Education Bulletin
This edition includes;
Bahrain unions need basic trade union education
After their recent affiliation to the ITF, trade union members from the port and civil aviation sectors in Bahrain expressed their need for basic trade union education, in a 3-day basic skills seminar held in Manama, Bahrain, from 28 – 30 October.
During the seminar, participants identified the key skills and capacities needed by the two sectors including: collective bargaining skills, organizing skills, communication and dialogue skills, and most importantly, promoting a culture of unionism amongst workers through trade union education.
In addition, participants expressed the need for a national coordinating committee to maintain effective communication and sharing of information among unions from different sectors, in cooperation with the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) and the ITF.
The importance of solidarity nationally, regionally and internationally was also highlighted, and participants expressed their willingness to provide all means of solidarity, when needed.
The seminar ended with a set of recommendations on practical steps for the future. These included an education planning meeting with representatives from the two sectors, the Federation and the ITF to design a training programme on basic trade union education and communication skills; and establishing a national coordinating committee before the end of December 2008. Baker Khundakji Education Coordinator, ITF Arab World
Organising taxi-drivers and parking attendants in Addis Abba, Ethiopia
In Addis Ababa, there are 21,000 privately owned mini-bus taxis. An enormous number of taxi-drivers and their assistants are involved in providing public transport but their conditions remain desperate.
Our union had a baseline survey done in this sector before beginning to organise. Anti-union repression was high. Worku-amre is a taxi driver and a strong activist who has been committed to organise a union since 2000 but which has been an expensive venture for him. |
The Transport & Communications Workers' Trade Unions Industrial Federation had a focus on organising the unorganised taxi drivers and parking attendants in Addis Ababa during a three-day workshop from 23-25 October 2008, as part of the union’s ongoing organising efforts. The workshop looked the problem of organising these two groups of workers who were also participating in the seminar and formulating strategies to overcome the problems. Communication and the impact of globalisation on the transport industry were areas the seminar elaborated upon.
The growing demand for public transport , associated with higher mobility needs of commuters, population growth and the expansion of the city boundary, means that the problem is still large. Sheger Meter taxi SC is a new entrant to the market with different state of the art features. It rings true that the company would create new employment opportunities but what matters to our union is to organise the workforce. The TCWTUIF, ahead of the organising is looking at a conducive environment for bilateral talks. We are stressing the establishment of a bilateral forum. Daniel Gebeyehu Worku, Presisent, TCWUIF
The seminar formed part of the ITF/SASK road transport capacity building project in Africa.
Partnership with social movements
Unionists, NGO members and academics met in Oslo on 17 and 18 October 2008 to discuss the cooperation that trade unions and wider social movements can develop.
The meeting, co-hosted by the ITF and the Norwegian affiliate, Fagforbundet (the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees), stressed informalisation of employment and internationalisation of production as two key features that trade unions face today. It also highlighted that trade union membership is declining in many countries and the unions' traditional relationship with the political parties is changing.
However, some unions are fighting back against neo-liberal attacks and the meeting was an opportunity to examine new ways of facing the challenges that have emerged over the past 30 years, which include forming alliances with other movements. Several examples were reported including the campaign for a welfare state in Norway; strategic campaigning in the US Teamsters union; awareness raising of members and support for the Baltic unions network by the Swedish Transport Workers' Union, to name a few.
Participants agreed that unions and social movements can work together if they can share their information, accept their differences but ensure that their capacities are fully used. It resolved to hold thematic meetings for example, on climate change in transport, and to encourage the ITF to discuss the question of collaboration with social movements regularly in their meetings. Mac Urata and Asbjørn Wahl co-chaired the meeting.
ITF’ and NGOs
The ITF has been collaborating with the wider social movement. During the last three World Social Forums, the ITF sent delegations as part of the initiative to build a union presence within the international social movement. In addition the ITF has worked in partnership with NGOs in a number of ways, including the involvement of Amnesty International in trade union rights campaigns. Other areas of collaboration have included working with NGOs to research transport issues; for example, the ITF worked with research NGOs on organising informal transport workers in Benin, Zambia and Philippines.
Education Briefing: ITF Regional summer school 2008
My experience of the summer school
What do a wharfy, bus driver, cabin crew member, ITF Inspector, air traffic controller have in common? These were some of the people that came together during the first ITF Regional Summer School for unions in the Asia/Pacific region, held in Panvel (India) on 22-26 September 2008.
The theme of the Summer School was ‘Education for Organising’ and the sessions during the week covered different aspects of organising including the changing nature oftransport and challenges faced by unions in the region, as well as how unions can develop strategic organising campaigns in response to these changes and challenges.
“I am very happy that I got the opportunity to attend the Summer School as I shared my experience with the participants throughout the Asian region, particularly those participants from the ports sector. I was able to know more about different working systems, facilities, organising and mapping activities of other unions. The Australian Dockers and the solidarity among them was fantastic and a good thing to learn from them. Regarding the membership strategy adopted by Singapore seafarers of attracting membership by giving workers gift items for joining the union is very interesting.
Also the summer school focused on union strategies to improve our knowledge on organising and empowering unions. We were also able to think about organising strategies for unorganised transport workers and cargo-handling. I will be trying some of these things/strategies to organise and strengthen my union.
I express my thanks whole heartily to ITF on behalf of my union and comrade S. R. Kulkarni chairman Asia pacific ITF dock section. And to the entire ITF family for organising such a fantastic and useful summer camp”. D. Subramaniam., vice president Transport and Dockworkers’ Union, Mumbai |
“Restructuring me!” was one of the feedbacks received mid-way through the Summer School and one which I think is apt in describing the experience. The different participants, who were a mixture of union officials, organisers, worker representatives and activists all had different experiences and were faced with different challenges, but were united by the effects of globalisation and the need to organise.
Through discussions and group working we were asked to consider the new challenges that exist as well as possible future ones, for example the changing forms of work from permanent to casual and the increasing use of outsourcing and subcontracting, to the development of transport chains and their increasing importance.
With the ongoing development of globalisation and blurring of boundaries, geographically and between the different transport sectors, working with representatives from all sectors of the ITF during the Summer School provided a practical and important opportunity to consider the experiences and issues of workers and unions in all transport sectors.
We had to think “outside the box” and despite some barriers such as language, participants were not afraid to take on this challenge and look at the wider picture, generate new ideas and challenge the status quo. The exchange of information and experiences between unions and participants as part of this process was vital.
From my perspective of working in one of the ITF Sections, participating in the Summer School has added to my understanding of the global issues through a practical focus on issues and challenges being faced by different transport unions. The Summer School has given me a wider perspective of how local issues are linked to the international platform but also how the international is linked to the local.
The Summer School was a positive experience and two months after, I still feel the same inspiration and motivation that I felt during the week.
Claire Clarke
ITF Inland Transport Sections
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