Solidarity Guidelines

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Guidelines for ITF affiliates requesting international support:

In order to make it easier to coordinate international solidarity assistance during a conflict or dispute, the ITF Secretariat needs to receive full information on the background and circumstances including the following:

A clear request for ITF assistance so that the Secretariat can distinguish between what is being sent to us purely as information, and what is being sent to us asking for some form of international support.
As much advance notice as possible. Please give us information about a potential dispute if possible in good time before it develops fully. This will help us to plan action in advance.
Brief, but clear information on the basic facts and background of the dispute, including the main causes; the demands of the union; the legal situation; the extent and nature of industrial action (for example, is the union on strike? How many/what proportion of employees are involved? What operations have been affected?)
Detailed information of any trade union/human rights violations which may have been encountered and of who was responsible.
An indication of the position of other ITF affiliates and/or other union organisations in your country including your trade union centre where appropriate. Also if there is more than one ITF union involved, we need to know their attitude. Has the national ITF coordinating committee been informed/involved?
Full details of the employer concerned, their ownership, links with other companies and, where relevant, details of the main customers/suppliers affected by the dispute.
Information about the legal status of the dispute and any other legal information you may have which could be relevant.
Details of any contacts which you have already had with ITF affiliates in other countries.
Names and titles, addresses, fax numbers and email addresses of persons/bodies to whom letters of protest should be sent, including Ministers, government officials, company representatives etc.
Information on any important dates that may affect the conduct of the dispute, or which can be the focus for international support action, for example, union days of action, court hearings, contract expiry dates.
Information on specific countries where it may be possible to exert pressure for a resolution of the dispute. For example links with employers in other countries routes flown by an airline or ports at which ships may call.
Keep us informed regularly on developments, offers, mediation meetings etc. In particular you must let us know immediately if the dispute ends.

Please also bear in mind the following :

Good lines of communication are important (please ensure that we have phone numbers, including mobile numbers, where we can contact urgently someone with direct knowledge of the situation. Make sure that fax machines are connected all the time and are not switched off at night. Make sure that people operating phone/fax machines understand a fax signal and know how to switch the machine from phone to fax). If your union does not have a fax, please give us a number at which you can be reached. If you have email, please make sure that someone checks the messages regularly.

Unions asking for assistance should be aware that labour legislation differs in other countries.

The more information we receive the more chance there is of organising some assistance but the final decision about what kind of help is possible must rest with the unions providing it.

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