As part of the celebration of International Women's Day, a group of some 30 young workers and women participated in a talk at the conference room in the Port of Lome. They discussed the mutual benefits and advantages of joining a union. A film, which can be found in the Young Workers Pack, was also shown to the audience to highlight the issues affecting young workers worldwide.
 
The meeting ended on a high note, with recommendations and resolutions and other meetings are planned.

French version attached:

Edited: 03/12/2010 at 03:18 PM by donnaC

ITF-FNV Thailand held their first ever Young Workers Seminar on 3-5 March 2010.

Participants covered topics such as:

• what is the trade union and trade union movement?
• basic labour law and related laws
• gender sensitisation issues.

Men and women from 7 different Thai affiliates attended the three day seminar

 

On 9th February, 2010 the N.F. Railway Mazdoor Union, affiliated to the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF), had their inaugural Youth Convention in Assam. This took place as part of the union’s Annual conference, with the full support of the senior union officers.

Several issues of the moment were discussed, which workers from many other unions will identify with, including safety at the workplace, deteriorating pension schemes and a hiring freeze.  In addition, a list of demands were drawn up, which included a reversion to the original pension scheme, more attention to be paid to safety and further training for young people in both trade unionism and IT literacy.

As a result of the meeting, several branches of the union have formed their own youth committees and many other branches are in the process of forming them.

A regional Youth Committee has also been formed, and a Chairman and Secretary elected. The committee comprises 36 young workers, including nine women.

Edited: 03/09/2010 at 02:49 PM by donnaC

We are now beginning to receive names of delegates who will be attending the ITF Youth Conference which is taking place at the 42nd Congress in Mexico.

Make sure that you are included in your union's delegation! Contact your union leader now, we are looking for people approximately 35 years or younger to attend the one day conference on 3 August.

It is an opportunity to meet the Young Workers Steering Committee, hear about the work they do and become part of the Committee yourself!

Important items to be discussed will be how the work has progressed since 2006 and the structure of the work programme for 2010 and beyond.

This will be the first Youth Conference at Congress so please make sure you do not miss out on a place and contact your union today.

We have a new page for our ITF Youth Conference, which is taking place during the ITF Congress in Mexico City on 3 August 2010.

We shall be updating the site regularly with latest news about the conference so please make sure you vist the page to ensure you are kept up to date with the latest events.

The ITF Young Workers Steering Committee now have their own section on the website.  Please visit the Steering Committee page to read profiles on each member.

The MUA Young Workers Conference took place in Brisbane on 30 November - 3 December 2009.

Over 70 delegates from branches around Australia and delegates from MUNZ, RMTU and EPMU met over three days to formulate MUA policy and plans for the future years actions.  The theme for the conference was "Know the past and own the Future".

National Secretary Paddy Crumlin reported via pre recorded message his enthusiam for youth delegates to increase their activity and involvement on a local national and international basis.

Click here for more information.

For your information, here are links to the new youth blog from Federación de Servicios a la Ciudadanía de CC.OO, Spain, which is also directly linked to the main CC.OO website:

http://blog.ccoo.es/juventud-federacion-servicios-a-la-ciudadania-ccoo

http://www.fsc.ccoo.es/webfsc/menu.do?Actualidad:Juventud  

For the fourth year running the ITF is calling on its’ affiliates to mark World AIDS Day on 1st December.  Due to the nature of their work in some areas, transport workers have been shown to be at higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.  

As transport unions our challenge is to address this problem which fundamentally affects us all. 

The focus of this years’ campaign is to:

• to move HIV/AIDS into unions’ core programmes and activities;
• to encourage unions to lobby to establish HIV as a workplace issue;
• to fight stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS at workplaces;
• to encourage unions to develop partnerships with relevant stakeholders to implement HIV prevention, care and support programmes.

Here are some of the planned activities scheduled during World AIDS Day 2009

 

During the African Regional Conference, the Young Workers Conference took place in Senegal on 22 November 2009.

From the conference, it was raised that unions need to spread the message to young people, and that participants needed basic tools and policies to help young people to join unions and translate ideas into reality. It was emphasised that international solidarity was a strong message.

Each country delegation then reported on the successes, challenges and needs they experienced in carrying out youth work, Their reports are attached at the bottom of this report

There was a wide understanding that the link with union executives was a key point in communicating with members. In order to communicate better with members, youth delegates needed access to communications techniques, they needed presentation skills and they needed leadership training. In terms of communication strategies, both low-tech solutions such as suggestion-boxes and social events were important, as well as high-tech solutions like Internet and Extranet technology. Everyone needed to sensitise union activists about the existing ITF website.

Members of the communications team in ITF London presented the background and made proposals for an ITF Africa Communications Project and Policy to be developed and implemented, based on the views of African delegates, and including views from women and young worker forums. This included A demonstration of the ITF Africa website, Facebook page and various film resources.

Edited: 11/25/2009 at 04:02 PM by donnaC

Young workers face specific issues, and the Transport and Communication Workers Trade Union Industrial Federation, (TCWTUIF), Ethiopia strongly believes these concerns should be included in union organising and campaigning.  Young workers are valued contributors and partners.

Zerihun Alemu, a member of the ITF Young Workers Steering Committee and the General Secretary of TCWTUIF highlights that ‘involvement of young transport workers in leadership is central to keeping trade union strength’.

To take a series of steps towards a more equitable and sustainable future based on decent work he is proactively engaged with strategic partners in the region such as Afro-flag Ethiopia, Ethiopia Youth Federation and Federal Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Speaking during the ITF Road Transport Action Week in Addis Ababa, 7-10 October 2009, he says that the strategic approach in winning young workers is above all to make an entry point in the young workers network wherever necessary.  He added that if unions are clearly committed to achieving they must endeavour to give space for young transport workers in the wider trade union movement and make a constitutional arrangement which will synergise them.

However he realises that in order to achieve a break through there needs to be a change regarding trade union culture.  Zeruhun underlines that in the milestone of the trade union activity young workers are those who will gear the momentum for ever, it is true that they are the present and the future.

Edited: 11/11/2009 at 12:37 PM by donnaC

At the 4th CAW Youth Conference, held August 2009, participants unanimously endorsed the ITF Young Workers Brussels Declaration.

The revised declaration that was endorsed is as follows:

Brussels Declaration

As adopted by the ITF Youth Conference Delegates
October 6-7th 2008, Brussels, Belgium

We the young workers of the CAW, in support of ITF Young Workers, hereby pledge the following:

• We will act in global solidarity to fight for the eradication of oppression, exploitation, poverty, environment destruction, and social injustice.
   
• We will work to eliminate discrimination and communication barriers that divide workers; whilst promoting internationalism.
   
• We will stand with all workers in struggle and actively campaign for the protection and advancement of international labour standards and human rights.
   
• By signing the declaration I hereby pledge my solidarity with young people and workers internationally and commit myself to this struggle.

A report of the Brainstorming Session that was held at this event can be found as an attachment below.  This report was submitted by Travis Harrison, a member of the ITF Young Workers Steering Committee

Edited: 11/06/2009 at 10:52 PM by Young workers' blog Moderator

When Philander 'Fee' Walton enrolled in the marine electrician course at the SIU affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training Education, she was simply trying to help advance her career as an engine-department Seafarer.  Turns out she made history along the way. 

Fee is believed to be the first woman to successfully graduate from the unlicensed apprentice program at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Centre and then also complete engine-department upgrading courses up to and including marine electrician. Fee is intent on becoming a Third Engineer.

Jay Henderson, her instructor at the Paul Hall Centre, paid tribute to her character, saying “She’s an excellent student, She asks intelligent questions and is enthusiastic and accurate...She never says ‘I can’t.’ She’s a positive example for other females who are thinking about joining the engine department. Actually, she’s a positive example for the guys, too, in terms of work ethic.”

Fee sails out of the port of Norfolk, Va.  She sailed on the MV Liberty and then shipped out on the USNS Paul Buck after graduation. She most recently sailed on the Tyco Decisive.

Although it generally seems fewer women sail in the engine room compared to the deck or steward departments, Fee says she is pleased with her choice. “I always want to know how things work, and I like taking stuff apart,” she notes. Fee says she wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the engine department to other female Seafarers. But, her strongest advice is to upgrade as often as possible at the Paul Hall Centre, regardless of one’s shipboard department.

Edited: 10/29/2009 at 03:52 PM by donnaC

Young Australian activist, George Gakis tells us of his involvement with the ITF in Brussels and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) back home as he prepares for another conference in the coming months.

"the youth here are given many opportunities to progress within the union and strive for our success"

Read George's Profile here

 

During this year's ITF Summer School, our Youth programme was presented to participants from around the world. 

Joe Mattock, one of our Youth Steering Committee members (Nautilus, Great Britain), introduced the current state of the work and invited Trade Unions around the world to join in. 

Following the Steering Committee's powerful presentation to the Executive Board in April, the work received full-fledged endorsement and will now move to Congress 2010.

The Congress in Mexico will see a special event for young transport workers for the first time, and will shape the future of this work. 

Increasing Trade Unions' activities for and with young workers in not only the Network itself but also within their own unions is crucial to developing our movement. We need a bigger pool of leaders, together with wider and more successful organising.

Participants supported this enthusiastically.

 

Young seafarers recently met to discuss careers in the maritime industry. To find out more go to: http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/3192

Here's a story about young workers at the World Social Forum in Brazil:

Our friends over at LabourStart have announced a winner from their first-ever labour photo of the year contest.

The winning photo is by Robert Day, a branch secretary with the British public sector PCS in Birmingham.



For more details on the contest, links to all the photos, including the five finalists, please visit The LabourStart contest page

You may also like to visit ITF's Flickr page for thousands of campaign and action day photos.

Edited: 11/06/2008 at 09:08 AM by EricS

The ITF is keeping young workers in focus by putting us on the agenda at the upcoming Rail conference in Curitiba, Brazil:



Share your comments below.

Just a message to let you know that the ITF's executive board endorsed the federation's work with young people last Friday. Ingo Marowsky, who is responsible for the ITF's work with young people, gave a presentation to the board, outlining what the ITF has done so far. He said: "Young workers are not the future, they are the present."

He asked board members to endorse the Brussels declaration, which young workers put together at the conference in Belgium and to give the ITF secretariat a mandate to carry on with the work on young people so that concrete proposals could be developed. He also asked them to agree to a delegation of young workers attending the next executive board meeting in April. The board said "yes" to all of this.

Some comments:
Randall Howard, ITF President, said that organising young workers was "organisationally necessary for the future of our movement" and "Organising globally is also about organising young workers."

David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, (who attended the young workers' conference in Brussels) said: "Young people feel this process should be driven by young people themselves."

Eduardo Chagas, ETF General Secretary: "We need to have young people working with us. We need to show them that our principles are correct but that there are also other issues."

Jan Kahmann, Verdi: "Young workers are just as interested in social issues and justice as we are."