Supporting Solidarity

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ITF affiliates can support and learn from each other, says Marianne Powell

When Timor Leste became an independent nation in 2002, there was a pressing need to build a trade union movement. So, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), an ITF affiliate, proposed sponsoring a project to establish a transportation workers’ union in the country. The ITF and MUA agreed to jointly finance and manage the project.

The ITF and its affiliates run a number of education projects. These are just some of the ongoing projects to build capacity and solidarity across the global union movement:
Topic	Union/ Organisation	Region
Women transport workers	FNV	Asia
Thai capacity building	SASK	Asia
South Asia restructuring	LO-TCO	Asia
HIV – South Asia	FNV	Asia
Organising fishers	FES	Asia
Aviation – low cost airlines	FES	Asia
Railway restructuring in Indonesia	SASK	Asia
Railway restructuring in south and south east Asia	FES	Asia
Timor Leste – building capacity	SEKO, LO-TCO	Asia
Organising road transport workers	SASK	Africa
Railway restructuring	German-speaking affiliates	Africa
HIV	FNV	Africa
Road transport in Malawi/Zimbabwe	SEKO	Africa
Rail workers in Zimbabwe	TSSA	Africa
Organising transport workers, Mombasa port, Kenya	BTB	Africa
Road transport	SASK	Americas
Ports, aviation	3F	Americas
Aviation – LAN	FES, FNV	Americas
Road and rail – Mercosur	FES	Americas
Collective bargaining in the Caribbean	CAW	Americas
Road, rail, aviation and women	FES	Arabic countries
Ports and aviation in Oman and Bahrain	ACILS	Arabic countries
Toolkit on transport restructuring	FES	Global
Building educators’ capacity	LO-TCO	Global
Summer school	FES	Global
HIV and transport	FNV	Global
International campaigning	FNV	Global

ITF affiliates take part in a wide range of work to support new and under-resourced unions. Assistance can be financial, but often sharing ideas and expertise is equally valuable. Where unions team up, the benefits to both are clear.

The Timor Leste work is a very good example of different dimensions to a project being funded through international solidarity from a range of ITF affiliates. As well as the MUA, Industry Energi (IE) and SEKO have also been involved. Affiliates in the ITF Offshore Task Force Group have contributed. The educating and organising funding has been provided by LO/TCO, the Swedish solidarity support organisation.

Despite unrest in the region and a number of setbacks, the project has been able to create a new union to look after transport and energy workers, who were identified as a key organising target for the union. The most recent figures show that the union’s membership is 533, with almost half paying dues. Onshore energy outlets are successfully being organised and the difficult task of mapping the offshore sector is taking place, according to project coordinator Mark Davis.

Collective agreements in the Caribbean

When Caribbean unions were looking to negotiate with employers, they were struggling. Union membership had been hit hard by the effects of globalisation and many skills had been lost. The members that remained had little or no training and limited technology and resources to use.

The Canadian Autoworkers’ Union (CAW) had the expertise to help and support these unions. So, in a project jointly implemented with the ITF, a CAW researcher went over to share his skills. Bill Murnighan presented his union’s experience of building up a web-based database of collective agreements signed by the CAW throughout Canada.

The session provided a lot of insight into the benefits and advantages of having such a database available for negotiators.

“To date, I have been able to use agreements of the CAW, and the other participating unions to compare and improve two of our agreements, representing dockers,” said Ann Anderson, of the Clerical and Commercial Workers’ Union in Guyana, who is coordinating the project.

Many participants reported that they were now taking more responsibilities in their unions on collective bargaining issues and related matters.

Others described their experience of conducting follow-up national programmes, as very satisfying and rewarding as the subjects pertaining to collective bargaining, which they discussed, attracted a lot of interest from the activists and workers attending. It also helped educators identify promising active workers to take more interest in union work.

Sustainable projects in Latin America

Unions in Central America are benefitting from work done by 3F, the Danish union. 3F is working across sectors to strengthen sister unions in order to improve their capacity to look after members’ interests on the basis of democratic principles.

The main focus of this work are: gender equality and women’s rights, collective agreements on pay and working conditions, networking, advocacy and communication, administration and management of trade unions, training of shop stewards, health and safety at work and strategies for vocational training.

In the transport sector in Central America, 3F is currently working with airport workers in Guatemala (USTAC), as well as with dockworkers in Honduras (SITRAENP) and Nicaragua (FTPN).

According to Joergen Hovgaard, programme coordinator for 3F, the project so far has seen “ a considerable strengthening of several unions, a strong network and communication between the different unions in the region, common strategies adjusted with ITF etc.

“In the area of education we have advanced considerably with regard to trade union educational systems, where the educational programmes are developed by the workers them-

selves and adapted to their own demands. Like-wise the workers are trained to be trainers, which makes the activities much more sustainable.”

Engaging members in international work

For national unions, it can be hard to convince members of the benefits of working more internationally. This is understandable: in a difficult economic environment members’ needs are pressing.

But unions who are able to collaborate internationally reap rewards, says Alana Dave, ITF education officer.

“Unions get to understand the contexts in which other unions work. They are able to build a direct relationship between members of unions in different countries, as some projects include exchange visits. They are able to build more direct industrial relationships, sometimes in the same company or sector. Sometimes projects generate information that unions can use to lobby their governments on international development/foreign policy issues.”

Annie Labaj, of CAW, emphasises that it’s important to explain to members what their money goes towards and why it is important.

“When you break it down, and people realise they’re contributing a penny an hour, or $1.60 a month – that’s the price of a cup of coffee. People see what it means when money is pooled collectively. “When people know more about what unions are doing [internationally] they become proud.”

Several unions in Britain have been building links with their African counterparts. By focusing on common areas, members have been engaged with the work.

Rail union Aslef recently twinned with the Uganda Rail Union. General secretary Samuel Wuma visited the UK to meet the union.

“Most members are focused on their own bread and butter industrial issues,” admits James McGowan. “But this work is a useful way of bringing development issues to members through their areas of interest.”

For Aslef, the common links helped to break down barriers, as members had a great deal of respect for Samuel, who has worked as a steam train driver.

Similarly, TSSA supports the Zimbabwe rail union. Again, the members are able to find common ground and have gained a better understanding of the issues in the region.

“It’s important that the relationship doesn’t just take place at the general secretary level,” says Neil Davis, policy advisor. “We’d like branches to twin, members to write letters, and we’ll feature regular reports in our journal.”

A new focus on international work

As transport becomes increasingly globalised, international solidarity work takes on a new importance. Unions that are able to collaborate and support each other across borders will be in a good position to grow and develop. Education and organising projects should be mutually beneficial – it is not simply a case of richer unions subsidising poorer ones.

“The ITF is keen to promote a politics of solidarity that is not about rich unions giving money to poorer unions,” says Alana Dave. “However, it can offer support for joint projects that build relationships and networking between affiliates.”

By facilitating cross-border cooperation, the ITF can help its affiliates to help themselves, and this could be beneficial for the whole trade union movement.

Marianne Powell is Transport International editor.

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Issue 37 - October 2009

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