#WeAreITF – Asia Pacific regional conference inspires ‘renewed vigour and determination’

That was the overwhelming message to union representatives who were at the regional conference in Tokyo this week.

It was the first time the group of over 300 delegates has come together since the Asia Pacific review was finalised earlier this year. The review set a new direction in terms of staffing, governance and priorities for the region. Find out more here.

AP was the first regional conference in the Pathway to Congress series that will see every ITF section, region and department meet to assess their progress so far on priority projects since 2014 congress in Sofia, and lay out their activities and approach in the run up to 2018 congress in Singapore.

Mary Liew, general secretary of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union who will be among the hosts of congress in 2018 said: “This has been an inspiring event. We’ve embraced the review outcomes and we’ve set our path to a congress that comes at a time that is crucial for transport workers. We must put young workers at the centre of our organising and campaigning, we must give women workers and trade unionists opportunities and visibility. I am confident in our ability and our enthusiasm to continue building on the immense growth we’re seeing in this union and building union power in Asia Pacific.”

The future of work was high on the agenda with participants breaking into their sectoral groups to work out how to deal with new advances in technology that are impacting in their workplaces.

Jacqueline Tuwanakotta from the Gurada Indonesia Cabin Association explained what the future of work means for aviation workers.  

Online activity during the conference was huge with posts coming from inside and outside the room in Japanese, English, Indonesian, Thai and more. Take a look on Facebook and twitter and by searching #WeAreITF

This tweet during the closing session summed up feelings from the floor:

The next conference in the Pathway to Congress is road and rail kicking off in Brussels on Monday. Use the same hashtag #WeAreITF to follow action from Belgium.