Three

MONTREAL: THE STRUGGLE
FOR TRAINING IN THE TRADES

For years, a group called Action Travail des Femmes in Montreal has been experiencing problems in having women accepted by Canada Employment for training in trades areas. Until recently, lobbying and pressuring CEIC was used to remove most of the barriers. Now that doesn't work.

Women in Montreal were recently refused entrance by CEIC into welding courses because, they were told, 625 male welders were registered as unemployed in the Montreal area. That sounded reasonable enough. But Action Travail discovered that men were being enrolled in welding after the women had been refused. A further full-time welding course for men will be offered in September '82 along with 23 part-time courses. The prerequisite for the part-time courses is related work experience. Naturally, this excludes women.

As a result, Action Travail decided to lay a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission against Canada Employment and its minister Lloyd Axworthy. The complaint uses as an example, the refusal to train women as welders within a broader context of systematic sex discriminatory practices. Interestingly enough, the Human Rights Commission has been investigating CEIC for two years, but has made little information public. The HRC needs pressure to deal with a complaint. Action Travail laid a complaint with HRC regarding sex discrimination in hiring against CN in 1979; it is only now being heard by the tribunal. We can all agree, that we don't want to watt three years for the latest complaint against CEIC to be heard.

Action Travail is asking for support from CCLOW members and organizations to speed up the HRC process by taking action on any or all of the following.

          1. Lay a complaint with the HRC if you have good reason to believe that discrimination is taking place in the training of women. Consult the Human Rights Code or regional HRC office regarding the procedure. More complaints will pressure HRC to act more quickly.

          2. Submit a brief to the Human Rights Commission outlining your concerns and experiences in trying to get women into non-traditional training, and the discriminatory practices you have encountered.

           3. Write a letter expressing your concerns about discriminatory practices and urging the HRC to review the complaint laid by Action Travail des Femmes as speedily as possible. Correspondence to HRC should be addressed to: Gordon Fairweather, Commissioner, Canadian Human Rights Commission, 257 Slater St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1E1. Please send copies of all correspondence to Action Travail des Femmes, 2515 rue Delisle, Montreal, Quebec, H3J 1K8 and to Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, Minister Canada Employment and Immigration Commission, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario.
Let's get going on this one!