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Campaigns need communicators, says delegation
2 February 2006
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| Poor pay and conditions at Ryanair: enough to make your stomach turn | |
Communicators are key to the delivery of a successful union campaign, was the overwhelming message from delegates attending the ITF’s recent meeting for union communicators.
The meeting, which saw the launch of a union communicators’ network, involved 31 participants from 16 countries and took place on 23 and 24 January in London, UK. It focused on how communicators – from press officers and editors to graphic designers, web managers, and video producers – could help shape a campaign and influence its outcome.
Maria Mirsch from the Swedish salaried employees’ union Tjänstemannaförbundet HTF described how a campaign to highlight the poor pay and conditions of Ryanair workers was spearheaded by an air sickness bag. The bag, with printed facts and figures about staff conditions, was distributed among passengers and, along with the ITF’s own Ryan-be-fair website, received widespread press coverage.
Meanwhile, Zoe Reynolds from the Maritime Union of Australia looked at how her union managed to turn around the legendary Patrick Stevedores dispute in 1998. She said that until the union had focused its attention on positive publicity, the government had been winning the “media war”.
“Dockworkers had never bothered with the media in the past ... it was a culture shock,” she explained. Reynolds demonstrated how the union was able to challenge the negative images of workers that the government had portrayed by holding community pickets and concentrating on positive imagery.
Commenting on unions’ campaigning experiences, Sarah Finke, Head of the ITF’s Information and Policy Department reminded delegates that “media coverage can change the course of events.”
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