It was signed yesterday in the regional headquarters of Mestre, in the presence of representatives of the CGIL (Diego Gallo, secretary of the Veneto, and Mara Siclari, responsible for the Veneto for the New Rights Office) and of the homosexual and transsexual associations (present on Tralaltro Circle — Arcigay Padova, The "Planet Uranus" Circle, Arcigay Verona, the Arcigay of Bassano del Grappa, the Circolo FUORI of Padua, and the Veneto section of the Transsexual Association “Crisalide”), the memorandum of understanding for the opening of a “New Rights Office” in Veneto.
Veneto rainbow
Padua, Verona, and Venice will be the three cities that will establish a help desk, managed by the CGIL, for reporting and addressing cases of discrimination in the workplace and in everyday life based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Coordination of Homosexual and Transsexual Associations of Veneto has enthusiastically and wholeheartedly supported the CGIL initiative and will work to ensure its success and publicity among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
“"With the signing of this protocol," declared Alessandro Zan, president of the Circolo Tralaltro — Arcigay Padova — "an important and decisive step has been taken to fill a void in the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."”
“"As the Coordination of Homosexual and Transsexual Associations of the Veneto," Zan continues, "we intend to make an important contribution, making our spaces and resources available, to provide concrete assistance to all homosexual and transsexual workers who suffer hateful and unjust discrimination in their daily lives, discrimination that can no longer be tolerated in a civilized country. For this reason, we also intend to seek the cooperation of all citizens to improve this important service.".
Zeno Menegazzi, president of the "Pianeta Urano" Circle — Arcigay Verona, emphasizes that this is "a historic event, because it is the first time that a union like the CGIL has signed an agreement with gay and transgender associations. It is also historic for a region like Veneto, which is one of the most productive in Italy, but where, unfortunately, undeclared work is widespread and cases of workplace discrimination sometimes occur in plain sight."“
“"We hope this sends a signal to other unions, as well as to all associations and political parties, and to society as a whole, to work together to combat all cases of discrimination in the workplace.".
Article published on February 19, 2003
on “Il Mattino di Padova”, “La Nuova di Venezia” and the “Tribuna di Treviso”
A CGIL "New Rights" office to combat sexual discrimination.
VENICE. "A historic moment": this is how Diego Gallo, secretary of the CGIL Veneto, described the memorandum of understanding signed yesterday with 14 gay, lesbian, and transgender associations to combat workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. "This represents an expansion of the union's activities into its own area," Gallo emphasized, "that of human rights." Padua, Verona, and Venice will be the first Italian cities to host a "new rights office" managed by the CGIL.
‘The trade union organization led by Guglielmo Epifani is, in fact, the first to have such a help desk.
The protocol also lists the agreement's objectives, including organizing regular debates and meetings, working groups to break down stereotypes and prejudices, and public initiatives to raise awareness of these issues. However, the secretary of the Veneto CGIL union announced two other initiatives. "The first was decided upon at the time of signing and involves disseminating this protection among our members. The second, however, is a launch initiative that will see a colorful bus depart from Padua and travel to Venice between April and May, where the national CGIL union will be present. We will also try to involve our national secretary, Epifani." A popular legislative initiative on the protection of sexual conduct is also underway—called PACS—based on a European Union directive of November 27, 2000, establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and working conditions.
«"We have immediately embraced the European Union's requirement to adopt anti-discrimination measures by December 2, 2003, in all member states," added Lucia Basso, of the CGIL Veneto confederal secretariat. "We will involve all trade associations, including Confindustria and Api, in signing protocols implementing this directive." The New Rights Office, together with the Citizenship Rights Department of the national CGIL, have long established a collaborative relationship with gay and transgender rights associations.
Member states can, in fact, entrust the social partners with the task of implementing the European Union directive. For information, please call 0415384151.
