimination, violence and harassment with employers and relevant bodies.
Representation and participation
Encourage women workers to participate in union work and priority-setting, and discuss barriers limiting their presence and influence.
International standards are references for awareness and advocacy. Presenting Conventions 100, 111 and 190 here does not claim that Palestine has ratified them or that all their provisions apply automatically locally.
For a fuller picture
Frequently asked questions
Does equality mean ignoring different needs?
No. Fairness requires understanding actual barriers and providing equitable opportunities, using work-related criteria and avoiding assumptions based on gender.
Does equal pay apply only to identical jobs?
Convention No. 100 focuses on work of equal value. Assessing value requires objective criteria, while legal entitlements are determined by the facts of the case and the applicable rules.
Further reading
References
- ILO: Gender equality standards
- ILO: the equal pay principle and Convention No. 100
- Convention No. 111 on discrimination in employment and occupation
- Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment
Awareness content explaining the union’s role. Consult the laws in force and the competent authorities when examining an individual case.