Unions Lead Fight for Reproductive Rights on Int'l Women's Day
Mar 7, 2025
On 8th March, PSI-affiliated unions emphasise that reproductive rights should be recognised as labour rights. To support workers' organising efforts, PSI is launching a study demonstrating how unions across 70 countries are seeking and incorporating reproductive health guarantees into their collective bargaining agreements.
On International Women's Day, PSI, its World Women's Committee, and its affiliated unions are launching a global report highlighting public service unions' key role in expanding workplace reproductive rights. The report shows how unions in 70 countries are working to include reproductive health guarantees in collective bargaining agreements, ensuring reproductive rights are protected as fundamental labor rights.
“It has been 30 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) in 1995 raised the notion of women’s reproductive rights as human rights. As the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW69) convenes this March 2025, global governance holds a historic responsibility to advance the recognition and implementation of these rights”, states Britta Lejon, PSI President.
Daniel Bertossa, PSI General Secretary, warns that "at a time when Trump is normalizing attacks on gender issues, the UN's adoption of the BPfA stands as a crucial reminder of the need for universal reproductive healthcare services for all women, not a privilege for the wealthy. With reproductive rights under renewed attack, public service unions should lead this fight, with one clear solution: keeping these services in public hands."
“I’m proud of my union’s success in securing reproductive health and well-being rights for women workers", says Megan Wenlock, CPSU/SPSF Australia and
Young Worker Titular on PSI’s World Women's Committee (WOC) and Executive Board.
I’m proud of my union’s success in securing reproductive health and well-being rights for women workers
The Victoria branch of the SPSF Group has a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering 50,000 workers, approximately 70% of whom are women.
The union negotiated a clause entitling workers to five days of paid leave per year for reproductive health and well-being matters. This clause also guarantees flexible work arrangements for these matters, though it remains tied to workers’ leave balances.
Introducing this clause has enabled the union to extend it to other CBAs in different branches without the restriction of linking it to leave balances, as is the case in Victoria.
The next step is to track how the leave is being used, assess its accessibility, and identify any barriers.”
It is about time to end stigma and discrimination through policies that can help normalize menstruation and eliminate harmful taboos."
Annie Geron, PSLINK, Philippines and PSI WOC Vice-Chair for Asia Pacific, explains, "Menstruation, menopausal and reproductive health policies are crucial because they directly impact health, gender equality, economic development and overall well being. Concretely, ensuring access to menstrual hygiene products and sanitation facilities prevents infection and promotes well-being. Lack of these products and stigma cause girls to miss school and women to miss work, affecting their education and economic opportunities. It is about time to end stigma and discrimination through policies that can help normalize menstruation and eliminate harmful taboos that restrict women's growth and development and participation in society."
Without a stronger focus on collective bargaining, real progress won’t happen
Margarita López, SINTRACUAVALLE, Colombia and PSI WOC vice chair for the Interamerican Region states that “These global report results are a wake-up call. They expose the struggles unions face and give PSI’s World Women’s Committee (WOC) the power to push for bold, global policy change. The message is clear—without a stronger focus on collective bargaining, real progress won’t happen.”
It is time to speak out for reproductive health and rights
"It is time to speak out for reproductive health and rights in Africa and the Arab world. Shaming the subject has sparked waves of misconceptions even among male unionists who still do not recognize it as a workplace concern. Ensuring that reproductive rights are recognized as fundamental labour rights through collective bargaining should top unions’ gender justice agendas worldwide.", states Wegdanhussein AbdRabuh, Bibliotheca Alexandrina Solidarity Staff Union, Egypt and PSI WOC Vice-Chair for Africa and Arab countries
