International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) chair Jotika Sharma is encouraging women to join trade unions because women can make big changes in the working conditions of the working class.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the Women’s Forum held at the 2024 CHOGM Samoa on Monday, Ms Sharma said when she joined a male-dominated trade movement, she helped set up women’s working committees in different unions in Fiji in a bid to change working conditions.

“I thought, OK, we need more women to help me support what I would like to do to make the change possible,” Ms Sharma said.

“We started with structuring women’s committees in different unions in Fiji, and we did this so that women would be able to raise their voice at the grassroots level, which is at factory level, at the enterprise level, and then climbing up the national level as well.

“It was of course difficult to change the mindset, particularly of the males, but we have not reached 100 per cent in that regard yet.”