Strengthening the Trade Unions: the Key Role of Labour Education

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Strengthening the trade unions: The key role of labour education

Labour Education 2007/1-2 No. 146-147

Contents

Editorial V Globalization and labour education, by Enrico Cairola 1 The present and future challenges of labour education in the global economy, by Bruce Spencer 11 Distance labour education – Solidarity learning around the globe, by Marc Bélanger 19 Research as a key element in labour education, by Verena Schmidt 25 The Global Labour University network – Bringing unions and universities together, by Frank Hoffer 33 Educating for equality – Workers’ education and gender, by Elsa Ramos 45 Trade union education in Africa – Challenges and future prospects, by Mohammed Mwamadzingo and Insa Ben Said Dia 49 Trade union education in Asia, by Christine Nathan and Hiro Ishibashi 57 Trade union education in Europe – Some latest developments, by Jeff Bridgford and John Stirling 65 Labour education the Nordic way – The Nordic Folk High School in Geneva, by John Steen Johansen 71 Trade union training and labour education in Latin America – Progress and challenges, by Carmen Benítez and Eduardo Rodríguez Calderón 75

III

Editorial

t is no doubt more than appropriate that, over ten years after the Ilast major international trade union meeting on labour education (Helsingør, 1994), the 2007 Symposium organized by ACTRAV, the Bureau for Workers’ Activities (Geneva, 8–12 October 2007) should be devoted to this topic. It is one of considerable importance to workers’ organizations. No, we do not mean the Labour Education that you are reading at this very moment. We are talking about the training of activists, shop stewards and leaders which, almost since the birth of trade unionism, has been one of the main sources of its faithfulness to its ideals and principles, its growing strength, its constant adaptation to new realities and, last but not least, its durability. Does all this international attention mean that labour education is in crisis? Certainly not. Every year around the world, it trains hundreds of thousands of trade unionists in the basics and techniques of collective bargaining, trade union recruitment and organizing methods, occupational safety and health issues, rights at work, equality and so on. In many countries, it goes beyond workplace-level concerns and deals with the role of trade union organization in society, the strengthening of democracy and the ﬁ ght for social justice or the environment. As truly popular education, in the best sense of the term, labour education does not mimic the teaching given in schools and universities, although the importance of that teaching is of course beyond dispute. Rather, it offers a unique kind of training which takes as its starting point the problems faced by working men and women. Its content can be very different to school curricula, and its teaching methods are its own. Constantly evolving, labour education has broadened its own scope and has established crossover points with all levels of the education system, including the universities. The workers’ activities programme of the In- ternational Training Centre of the ILO, Turin has not lagged behind. Each year, it trains several hundred trade union leaders, conﬁ rming the high value that the ILO assigns to strengthening the capacities of workers’ organizations through labour education. So why devote an international symposium to it? The answer is simple. Labour education has already given much to the trade union movement, but in future it may well have to give even more. And since the Hel- singør meeting, the world has changed and the challenges posed by globalization and the need for decent work have become clearer. The issues at stake are summed up very well by Bruce Spencer, from the Athabasca University, in his contribution to this special issue of Labour Education: “Beyond immediate concerns trade unions also have to wrestle with the question of what it is they want to achieve through labour education. Are they simply striving to represent members within the new global order or should they strive to become key players in civil society?” If they choose

V the latter, Mr Spencer adds, there are implications for labour education; the focus of labour education would shift (but never retreat) from representative training that is core labour education, towards courses and programmes stressing education for community building as much as for work. In other words, training will also have to expand, adding courses and programmes that will enable trade unionists to take part in the construction of society as a whole. This debate has already begun, and some trade union centres have started adjusting and experimenting with new pathways. Hence the idea of the 2007 Symposium, which will enable trade unionists involved in training on all fi ve continents to dialogue, exchange views and experience, and look into coordination and synergies. This discussion should provide an opportunity to pinpoint the trade union movement’s current and future concerns in the fi eld of training, and to adapt its teaching methods and programmes to meet them. Labour education is the main implement at the trade union movement’s disposal. And we should never forget that it is, to a large extent, fi nanced by trade unionists’ dues. It is therefore also a precious investment. “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!” So said Derek Bok, former President of Harvard University. His wisecrack became the slogan of many a trade union campaign to improve the quality of public education, but of course it applies equally to the unions themselves, which know how important it is to invest in training. Apart from being an implement for the unions, labour education is also the laboratory in which activists cook up new ideas for mobilizing, so as to face the new problems that they encounter in the workplace or which are of more general concern to workers. Stress, violence at work, homophobia and harassment are some of the issues that trainers have had to tackle – sometimes even before they found their way onto their union organization’s agenda. Today, trade union organizations and their training programmes have to take account of the effects of economic globalization, the demand for decent work, the fi ght against the spread of HIV/AIDS and against any discrimination towards HIV-positive people, climate change, migration, and the expansion of the informal economy. They have to prepare the workers’ representatives to take responsibility for complex negotiations: economic integration processes, strategic poverty reduction programmes, fl exicurity, multinational company councils. Important issues such as good governance, debt reduction for the poorest countries, and the programmes of big funders such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank are all part of the everyday workload facing national and international trade union organizations. And all this in an environment that often does not exactly foster dialogue. In its fi rst annual report (September 2007) on violations of trade union rights, the new International Trade Union Confederation cites 144 murders of trade unionists in 2006, more than 5,000 arrests in connection with trade union activities and more than 8,000 cases of dismissal for the same reasons. The report lists violations of freedom of association, to varying degrees, in 138 countries. This special issue on labour education is a good place to recall that, for the ILO, labour education is more than a necessity. It is a right. Article 2 paragraph (c) of the Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140), stipulates that each ILO Member shall formulate and apply a policy

VI designed to promote paid educational leave, including for trade union education. And various instruments stress the importance of this provision for different categories of worker – young, part-time and older workers, those with family responsibilities and night workers. The international workers’ 2007 Symposium on labour education could also provide an opportunity for the unions to commit themselves to promoting the ratifi cation of Convention No. 140 (to date, it has gar- nered just 34 ratifi cations) and to remind governments of the importance of this instrument. Our colleagues at the Programme for Workers’ Activities of the Inter- national Training Centre of the ILO, Turin, and those in the Bureau for Workers’ Activities at ILO headquarters, have contributed to the preparation of this special issue, looking ahead to the discussion that will take place at the 2007 Symposium on labour education. Their analyses do not provide any ready-made pattern for the labour education of tomorrow. Nor do they claim to do so. That was not their aim. But together with the analyses by other specialists published in this issue, they shed some light, they take stock and they give food for thought – as they also will for the discussions ahead. In fact, globally focused literature on labour education is in short supply. The trade union movement’s contribution to the promotion of education for all, free of charge but of high quality, is known and acknowledged by the public at large. But the movement’s own training role, through labour education, has stayed out of the limelight. This despite the major investment that it requires, in terms both of fi nancial and of human resources. The international workers’ 2007 Symposium on labour education and the documents that will be devoted to it, including this one, will help to fi ll that gap. They will enable the ILO and, more particularly, its Bu- reau for Workers’ Activities to reassess training programmes in the light of the conclusions that will be adopted. Above all, it is hoped that they will fuel the debates and will be enriched by them and that the discussions will produce an action programme that can make labour education even more effective, even more relevant and better adjusted to the age of globalization.

Dan Cunniah Director, a.i. ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities

VII

Globalization and labour education

How can a global labour education programme meet the challenges of a global economy? And what is the role of labour education in achieving decent work for all? These issues underlie the strategies and future development of the Programme for Workers’ Activities of the International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin.

Enrico Cairola Programme Manager Programme for Workers’ Activities International Training Centre of the ILO Turin, Italy

CTRAV Turin can be considered the supply of products and services. Another Atraining arm of the Geneva-based ILO consequence was the rise of intra-fi rm Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV). trade, one of the major components of con- ACTRAV Turin has the mission of deliver- temporary international trade. ing a global labour education programme Developing countries, on the other for the ILO. The aim is to assist the labour hand, started to become involved in the movement’s capacity-building and its edu- processes that characterize the interna- cation structures and programmes. Labour tionalization of global production. In- education programmes today are geared creasingly, they became both suppliers to helping the international trade union of raw materials and cheap labour and movement tackle the challenges posed recipients of the subsidiaries of multina- by globalization. Three main dimensions tional enterprises (MNEs). Between the need to be addressed here: the globaliza- 1960s and the 1980s, developing countries tion of trade, the globalization of produc- started switching from import substitu- tion, and the globalization of fi nance. tion to export promotion policies for a variety of reasons (e.g. economic stagnation and the need to balance their budgets as a Globalization of trade result of the adoption of Structural Adjust- ment Plans imposed by the International The globalization of trade refers to the ex- Monetary Fund and the World Bank). They pansion in volume and variety of cross- also fostered their industrial development. border transactions in goods and ser- As a result, they progressively started to vices, as well as the development of tech- integrate into the world trading system, al- nologies in the area of information and though their participation was still patchy transportation. and far from being pursued on an equal Between 1950 and 1970, developed footing with the developed countries. countries increased their productive cap- The trade agenda of the World Trade acity to rates never attained before, through Organization (WTO) is at the core of the the international diffusion of the Fordist interest of the international labour move- model 1 – in other words, mass production ment, which right from the start sought and the use of assembly lines. As a result, a recognized advisory role, together with companies had to fi nd new foreign mar- other actors representing groups in civil kets to which they could export the excess society. The International Trade Union

1 Confederation’s network on Trade and In- plementation of economic and trade pol- ternational Labour Standards (TILS) has icies which respect and promote the ILO’s been monitoring the work of the WTO and concept of decent work.4 has conducted campaigns to have the interests of organized labour included in its trade agenda. Globalization of production The processes characterizing the globalization of trade are still ongoing. Des- The globalization of production systems is pite trade negotiations at the multilateral, another pillar of economic globalization. It regional and bilateral levels, world trade has a great impact on the way unions or- distribution continues to be polarized 2 ganize their members, their activities and and protectionism persists within the their educational programmes. international trade community. These The processes characterizing the glo- imbalances are the result of asymmetric balization of production started in the liberalizations which were carried out in mid-1970s, mainly driven by multina- agriculture and textiles or, for example, tional enterprises. They resulted in greater in the trade-related aspects of intellectual productivity gains which were rarely dis- property rights (TRIPS). Mutual reduction tributed to workers, in particular in devel- of tariffs, quotas and technical barriers to oping countries where freedom of associ- trade was achieved among some countries ation and the right to collective bargain- in the GATT/WTO Rounds, in regional ing are often denied or limited by national trade agreements and with the intensifi - labour laws. cation of bilateral trade agreements. The global production chains/networks ACTRAV has developed specifi c cur- that were developed in this context have ricula on international economics, regional completely redefi ned the composition and economic integration and political econ- the numbers of both the blue- and white- omy, with the aim of assisting national collar workforce and, in general, have de- trade unions to develop the technical and creased the number of workers employed educational capacity of their senior lead- in the industrial sector.5 ers/staff/activists in these fi elds. The The spread of technological innovation courses focus on the role of trade unions in and the relative decline of costs in trans- infl uencing negotiations on bilateral and portation, telecommunications, informa- multilateral agreements. The aim is to have tion technology and automation enabled labour rights and workers’ interests built MNEs to internationally relocate single into these agreements – including bilateral units of the production cycle. The classic free trade agreements, which have signifi - self-contained Fordist plant was broken cant economic and social implications for up into subunits and spread amongst dif- the workers in the different regions.3 ferent locations and territories. In other The ACTRAV Turin courses emphasize words, production was de-territorialized the role of the social partners in ensuring (e.g. product design in Europe, engineer- that the economic benefi ts of increased ing in India, manufacturing in China, trade and foreign investment are more marketing in the United States). equally and fairly distributed, and that While the Fordist model was deeply the fundamental principles and rights at rooted in its local environment, these work are universally recognized and ap- new plants are highly mobile, have few plied. The challenge for trade unions is to linkages to the local backyard and are at- press governments to maximize the social tracted by incentives offered by territories and economic advantages of trade and for- and local communities competing with eign investments, through effective trade each other. This process is at the base of union participation in social dialogue. the so-called “race-to-the-bottom”, where Building educational capacity in this area national/local governments create artifi - would facilitate the development and im- cially short-lived comparative advantages

2 by lowering labour standards, slashing social and economic environments. These welfare provisions and granting tax ex- workers operate in diversifi ed labour mar- emption to foreign fi rms.6 kets characterized by different degrees Under this new pattern of production, of formal/informal economies which, in a so-called new fl exible-mobile-global en- most cases, are embedded in unifi ed glo- terprise has appeared, with the capacity to bal production cycles and chains of pro- modify its structures and functions rap- duction. What has to be further developed idly through the relocation of production is an organizing strategy able to connect units and the extensive use of outsourcing these workers and their political and social and subcontracting. demands at the regional and global level. These are the main features of this new ACTRAV has developed specifi c cur- model of production, the so-called “post- ricula which deal with organizing, col- Fordist model”, which have emerged with lective bargaining and labour relations. globalization. In particular, the Programme for Workers’ MNEs “monitor and scan the world” Activities of the ILO, Turin has developed in search of the most suitable sites to lo- training courses on collective bargaining cate, outsource or buy semi-manufactured with a focus on the International Frame- goods or the fi nal product itself.7 So, con- work Agreements (IFA) and on how to temporary production is organized around analyse and conduct research in the area fl exible global networks and clusters.8 of labour relations. It should be noted that for some multi- These courses also focus on the role nationals, production is no longer a prior- of trade unions in analysing the changes ity. In some cases (varying from sector to imposed by globalization and on how to sector), production has become a second- respond to new training needs in the area ary activity for fi rms.9 Their main source of of organizing. In particular, some curric- profi ts is now marketing brands and logos ula were built around the presentation or dealing on the fi nancial markets. In of case studies on the organization of in- most cases, production is contracted out to formal workers and on strategic alliances a large number of small and medium-sized between organized labour and workers in enterprises (SMEs), often located in export the informal economy. processing zones (EPZs), while the brand- based fi rm handles only non-productive activities such as marketing and the or- Globalization of finance ganization of world production.10 The changing confi guration of world The globalization of fi nance is the third production has also had a profound im- pillar of globalization and it too is of great pact on the international division of la- relevance to labour issues and to the strat- bour and the commodity chain. Changes egies that need to be developed by the in- in production patterns are associated with ternational labour movement. the cross-border distribution of incomes, By the end of the 1970s, the world econ- and have major effects on labour organ- omy was becoming increasingly based on izations and their capacity to conduct col- international capital fl ows rather than on lective bargaining at the sectoral or en- production and trade. This process is re- terprise level. These developments have ferred to as the “fi nancialization of the paved the way for the rise of the so-called economy”. Financial markets and networks “knowledge economy”. At the same time, are heavily infl uencing the development a strong informal economy has emerged of the world economy. Another important in developing and, in some cases, in in- dimension of globalization is the rapid dustrialized countries. growth of fi nancial markets, with the lift- For the above reasons, ACTRAV has put ing of capital barriers and the creation of at the centre of its educational agenda the an enormous mass of fi nancial resources objective of organizing workers in their that are mainly used for speculation.

3 If the globalization of trade and pro- balization. The introduction of neo-liberal duction is still an ongoing process, this is economic policies was based on the lib- much less the case for the globalization of eralization of trade, privatization of pub- fi nance. With liberalization and the com- lic services, the reduction of welfare pro- puterization of the stock exchanges, cap- visions and the fl exibilization of labour ital of all kinds now moves around the market policies. These macroeconomic world with scarcely any restrictions. policies worked against the transforma- Today, a class of international inves- tion of globalization into an opportunity tors has arisen, and the range of fi nancial for working people. products on offer to them is vast (over At the end of the last decade, the eco- a half million different kinds of securi- nomic and social crises prepared the ties). The amount of capital circulating ground for the development of new pol- in the world fi nancial market rose from icies that aim to reconcile economic re- US$2,000 billion in 1980 to $20,000 billion forms with a social agenda. These changes in 1990. Money can be easily transferred are associated with the negative percep- worldwide instantaneously via a global tion of globalization. Data on trade, for- banking network. Speculative capital eign direct investments and the distribu- movements have become very dominant, tion of income show that globalization is adding considerable fi nancial instability a polarized process from which only some to the system and fostering crises. Central industrialized countries and a limited banks have to accumulate more reserves number of newly industrialized countries than in the past as a safeguard against (NICs) benefi t. speculative attacks and sudden outfl ows of capital.11 Last but not least, most of the devel- A globally integrated production oping world is marginalized from foreign system based on the informal direct investment (FDI) infl ows. This is economy and post-Fordism particularly true for the African continent (with the exception of South Africa), and Technology-intensive modes of produc- to some extent for South Asia and the Mid- tion, and work in the informal economy dle East. Developed countries continue to based on labour-intensive conditions of be the leading international investors, ac- production coexist side by side in frag- counting for about 80 per cent of the total mented production cycles, both in de- FDI stock. veloped and developing countries. The The Turin curricula on international worsening of working conditions and economics, regional economic integration labour standards is in some cases push- and political economy also deal with this ing the globalized economy back to the dimension of globalization. Here, the aim origins of capitalism, with such features is to develop an understanding of these as forced labour, child labour and precar- changes and raise awareness of the major ious work. causes behind regional fi nancial crises This is particularly evident in the new such as those in South-East Asia in 1997. international division of labour, both in developing and developed countries, where the informal economy, export processing Political decisions zones, contract labour and other types of supporting globalization worker coexist at the core of the MNEs’ industrial and service infrastructure and All these global developments, often operate within the same cycle of produc- driven by technological changes, were tion in different locations. also accompanied by political decisions, What is being developed today is a sys- which played a key role in shaping the tem where, on the one hand, the informal economic and social outcomes of glo- economy and factories organized around

4 traditional, Fordist and post-Fordist sys- A new agenda for labour education tems of production together form a global production network which is unifi ed and ACTRAV Turin aims to strengthen work- integrated by the management of MNEs ers’ organizations and their capacity to while, on the other hand, the labour side is provide labour education and to respond fragmented. The reduction of costs to keep to the challenges imposed by globaliza- competitiveness at high levels has, more tion. In particular, the programme sets out than ever, hurt workers through the re- to build permanent capacities in labour or- duction of wages, welfare provisions and ganizations, through the development or labour rights. strengthening of staff, and related special- In the light of all these developments, ized departments, in charge of supporting three questions emerge: Are workers’ or- and executing the major tasks and func- ganizations globalizing, as well as their tions of trade union work in the areas of strategies? Are different national labour organizing, workers’ rights, employment markets converging into a global one policies, social protection, labour rela- based on the respect of fundamental lations/collective bargaining and informa- bour standards? Is the global labour move- tion technology (IT) developments. In ment able to achieve new forms of solidar- addition, the programme aims to provide ity and mutual cooperation based on the an integrated educational approach which development of permanent and mutually is needed to respond to the multifaceted supported networks? challenges of globalization. Globalization of democratic values and New skills and new capacities are also of workers’ rights has today become the needed in the labour movement; this im- priority of a unifi ed global union move- plies the development and adaptation of ment. Capacity building towards democ- multidisciplinary curricula designed to racy implies respect for labour rights and support the process of organizing work- the existence of strong and independent ers in the global economy. social partners. In this regard, ACTRAV Turin has For this reason, one of the major pillars played an important role in developing of the ACTRAV Turin programme is the labour education in the past decade.13 development of courses on international As part of a global effort to build trade labour standards and on workers’ rights. union training capacity and awareness In particular, the Programme for Workers’ on the global economy, ACTRAV Turin Activities has developed specifi c curricula facilitates the linkage between interna- aimed at training trade union specialists tional, regional, subregional and national in this area so as to improve trade unions’ training on subject areas that are related reporting to the ILO and create capacity to decent work, organizing and network building on the procedures involved in development. preparing formal complaints on violations The values and principles that in- of labour rights. spire the work of ACTRAV Turin are the As we have seen above, labour edu- following: cation can play a prominent role in shap- Labour education is a strategic tool for ing the development of international trade building strong, independent, demo- union action to globalize solidarity and cratic and representative trade unions workers’ rights. ACTRAV Turin and the that can respond to the challenges im- Programme for Workers’ Activities have posed by globalization. an important role to play in supporting the international labour movement with Labour education aims at strengthening the necessary tools and skills to address solidarity, building strong and effective globalization issues.12 unions, infl uencing society, organizing and recruiting and promoting equality via the concept of decent work.

5 Priorities include organizing, freedom of Specialized residential training courses association and collective bargaining. at the ILO Turin Centre, including a Delivery of training activities is aimed training methodology component (ac- at developing sustainable educational tive learning methods); trade union networks. Follow-up seminars and training ac- A universally accessible electronically tivities jointly developed with the fi eld based educational network should be structure of ACTRAV; built to further assist the development The development and strengthening of of labour education. online labour education; Full integration of gender perspectives Delivery of staff training for into educational programmes should ACTRAV. be ensured. The programme also develops train- The ACTRAV Turin programme has reori- ing manuals and publications relating ented its efforts towards the ILO focus on to workers’ education – see http://www. decent work. It has done so by strengthen- itcilo.org / actrav/ english/ library/ library ing trade union training policies and pro- _home.html. grammes to enable unions to autonomously develop their own responses in several technical areas. These areas are mainly Training methodology related to specifi c functions that need to be performed by workers’ organizations, The majority of programmes for workers’ with specifi c skills and competencies: activities organized by ACTRAV Turin deal with specifi c subject areas. They make Integrating the Decent Work Agenda use of a training methodology throughout and its four dimensions; the course based on active learning meth- Rebuilding strong trade union organ- ods. This participant-centred approach izing patterns, focusing on the differ- encourages the full engagement of each ent organizing strategies needed in the course member in programme activities, formal and informal economy; validates trade union experiences brought by trade unionists and assists the trainers Developing global social dialogue by in delivering the technical component of supporting the Global Union Federa- the course. tions (GUFs) through concrete national Courses begin by drawing on the ex- and transnational educational pro- perience, skills, knowledge, and attitudes grammes and plans, leading to mul- of participants. A country report is always tinational industrial relations and the prepared by participants and sent via email reinforcement of International Frame- to the ILO Turin Centre before the course. work Agreements; Country reports are discussed during the Addressing the issue of network defi rst sessions. In some courses, participants velopment and of the “digital divide” are invited to introduce themselves using within the labour movement. a mailing list, and by doing so they start familiarizing themselves with IT capabili- Within these strategic areas, the pro- ties before reaching the Centre. Once par- gramme has developed 14 curricula which ticipants reach the Centre, they are intro- are continuously updated through a produced to the Solidarity Communications cess of consultation within ACTRAV (Ge- (SoliComm) communications system (for neva and the fi eld).14 more information on SoliComm, see the Finally, the programme’s delivery can article by Marc Bélanger on page 19) and be summarized within four broad cat- are trained to work in online conferences. egories of training activities/services: This online education system offers great

6 potential for the continuation of the edu- the training packages provided to partici- cation process after the residential course pants at the end of the course. With the and for the development of regional net- development of the ACTRAV web site, all works on specifi c topics. the courses and online training activities A comparative analysis of the different have a web page, with complete course de- countries/subregions represented in the scriptions as well as activity fi les related to programme is the fi rst step in calibrating the course, such as regional/subregional the training needs and, consequently, the reports and participants’ workplans. training objectives of the course with the This methodology has been extended participants. This approach leads to a con- to all programmes in the various lan- tinuous adaptation of the course pace/con- guages and to those activities jointly pro- tent within the group and with the train- moted with other technical programmes. ers. In other words, trainers are responsive In future, the programme should fur- to participants’ needs, which arise during ther extend interregional training pro- the development of the programme. grammes, where the delivery of courses The initial section of a course includes aims to reach participants from develop- presentations of the ILO/ACTRAV and in- ing and developed countries, working to- ternational labour standards, with a focus gether in a training environment based on on freedom of association, gender, glo- sharing their experiences and their visions balization and core ILO-related issues. of the effects of globalization on workers’ There are always subject-specifi c train- organizations. Those courses would also ing materials prepared by ACTRAV (train- help the labour movement to devise coming packages) and the trainers. A large mon international strategies and actions number of practical exercises facilitate jointly developed by workers from the assimilation and the exchange of experi- South and the North. ences/information between course participants and trainers. This approach creates a high degree of responsiveness to the Strategic developments programme and encourages participants in the ACTRAV Turin programme to apply the results of the course work for 2006–10 to their trade unions. The fi nal phase of the programme at the Centre is the prep- ACTRAV can be, to some extent, an “initi- aration of work plans for national/local ator” or a “catalyst” for change in the area implementation. They are usually pre- of labour education, but it has to work with pared by all course participants prior to partners as it has neither the capacity nor the study visit to the ILO in Geneva and/ the desire to carry out this process alone. or to a major trade union centre, usually So it is important for the programme to taking place during the last week of the defi ne a development plan based on se- course. The implementation of this ap- lected strategic areas during the period proach, based on active learning methods, 2006–10. In particular, it should: is continuously monitored through course 1. Support the development and strength- meetings and weekly evaluations. ening of specialized technical depart- A wide variety of teaching methods ments in labour organizations within are used in the programme, such as role the strategic areas of the Programme playing and case studies. For the exercises, for Workers’ Activities of the ILO, the participants are usually divided into Turin and develop core curricula small groups, except in the case of the which are continuously adapted to re- fi nal workplans prepared by each par- gional needs. ticipant for his/her own organization. Reports presented in plenary sessions, as 2. Support the merger between the Inter- well as further comments and advice from national Confederation of Free Trade the trainers, are recorded and included in Unions and the World Confederation

7 of Labour through the delivery of ap- development within globalization offers propriate training programmes and the labour movement the unique oppor- develop specifi c workers’ approaches/ tunity to network across borders, on the visions in terms of methodologies and condition that it can narrow the digital course content, so as to contribute to divide between workers’ organizations, the development of a new trade union especially between developed and devel- international organization. oping countries.16 Information technology can be an im- The following are key areas of action: portant tool in the development of union Develop and support regional educa- capabilities. Consequently, the programme tional networks as part of a global la- has over the past few years conducted bour education network month-long residential courses on IT, organized week-long seminars on the sub- Further develop SoliComm as a union ject, provided consultation services, cre- communication platform ated software, written training material Strengthen the link between ACTRAV and taught courses completely online. training activities and the International Building on this experience, the pro- Labour Conference’s agenda gramme will continue its concentration on IT labour education, including the Systematically emphasize gender use by labour educators of email, online mainstreaming conferences, email lists, databases, word Integrate distance education with resi- processing, spreadsheets, presentation dential training programmes and the creation of educational web sites. Provide credentials such as the Interna- The programme plans to reinforce cap- tional Computer Driving Licence and acity building for the use of IT by unions, fi nalize the joint provision of degrees in developing countries and global la- with labour-oriented universities bour organizations. It plans to build on Develop joint activities for trade unions this by: from developing and industrialized Creating new software training ma- countries and within the framework terial: Training material will be devel- of South-South cooperation (globaliza- oped to cover the complete range of IT tion and migration). topics, with special emphasis on open source, free software. This material is being written to comply with the cur- Information technology and riculum established by the Interna- the ACTRAV Turin programme tional Computer Driving Licence. Technological innovation has increased Expanding distance education courses communications speed, information and activities: The programme will exchanges and the transport of goods build on its expertise in distance around the globe. By doing so, it has education and provide more online changed people’s perception of space and courses and seminars. It will continue time and has made it possible for the fi rst to work closely with GUFs to build time ever in the history of capitalism to or- their capacity to provide distance la- ganize trade and production just-in-time bour education. in different locations and territories. SoliComm: A major expansion of So- Major changes in communications and liComm’s use within the international transportation have also brought new op- labour movement is under way. Trade portunities for developing cross-border union centres in the developing world networks. More than 1 billion people were will be invited to use SoliComm’s ser- on the Internet by 2006.15 This positive vices, including the hosting of educa-

8 tional web sites. Technical support for Conclusion this expansion will be provided partially by programme staff, but most of It is by strengthening the capacity of work- it will be supplied by the users them- ers’ organizations through labour edu- selves. Special online support confer- cation programmes that ACTRAV Turin ences will be created in which Soli- aims to tackle the multifaceted challenges Comm members can work amongst of globalization, so helping to achieve the themselves to learn and solve their ILO’s objective of decent work for all. technical diffi culties. SoliComm facilities will be translated from the current English/French/Spanish/Por- Notes tuguese to other languages. Further technical development of the system 1 Cairola, E.; Revelli, M. 2004. Training Manual will include a conference message no- on Fordism and Post-Fordism: Organizing Workers in the tifi cation system. The use of SoliComm Workplace. Second (revised) edition (Geneva, ILO). will be carefully researched in order 2 Kyloh, R. 2000. “Recent trends in trade and in- to provide a technical and pedagogi- vestment: Globalization or polarization?” in Govern- ance of Globalization: The ILO Contribution, ACTRAV cal guide to distance labour education. working paper, available at http://www.ilo.org/ Special attention will be paid to the public/english/dialogue/actrav/publ/global.htm. technological and pedagogical needs See also Globalization and Workers’ Rights, available at of women. http://www.itcilo.it/actrav/actrav-english/telearn/ global/ilo/eemeli/kaide.htm [30 July 2007]. Labour Education Network: With the 3 Ishibashi, M. 2003. Trade Union Training Guide creation of SoliComm, and the experi- on Asia and Pacifi c Economic Forum (APEC) (ILO-AC- ence the Programme for Workers’ Ac- TRAV, Turin), available at http://training.itcilo.it/ tivities of the ILO, Turin has developed actrav/library/english/apec/000.htm [30 July 2007]. in distance education, the technologies 4 International Labour Offi ce (ILO). 1999. Report and pedagogies to create a global la- of the Director-General: Decent Work, International La- bour Conference, 87th Session, June. bour educators’ network is now in 5 —. 1997. World Labour Report 1997–98: Industrial place. This network, working rather Relations, Democracy and Social Stability (Geneva). like the Global Union Research Net- 6 The ILO has defi ned EPZs as “industrial zones work (GURN), will be used to link la- with special incentives set up to attract foreign in- bour educators from around the world, vestors, in which imported materials undergo some share training materials, develop inter- degree of processing before being re-exported”. For national curricula on subjects such as further information, see: Singa Boyenge, J.-P. ILO database on export processing zones (revised), Working globalization and conduct online train- Paper No. 251, Sectoral Activities Programme, ILO, ing. The fi rst parts of the network have Geneva, 2003. been created by involving former par- 7 The number of employees in foreign affi liates ticipants in Latin America and in the worldwide, a measure of the employment capacity of Asia-Pacifi c regions. MNEs, has grown dramatically: it reached $53 million in 2002, up from $19 million two decades ago. The development of a database on There are about 5,174 EPZs in the world, approxi- existing education centres owned by mately accounting for 41,934,133 workers, mainly trade union organizations all over concentrated in Asia (China above all), Mexico and Central America (ILO, 2004). the world as well as the number of la- 8 bour educators employed by national Although fi gures give evidence of a clear trend towards the international relocation of pro- centres, regional and international duction, it should be recalled that enterprises still organizations. keep a link with the territory, especially when it comes to strategizing research and technological innovation. For instance, the geographical location of fi rms matters and makes a difference in the case of industrial clusters, where SMEs join forces to attain levels of excellence that allow them to stay on global markets.

9 9 It should also be noted that competition has 13 ILO ACTRAV in Geneva was created as a dramatically increased because MNEs continue to department that grouped two services, EDUC and compete worldwide with each other to gain shares RELTRAV. The structural changes began in the ultimately in saturated world markets. 1980s. After some time, there was a tendency for 10 The extensive spread of subcontracting is re- the various functions of ACTRAV staff, especially lated to the issue of corporate social responsibility. in the fi eld, to become more or less interchangeable. In 2006–07, the ILO has focused activities in terms The expansion of the role and function of ACTRAV of research and training in this fi eld. Turin, at the centre as well as in the fi eld, has fi lled 11 In 1997, capital market transactions peaked at some of the gaps created by the relatively lower pri- a record share of 95 per cent of the total interna- ority given by ACTRAV to labour education. tional transactions (world exports accounted for no 14 The fi eld staff structure of ACTRAV also in- more than the remaining 5 per cent). In monetary cludes workers’ education specialists (four staff terms, international fi nancial transactions in 1997 members who are specialized in labour education). amounted to about $1,500 billion per day, whereas 15 world trade accounted for $25 billion only. Likewise, According to the Internet World Stats (up- the proportion of foreign exchange dealings directly dated to June 30, 2006), 1,043,104,886 people use the related to transactions in “real” goods fell from 90 Internet, which corresponds to 16 per cent of the per cent at the beginning of the decade to less than world population. In particular, 56.4 per cent of In- 5 per cent at the end. Capital is a stronger pillar of ternet users live in Asia, 14.1 per cent in Africa, 12.4 globalization than trade. per cent in Europe, 8.5 per cent in Latin America, 5.1 per cent in North America, 2.9 per cent in Middle 12 For further information on globalization, see East and 0.5 per cent in Oceania. E. Cairola, D. Cibrario, Trade Union Training on Glo- balization, ILO, ACTRAV Turin, 2005, available at 16 For this reason, ACTRAV Turin has heavily http://www.itcilo.org/actrav/global/biblio/biblio. invested in education programmes related to IT and htm [30 July 2007]. network development.

10 The present and future challenges of labour education in the global economy

Millions of trade union activists, members and representatives bene- fit every year from labour education as part of efforts to build up capacity and face the challenges of a changing world of work. Beyond immediate concerns trade unions also have to wrestle with the question of what it is they want to achieve through labour education. Are they simply striving to represent members within the new global order or should they strive to become key players in civil society? If they choose the latter there are implications for labour education: the focus of labour education would shift (but never retreat) from representative training, i.e. core labour education, towards courses and programmes stressing education for community building as much as for work.

Bruce Spencer Athabasca University Alberta, Canada

abour education refers to education therefore rely on what is essentially vol- Land training offered by labour unions untary activity of their members to be (trade unions) to their members and rep- effective at work and in society; the labour resentatives. The extent to which this edu- education programme is thus a major con- cation is provided directly by unions or by tributor to building an effective volunteer another agency or educational institution force. for unions varies from country to country Most labour union members learn and union to union. A main purpose of about the union while on the job (what is labour education is to prepare and train often referred to as informal or incidental union lay members to play an active role learning). They probably will learn more in the union. (“Union education” can be and become most active during negotia- used interchangeably with “labour edu- tions, grievances and disputes, but they cation” in this article. “Union education” also learn from union publications and is sometimes reserved for courses run communications, from attending meet- directly by unions as opposed to labour ings, conferences and conventions, and education courses run for unions by other from the union’s educational programmes. providers.) Another purpose is to educate Although labour education only caters to a activists and members about union policy, small number of members in any one year about changes in the union environment it is designed to beneﬁ t a larger number of such as new management techniques or members because the course participants changes in labour law. Labour education are expected to share the learning gained is also used to develop union conscious- with other union members. Labour educa- ness, to build common goals and to share tion has a social purpose – to promote and organizing and campaigning experience. develop the union presence and purposes, Unions have a small full-time staff and so as to advance the union collectively.

11 Core labour education nor a requirement to undertake one before the other but the differentiation between Most of the labour education courses pro- types (and therefore the aims and pur- vided by unions are tool courses (for ex- poses) of labour education can be useful ample, shop steward training, grievance when thinking about union education. handling, and health and safety repre- The union movement also provides sentative courses). The next largest cat- more extensive and demanding educa- egory is issue courses (for example, sex- tional opportunities such as the Harvard ual harassment or racism or new human Trade Union Programme for lead offi cials resource management strategies), which or evening Certifi cate courses in the UK often seek to link workplace and societal or the CLC’s fi ve-week residential Labour issues. A third group of courses can be College of Canada (which teaches four labelled labour studies, which seek to exam- courses – labour history, economics, soci- ine the union context (for example, labour ology, politics – at a fi rst year university history, economics and politics). level in a four-week block. Labour law is Tool courses directly prepare members now taught as a one-week course in the re- to become representatives of the union; gions). Although the Labour College uses tool courses are targeted at existing or some university educators, and is placed potential union activists. They are pro- in the University of Ottawa, it is a separate vided directly by the unions, by labour entity directly accountable to the CLC. federations or by union centrals (such as This differs from the Harvard programme the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), with its more autonomous structure and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the from other US college programmes and United Kingdom or the Swedish Con- from the adult residential colleges in the federation of Trade Unions (LO)). Tool UK, such as Ruskin and Northern College courses are also provided for unions by that offer year-long programmes and are educational institutions (for example by open to union members. Similar labour many of the labour studies centres across studies programmes can be found in other the United States) or by educational in- countries and within some mainstream stitutions collaboratively with the central university offerings (particularly in Aus- bodies or individual unions (for example tralia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and with colleges, universities and the Work- the United States). In many cases labour ers’ Educational Association collaborat- studies courses are offered after members ing with the TUC in Britain). They may have undertaken tool and issue courses also be provided by specialized institu- but perhaps the most innovative example tions such as the now defunct Australian of a labour studies programme offered to Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) all union members is the negotiated paid or South Africa’s Development Institute educational leave (PEL) programme de- for the Training, Support and Education veloped by the Canadian Autoworkers of Labour (Ditsela). (CAW) and now also offered by the Can- Many unions layer their courses, with adian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). introductory, intermediate and advanced The core offering is four separate but courses and programmes. Advanced linked one-week units targeted at mem- courses are generally available to those bers, not just representatives and activists, who have completed introductory courses. and funded by an employer levy negoti- Some of the introductory tool courses lead ated at the bargaining table (the unions on to issue courses (sometimes referred to retain sole control over content). as “awareness” courses), which are spe- The intention of the dedicated la- cifi cally targeted at raising awareness and bour studies courses is to supplement union action around the issues discussed. trade union tool and issue courses with In some cases there will not be a strict de- a broader educational programme, and marcation between tool and issue courses in some cases to provide a research basis

12 for union activity – some universities are In some cases unions have developed linking directly with unions to offer re- a comprehensive and integrated education search collaborations (for example Leeds and training programme such as Britain’s in the UK) or study and research circles UNISON Open College, which includes (for example in Sweden). Although unions labour education, basic skills, recognition are usually represented on the “boards of of prior learning and vocational training studies” of the university and college of- opportunities for all union members. In fering labour studies programmes these Brazil, “Programa Integrar” offers union- are rarely union-controlled in contrast to sponsored labour education, vocational the union-run courses. The variations in training and educational opportunities for terms of the nature, course structures and unemployed persons (these examples are delivery of labour education courses are discussed more fully below). In other situ- manifest and this article provides but a ations unions are engaging in workplace few examples drawn mainly from Unions learning programmes, partnered with and Learning in a Global Economy: Interna- employers or other agencies. Some worker tional and Global Perspectives 1 and Trade health and safety training is undertaken by Union Education in Europe.2 unions or may be jointly offered with management (this should not be confused with union safety representatives’ tool courses Other labour education referred to above). Involvement in these courses allows unions to argue for a union While tools, issues and labour studies view (a safe workplace) as opposed to a courses might describe the majority of la- management view (safe worker) of health bour education, they do not encompass all and safety. Union-run worker health and offerings. Unions are increasingly directly safety training has also been used as part involved in a number of membership edu- of union organizing drives. cation programmes some of which have Nor should we ignore educational a “basic educational skills” or vocational provision for full-time offi cers within our purpose. In some cases union-run literacy purview of labour education. There has and second language courses are tutored been a growing interest, particularly in by fellow unionists and act as a bridge Europe, Quebec and Canada generally, in linking immigrant or other workers to equipping full-time offi cers with the edu- union concerns and publications. Simi- cational tools needed to conduct union larly, unions are responsible for a number business in a global economy. of worker training programmes, which allow the unions to educate workers about union concerns alongside of vocational Labour education achievements training. In some countries skilled and and challenges in the global economy professional unions have a long history of union-sponsored vocational training and It is diffi cult to gauge how many union education courses. Unions are becoming members benefi t from core labour educa- much more proactive in responding to tion programmes but based on the statisti- company restructuring and deskilling cal information available, we can estimate and are arguing for reskilling, skills rec- that some 3 per cent of union members ognition and skills profi ling, as well as a year undergo some labour education in challenging employers to live up to their most industrialized countries. The partici- rhetoric on “pay for knowledge.” This is a pation rate may have been double two dec- growing area of union educational work ades earlier, when the economy was more and a number of unions in different coun- buoyant and release time was more gener- tries are increasingly becoming more in- ously legislated (for example in Australia, volved in general membership education New Zealand and the United Kingdom) of all kinds. or was easier to negotiate (in Canada and

13 the United States). Although unions have Unions and the learning rhetoric been weakened and union density – the percentage of the workforce that is un- The current rhetoric around “workplace ionized – had fallen through the 1990s learning,” “teamwork,” and “the learning in most countries (Scandinavia excepted) organization” in the context of what are unions are continuing to give education referred to as the “knowledge economy” a high priority. Unions in countries as far and “the learning society” has had an im- apart as South Africa and Scandinavia pact on labour education. These new de- may be reaching 6–10 per cent of all union scriptors of corporate and state activity in members if all forms of labour education the context of globalization of production (not just core) are considered. are often cited to marginalize the signifi - The extent of labour education also cance of unions and therefore the irrele- varies over time, in some cases just re- vance of labour education. fl ecting economic circumstances and in We need to remember that workplace others economic and legal changes. The learning is essentially about learning to move to neo-liberal economic policies and become a more effi cient and compliant globalization was accompanied in many “human resource.” While the enthusiasm countries by attacks on the legal rights to for teamwork may have some advantages paid educational leave for union repre- for some workers it has to be understood sentatives (particularly in Australia/New within the context of human capital the- Zealand and Europe where these had ory and new human resource manage- been most extensive) and on union bar- ment strategies that seek to bypass the gaining rights. kind of workplace democracy that inde- These educational rights became in- pendent unionism can provide. In some creasingly narrowly defi ned to rights to cases teamwork has also gone hand in training for industrial relations purposes; hand with downsizing. This new rhet- they became more limited in the amount oric emphasizes unitary perspectives of of time allowed, and state funding to sup- workplace activity and workplace culture, port this activity was either cut or abol- workers are described as “stakeholders,” ished altogether (for a review of European they are all asked to “share the vision;” experience see accounts in Trade Union gone is the grudging acceptance of plur- Education in Europe). alism, of the recognition that from time Over the years a number of stud- to time workers do have legitimate differ- ies have been conducted in a number of ences with employers which can be set- countries as to the effectiveness of labour tled through the more democratic proced- education. In general they have found that ures of negotiation and agreement. Today union members and the unions benefi t the independent voice of labour is to be from individuals taking union courses; silenced while the sole authority of the the courses help members to become more employer is masked by the description interested in the union; members are able of workers as “partners” or “associates”. to make better union decisions as a re- In the United Kingdom, freely negotiated sult of attending union courses; and the recognition agreements are being discourses give members the confi dence to placed by “partnership agreements” that take on voluntary positions in the union emphasize employer rights including in and to challenge arbitrary management some cases denying the rights of workers decisions. democratically to determine their own In addition, union education has been union steward. found to bolster members’ communal, While some of the evidence fl owing social and political activity. Labour edu- from union involvement in workplace cation does support union activism. learning may be contradictory there has been a growing recognition of the problematic nature of union workplace learn-

14 ing initiatives that may only lead towards sive and have relied on educational sup- greater management control over workers port to bolster activity, recruitment and and their unions. Never was it more im- contract negotiation. The region around portant for unions to establish their legiti- Los Angeles has bucked the trend in the macy and their own distinctive education United States, providing a leading exam- programmes. ple of union growth. Some of this educational and organizing work involves existing union representatives and some of it New developments is targeted at new members and would-be in labour education union representatives. As argued earlier, unions are directly This article has not reported extensively involved in a number of membership on the majority provision of continuing education programmes some of which core labour education that is targeted have a “basic skills” or vocational pur- at local union representatives, typically pose. The importance of this work for termed “shop steward” training. This im- union building has been established in portant work is ever-changing, with dif- Australia, North Africa, Scandinavia, fering examples evident in all countries South America and the United Kingdom where unions are active. There may be is now being emulated elsewhere. Other more emphasis on peer tutoring in one initiatives around union-provided basic country and signifi cant content changes literacy courses or vocational training in another (an example of a recent survey courses can give organized labour a lever and discussion of Canadian provision to improve the quality and general appli- is available at http://www.athabascau. cability of such programmes in contrast ca/wcs/PLAR_Report.pdf). There are par- to the often workplace-specifi c emphasis ticular examples of new specifi c forms of of many employer-sponsored courses. representative training, such as that for Eu- Union-negotiated “employee development ropean Works Council representatives in schemes” such as those at Ford’s UK and Europe; and examples of union represent- US plants and in the public sector in the ative training in diffi cult circumstances UK and elsewhere are also contributing such as those in South Africa where unions to broader educational opportunities for are coming to terms with recognition and union members. bargaining after years of opposition under A number of unions and trade union apartheid. We also have reports on more centres organize educational programmes sophisticated educational provision for for specifi c categories of members, for ex- full-time offi cers, an under-reported area ample women-only courses aimed at pro- of representative training. viding a learning environment where Training recruiters is another new de- women feel more comfortable about ex- velopment within core labour education. pressing opinions and are perhaps more The educational components of the Aus- likely to participate than at traditional tralian Organizing Works, the UK Organiz- male-dominated union schools. Unions ing Academy and the US Organizing Insti- are also providing family and community tute and are important labour education educational events; for example the Sas- responses to the decline of union infl uence katchewan Federation of Labour (Canada) and to shifting employment patterns. The organizes a “Summer Camp for Kids,” for work undertaken in organizing migrant young people aged 13 to 16. This week-long workers in Los Angeles is a particular ex- residential camp introduces the teenaged ample that has been successful in linking sons and daughters of union members to union activity to community groups and trade unionism and social justice issues in community-based organizing with labour the morning and offers recreational activ- education playing a key role. The Justice for ities that emphasize cooperation as well as Janitors campaigns have been most impres- fun in the afternoons and evenings.

15 Britain’s UNISON Open College, core four-week programme has been sup- which includes labour education, basic plemented by other courses also funded skills, recognition of prior learning and from the levy. vocational training opportunities for all In Brazil, “Programa Integrar” now union members defi nitely represents a offers relevant vocational training and way forward for labour education. This educational opportunities both for unem- programme connects with members’ ployed and employed persons that work immediate needs and in time feeds into to strengthen the union presence. The strengthening union activity and pres- programme illustrates that even in a hos- ence in society. It can also provide critical tile climate union education can succeed: approaches to current issues, something it provides an example to other countries which is lacking from more homogenized of how to build community links and to adult education and training. The impor- argue for alternative worker cooperative tance of the UNISON 3 initiative cannot employment for union members in oppos- be overstated. What UNISON has done is ition to global corporate power. This ex- recognize the failure of much basic adult ample links with others in South Amer- education and stepped in with a Return to ica where union members are taking back Learn (R2L) programme that provides op- closed factories and building local eco- portunities for workers to become better nomic networks. educated and to ladder that introductory Although the use of research circles course up through their Open College to (workers conducting their own research other programmes and even full degrees. into workplace or sector problems) has It takes the “learning society” rhetoric se- been around for some time it is clear from riously and accesses employer and state Swedish experience that this approach has funding and claims time off work for their a bright future in terms of strengthening members. The courses are based on UNI- union activity within the union as well as SON developed educational material. Its externally. It represents an important al- link with the Workers’ Educational Asso- ternative for union members wishing to ciation for tutoring of R2L assures an adult conduct independent “workplace learn- education focus with materials utilizing ing” projects. collective understandings. This educa- Courses on new global management tional initiative is benefi ting the members techniques have developed with colour- and the union. ful titles like Union Judo – the idea being Similarly the negotiated (as opposed to to use the “weight” and “momentum” state-provided) PEL programmes in Can- of the employer to union advantage. Nor ada offer another important example of have unions ignored free trade and glo- membership education, one focused on de- balization itself. These topics are by their veloping critical political understandings. nature diffi cult for unions that are sin- The CAW led the way and now CUPW gle-country based, but additional empha- have followed with a similar programme. sis has been given to international union Other unions in other countries need to activity in the last ten years, and not just examine the possibilities of this approach. to courses for union representatives from The main features of this programme in- works councils of transnational compan- clude a negotiated, employer-paid levy to a ies (as outlined above) but also including union-controlled trust. The union uses the increasing union presence on United Na- fund to pay for lost wages and expenses tions bodies. Unions have become active of its members who attend the four-week on international bodies discussing envi- residential PEL course. By targeting these ronmental, conservation, and sustainable courses at members (not representatives) development issues and these initiatives the unions hope to engage their members’ have an educational component. Unions imaginations and draw them into greater have responded to calls for international union understandings and activity. The workers solidarity with some courses not

16 only dedicated to garnering a greater un- much of labour education remains reac- derstanding of the issues but also involv- tive. Overall, unions remain an important ing study visits and exchanges. In other and positive social organization for work- examples union educators have built ing people; it is the absence of strong in- units on solidarity work into basic stew- dependent unions that remains a problem ard courses and into membership courses. for most of the world’s workers. Beyond Unions have also responded to educational these immediate concerns, unions have to challenges posed by widespread computer wrestle with the question of what it is they use and the Internet and are using online want to achieve. Are they simply striving education for union members. An obvious to represent members within the new glo- use for labour online learning is to build bal order or should they strive to become education across national boundaries: the key players in civil society? If they choose ILO is now working on an international the latter there are implications for labour labour studies programme (see also art- education; the focus of labour education icles by Enrico Cairola and Marc Bélanger would shift (but never retreat) from repre- in this issue). sentative training that is core labour edu- The activities of some transnational cor- cation, towards courses and programmes porations may provide a threat to union- stressing education for community build- ism but the response of international ing as much as for work. union federations and some individual unions (sometimes aided by non-governmental organizations) to seek “framework Notes agreements” may result in new opportu- 1 Spencer, B. 1994. Unions and Learning in a Glo- nities for unionization in those countries. bal Economy: International and Comparative Perspec- These agreements reached with corpor- tives (Toronto, Thompson Educational Publishing ation head ofﬁ ces push them only to do Inc.). (Only available in English, but includes the business with suppliers who recognize examples from around the world discussed in the workers’ rights and independent unions. present article.) It is difﬁ cult to predict whether or not 2 Bridgford, J.; Stirling, J. (eds) 2000. Trade union education in Europe. (Brussels, European Trade Union these measures will be successful in ac- College). For a Spanish translation, see Bridgford, celerating union development in countries J. and Sterling, J. (eds), 2003, pp. 191–212, La forma- such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines ción sindical en Europa. Alzira: Germania Serveis. For and Thailand, but union education initia- an earlier summary version, see European Systems tives are already under way. The existence of Trade Union Education, in Gabaglio, E. and Hoff- mann, R. (eds), 2000, European Trade Union Yearbook of these framework agreements and la- 1999, Brussels, ETUI. For an Italian translation, see bour education initiatives means that the “I Sistemi Europei di Formazione sindicale” in For- future is more promising than might be mazione Domani, 41, 2001, Vol. No. 2, (Rome), Insti- predicted otherwise. tuto Addestramento. Gereluk, W. 2001. Labour Educa- Many of the initiatives described above tion in Canada Today (Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada), also available at http://www.athabascau. have elements of both accommodation and ca/wcs/PLAR_Report.pdf (this report is in English resistance to current globalization trends. with some programme descriptions in French). Some courses and programmes can be 3 UNISON is the UK’s largest trade union, with seen as proactive, others as adaptive, while 1.3 million members.

Distance labour education: Solidarity learning around the globe

Is online learning better than face-to-face learning? No. But it is certainly better than no labour education at all. And online labour education can help us to build a global labour educational culture which does not necessitate crossing the world or taking people out of their workplaces.

Marc Bélanger Labour Educator Workers’ Activities Programme (ACTRAV) International Training Centre of the ILO Turin, Italy

elize is one of the smallest countries mation technology conducted through Bin the world. It sits at the base of the the World Wide Web, “Now it is at hand! Yucatan peninsula in Central America The possibility of unionists starting from sharing borders with its larger neighbours total ignorance about information tech- Mexico and Guatemala. It has a thriving nology and web site design and getting at labour movement – some 11 per cent of the least basic knowledge within such a short workforce is unionized – but, as in many time without a marked interruption in our countries and regions in the developing work schedules is a miracle!” world, its unions are having trouble cop- Maybe not quite a miracle, but cer- ing with the effects of globalization. The tainly an effective method for providing country’s agriculture and clothing indus- labour education to union activists who tries are often seriously disrupted as yet are too busy to attend regular classes, who another effect of globalization hits them. work for organizations which do not have Union leaders, staff and members in Belize labour educators, or are in geographically want to understand better how globaliza- isolated locations such as Belize or the tion works and they know labour educa- South Paciﬁ c islands. This includes a lot tion could play an important role in devel- of unionists around the world, in both de- oping that understanding. But their unions veloping and developed countries. cannot afford many labour educators and, This article describes distance labour given the country’s isolated location, not education and then provides a report on many international labour educators can a case study of 34 unionists from 24 de- drop by to organize workshops. What can veloping countries who participated in a be done to help unions in Belize and other recent online (via computer communica- countries in the same situation? tions) course.1 One way – as unionists in Belize recently discovered – is to participate in international distance labour education Distance labour education courses delivered via the Internet. “For some time trade union distance learning Distance labour education started in 1985 has been dangling in the air in Belize” says with the creation of the Solidarity Net- Bernard Pitts, a Belizian unionist who re- work (SoliNet) by the Canadian Union cently participated in a course on infor- of Public Employees. SoliNet was used to

19 provide training on health and safety, pay for delivering labour education to more equity, information technology, collective unionists has been proven and many les- bargaining and other union-related topics. sons have been learned on how to make The union’s labour educators used SoliNet it more effective. to discuss their curricula and develop educational materials. Their discussions were held in computer “conferences” where Types of distance education groups of people shared the same message base. Unlike electronic mail, which is basi- There are three types of distance education cally an individual-to-individual medium, which use computer communications. The computer conferencing provides support fi rst is merely a variation of the traditional, for groups to communicate. It is in group mail-based version. Students download communications that unions build their (transmit down to their computers) les- solidarity and power. The group members sons which have been placed on a web site do not have to be on the computer system and, when they have fi nished the lessons, at the same time – they can read and leave they upload (send to the central compu- messages on the central SoliComm (see ter) their completed fi les or essays. They below) computer at their convenience. may have occasional contact with tutors In 1995 SoliNet was used to conduct via email, but for the most part they work the fi rst international labour education alone. The second type is Online Compu- conferences. Over a thousand people ter-Based Training (OCBT). In this version from all over the world participated. The students interact with online computer following year the system was also used course to study a subject such as English, to conduct the fi rst online, credit-grant- statistics or computer programming. The ing, labour studies courses. It sparked the third type, the one most suited to labour growth of many projects including the education, is Online Collaborative Learn- labour news service, LabourStart, which ing (OCL). Unlike the fi rst two modes began on SoliNet in 1995. In 2000 a later OCL is group and discussion oriented. version of SoliNet called the Solidarity It is aimed at the creation of new know- Communications system (SoliComm) was ledge while the other two are designed to developed by the Workers’ Activities (AC- transmit existing information to students TRAV) programme at the International who are expected to memorize it as given. Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy. The international labour movement des- Meanwhile, other labour organizations perately needs new knowledge in order to were experimenting with online labour prepare its responses to new and ongoing education. The European Trade Union Col- phenomena such as globalization. lege (ETUCO) conducted a series of pilot The difference between transmitting projects between 1999 and 2004. A number existing bodies of information and creating of national labour movements – most no- new knowledge is an important distinc- tably those in Canada, Germany, Italy, the tion. It goes to the heart of labour educa- Nordic countries and the United King- tion’s traditional pedagogy (its set of edu- dom – experimented with the medium. cational philosophies and practices). The Some labour studies centres, such as those early labour movement emphasized peer- at the University of Athabasca in Canada to-peer learning. Before the First World and the University of Philadelphia in the War workers learned from other workers United States began to use computer con- either in peer groups they put together or ferencing to deliver online courses. AC- in groups organized by bodies allied to TRAV Turin has been using SoliComm the labour movement such as the Work- to organize courses on health and safety, ers’ Educational Association (WEA) in the international labour standards, globaliza- United Kingdom or the labour colleges’ tion and other topics. Through all these movement in the United States. When experiences the potential of the medium unions took control of labour education

20 after the Second World War they steered ation of the reality the union operates in, educational activity away from workers’ without making any previous assump- education towards union education and tions. Beginning with information shar- resorted to traditional lecture-type tech- ing, the process moves to refl ection upon niques. This lecturer-centred pedagogy and analysis of that information, and then began to change in the late 1960s and 1970s to strategizing about what action should under the infl uence of the peer-learning be taken. After the action has been taken, techniques of the women’s movement and the process begins again with information the ideas of popular education theorists sharing about the action.” (most notably the Brazilian Paulo Friere). The Brazilian unions, as they helped The emphasis shifted to participatory edu- their members in the early 1990s strengthen cation in which the existing knowledge of their country’s fl edgling democracy after participants was acknowledged and built years of fascism and dictatorship, adopted upon, and active learning methods such basically the same pedagogical stance, but as small-group work encouraged partici- went further in defi ning the role of pol- pants to learn from each other, not just the itical theory-building among the work- instructor. ing class. Their labour educators devised situations to encourage union members to think about their experiences and de- Labour education pedagogy velop theories of work. They then formal- ized these theories and presented them in By the end of the 1990s participatory edu- organized and coherent ways back to the cation based on active learning methods members. Then the cycle began again. was acknowledged by most labour educa- What does all this have to do with on- tors as the most appropriate pedagogy for line distance education? Plenty. If edu- the labour movement. It promoted collabo- cation via the Internet is to be adopted rative work in groups (the source of union and used by the labour movement it must solidarity and power), recognized commu- be able to refl ect the basic principles and nity as a central principle, acknowledged practices of labour education: collabora- prior-learning and existing knowledge, tive work, a sense of community, and dis- and focused on the participants (no longer cussion-oriented activities, all grounded called “students”) instead of the instruc- in the real experiences of the members in tor. The pedagogy itself – the manner in the workplace. And it can – if it adopts the which education was organized – differed learning method called collaborative learn- widely in practice and description around ing. Collaborative learning is when groups the world depending on the needs of the work on common tasks such as the cre- labour movement in a country, its political ation of a document with the occasional environment and the cultural context in advice, not control, of the instructor. The which it operated. group members start off acting as individ- However, a typical approach grew out uals with widely differing viewpoints, but of the “organizing the organized” move- with the use of collaborative techniques ment in the United States in the early such as small-group work and the setting 1990s. Jose La Luz, who was then educa- of common tasks they begin to build in- tional director of the Amalgamated Cloth- tellectual solidarity. The key is the setting ing and Textile Workers’ Union (ACTWU), of the task (usually by the instructor). It outlined it as a three-step process: (1) in- must be not only a task that the group’s formation sharing; (2) refl ection and ana- members agree upon, but also be seen as lysis; (3) action and appropriate strategy. relevant to their workplace. How do we “Our pedagogical process,” he wrote, know all this? Well, we have the lessons “discards the use of lectures and speeches, provided by hundreds of online courses in encouraging instead more active methods colleges and universities around the world that lead to critical analysis and examin- and the millions of people who are learn-

21 ing online. We also have a recent study munity to participate in labour education conducted by the ACTRAV Turin Workers’ and create the new knowledge which is Activities programme. The study provides needed to confront globalization. substantial evidence to show that online distance education can be an effective educational tool for international labour Key findings of the online case study education. A fuller description of the study and its fi ndings is available – in English – by An online course case study sending an email to the author at marc@ solicomm.net. Key fi ndings are: The central activity of the ACTRAV Turin It is possible for the staff of labour or- study was an eight-month course con- ganizations in developing countries ducted via computer conferencing on So- to participate in courses conducted liComm. Thirty-four unionists stationed via the Internet. Of the 34 people who in 24 developing countries participated in started the course in January 2005, 32 an online course on “Information Technol- completed it. ogy and the Creation of World Wide Web Sites”. Fourteen of the participants were A credential which is recognized by women. All were unionists nominated by participants as valuable is crucial. the central labour confederation of their In the course conducted for the case country and they agreed to participate in study, the participants studied for the the study by signing informed research examinations set for the International consent forms. The confederation, or the Computer Driving Licence – a creden- participants themselves, paid for the re- tial recognized worldwide. The possi- lated Internet costs. Collaborative learn- bility of earning the ICDL contributed ing techniques were used throughout the signifi cantly to the course’s 91 per cent course. completion rate. The research methodology consisted of A high rate of messaging can be main- questionnaires, interviews, group discus- tained throughout an online course sions, studies of the messages in the com- lasting several months. The total puter conferences and an analysis of the number of messages entered into the experience by the participants themselves. course conferences was 1,460. Four basic questions guided the study: Was there evidence of learning in the course? Most course members participated Did the participants think they had partic- from work during normal working ipated in a valuable learning experience? hours. This shows that that the partic- Was there a sense of community and col- ipating labour organizations have the laboration generated? What are the key is- technological capability to allow their sues involved in the use of online collabo- staff to take courses via the Internet. rative learning by the staff of labour or- Participants maintained a high level ganizations in developing countries? This of message reading throughout the last question was posed not only because course. This is an important piece of unions in developing countries are the evidence because research has shown focus of the ACTRAV Turin programme, that people in online courses not only but because, if it can be shown that online learn by the act of entering messages, collaborative learning can be successfully but also by reading the messages others practised in developing countries with put in – so-called “vicarious learning”. their technological challenges, then it can be practised in the more economically ad- There was substantial evidence of vanced countries as well. The goal is to get learning. Learning can be defi ned as all parts of the international labour com- people moving from one state of un-

22 derstanding to another (what has Key issues of online education been termed “conceptual change”). The messages in the conferences were When participants were asked to analyse analysed using an verifi able research the key issues concerning the use of on- instrument (Harasim’s theory of online collaborative learning by the staff line learning) which showed that the of unions in developing countries they participants moved from widely differ- mentioned: ing views at the start of the course to the lack of computers and the diffi cul- commonly held group positions at the ties in sharing computers with other end. In other words, the participants staff members had changed their views – which is what learning is all about and at the the problematic technological infra- same time builds a sense of group structure of their countries: unde- solidarity. pendable electrical supplies, high tele- Participants indicated they had learned phone costs and expensive access to substantially during the course. This the Internet was tested by using a questionnaire keeping up with the group as it moved which participants completed when through a module due to heavy they fi nished the fi rst course module workloads and again at the end of the course. Overall they reported a sense of learn- fear of group work (which was allevi- ing of 80 per cent. If they had felt that ated once they began to do the group they had not learned very much the assignments) score would have been much lower. concern about the cultural diversity of A very high sense of community was the participants (but this was quickly reported by participants. Again a diminished as the participants learned questionnaire applied twice during that there is a universal union culture the course was used to gauge feelings which they shared with the other in the group. The responses showed course members) a sense of community level of 80 per the value of well-written course train- cent. This is particularly signifi cant being manuals. cause the participants had never met and were working in many different The advantages of using computer con- countries and cultures. ferencing for education mentioned by the The responses of women in the group participants included: did not differ signifi cantly from the being able to participate in the con- views of the group as a whole. They ference at times of their own choos- felt they had learned and they felt sup- ing without disruption to their work ported by the sense of community in schedule the group. They did however enter proportionally fewer messages than the ability to take labour educa- the men in the course. tion courses without leaving their workplaces Participants enjoyed working collaboratively in groups and generally sup- the democratic nature of the medium ported the two participants whom they in which all participants could voice chose to act as the discussion leader their say and reporter of a particular module. the instant documentation of the discussions in the conference messages They found the conferencing system which was used (SoliComm) to be very the feeling of international solidarity easy to learn and use. amongst a group of unionists

23 access to union-centred training which online distance labour education. We can would have been difﬁ cult if not impos- create online learning experiences which sible to have in their countries. mirror the principles and values of the union way of organizing education. Is online learning better than face-to- Discussion-based learning face learning? No. But it is certainly bet- and community ter than no labour education at all. Ask Bernard Pitts, the unionist from Belize, or The case study paid particular attention the 33 other unionists who participated to how participants conducted their dis- in the online course. They will tell you cussions. They started off with divergent in no uncertain terms that for them, and views, supplying information and brain- other unionists in the developing world, storming ideas. They then began analysing online education is an opportunity not to the ideas which had been put forward and be missed. We need to build a global la- linking concepts. Towards the end of the bour educational culture which does not discussion they began to coalesce around necessitate crossing the world or taking central ideas. This three-step process ech- people out of their workplaces. Online la- oes the in-class labour education process bour education can help us do that. described by La Luz: (1) information sharing; (2) reﬂ ection and analysis; (3) action and appropriate strategy. This shows that Note is possible to translate labour’s pedagogy into online activity. We can apply what we 1 Terms used in this article: Union education is have learned about popular education and activity aimed at teaching union members the op- active learning to courses conducted via erations, issues and regulatory environments of their organizations. Labour studies refer to univer- computer communications. sity-based education aimed at critically studying the The study also showed that we can activities of working people, including their unions. translate the sense of collaboration and Labour education encompasses both union education community found in face-to-face classes and labour studies. Workers’ education, which is sometimes directed at union operations, is aimed at into an online environment. In other addressing the broader educational needs of work- words: group solidarity – a crucial elem- ing people with liberal arts studies or basic educa- ent of labour education – can be built into tional activities such as literacy programmes.

24 Research as a key element in labour education

The Global Union Research Network is a new and unique project within the international labour movement through which trade union researchers and academics are encouraged to share their knowledge. The most important challenge will be to involve trade union researchers and scholars from different streams and orientations in order to create enduring synergies on trade union research. This is an important prerequisite for influencing globalization so that increased social justice will be a major factor.

Verena Schmidt * Bureau for Workers’ Activities ILO, Geneva

ne of the current paradoxes for trade ize effectively. The Global Union Research Ounions is that organizing is an es- Network (GURN) will be presented as a sentially local workplace-related affair knowledge network created by the inter- whilst the most pressing challenge for national labour movement partly to ad- unions, which is globalization, can only dress this challenge. be faced in a global context, i.e. beyond The GURN aims to contribute to re- the local and national forums in which search on topics that have become promi- trade unions have traditionally focused nent due to globalization. It aims to achieve their action and expertise. Globalization this by organizing face-to-face meetings entails several dimensions: the increase of and by using modern technologies – one world trade during the 1980s and 1990s, of the driving forces behind globalization. especially in the industrialized world and Indeed, the International Labour Organ- a few developing countries; an accelera- ization (ILO) in its follow-up report on tion of foreign direct investment; the rapid the World Commission on the Social Di- integration of fi nancial markets; techno- mension of Globalization defi nes global logical change; and the cross-border in- knowledge networks as the most impor- tegration of national production systems. tant approach to fi ll the “gap in our under- All of these have resulted in various dra- standing of the social and labour impact matic changes for workers and worker of global economic, fi nancial, trade, tech- organizations. Globalization has also nological and environmental policies”.1 enabled large parts of the labour movement to communicate effectively and at The challenge […] can be met by a combination relatively low cost. It is vital that more re- of approaches, the most important of which is search on the impact and consequences of to take advantage of the potential of globaliza- globalization is carried out so that trade tion itself, in the shape of rapid communica- unions can defend workers’ rights and ad- tions and the ease with which global networks vance globalization and lobby and organ- can be built.2

* This article is a modiﬁ ed version of Schmidt, Verena, 2005. “The Global Union Research Network: A Potential for Incremental Innovation?” in: Just Labour. A Canadian Journal of Work and Society. Vols 6 and 7, Autumn, pp 43–54. Acknowledgement is due to Frank Hoffer and Lene Olsen for valuable comments on an earlier draft. To access the GURN and/or participate in the network, visit www.gurn.info.

25 It is fi rst important to contextualize the social standards. especially in the South, GURN within the international trade are described by the dominant classes to union movement. Following that, the be “normal” and inalterable side effects of sustainability of the GURN and the bar- globalization. Trade unions, and civil soci- riers to its institutionalization will be ex- ety in general, are increasingly facing an amined. This article represents both an uphill battle for dignity and decent work. opportunity to share with others some of These changes also forge new alliances the main features of the GURN and also which are still in the experimental phase. to engage in critical self-refl ection about Not only is a restructuring of the inter- the potential for this kind of initiative to national labour movement taking place, reinforce union actions in the context of but the International Confederation of globalization. The following observations Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has resolved are based on participant observation by to work more closely with pro-labour and the author during the development and democratically legitimate actors within the fi rst two years of existence of the civil society. GURN. Notwithstanding, trade unions and In order to contextualize the GURN civil society in general have won sig- within the trade union movement it is nifi cant battles with regard to improved essential to look at the most important basic rights, increased gender equality, a challenges of labour, i.e. the danger of decline in racial discrimination in various being marginalized by the dominant countries and a democratization of coun- discourses. tries, especially in Central and Eastern Eu- Cultural institutions, such as political rope in the second half of the twentieth parties and the media, create a compat- century. ible version of reality, which often fa- The close links and networks of inter- vours the interests of elites. The theory change of opinions between researchers of cultural hegemony by Antonio Gram- and trade unions also seem to be weaken- sci suggests that the dominant ideologies ing. Union leaders and activists often feel put forth by these cultural institutions are that fewer younger researchers have pro- made to seem so natural, or to such an labour identities and that the world of extent “of commonsense”, that we do not work is increasingly moving out of their even suspect the presence of the tacit as- focus. Similar to broader trends with the sumptions made.3 Such is the challenge rest of the workforce, there is an increas- currently faced by organized labour in ing individualization and depoliticization various countries, where it risks being among researchers. It is felt that research- marginalized by the mainstream. Dereg- ers often prefer to study social realities ulation, the internationalization of mar- from their ivory towers rather than in the kets, restructured work organization as fi eld. Traditionally left-wing researchers, a result of new technologies as well as an especially those within industrial rela- identity crisis of trade unions have led to tions, had pro-labour identities. Contrary a decline in union membership.4, 5, 6, 7 to that, many young researchers today are One result of this decline across vari- part of the mainstream which often only ous countries is a subsequent reduction means repeating the above cited domi- of staff. In some instances, research allo- nant discourses. It is thus important for cations are cut back since researchers are the international trade union movement often on non-permanent contracts and re- to develop innovatory approaches: search is seen by some trade union lead- (1) to improve communication channels ers as less essential than other organiza- among trade union researchers; tional tasks. Parallel to a decrease in union mem- (2) to improve communication channels bership, there is an increasing inequality between trade unions and pro-labour on a global scale. The low or non-existing researchers;

26 (3) to lead outspoken and innovative de- the Global Unions Group. The initiative bates on current research and its impli- was taken by the ICFTU and TUAC and cations for the labour movement; and was carried out with the assistance of (4) to challenge mainstream conceptions. ACTRAV, the ILO’s International Insti- tute for Labour Studies as well as fi nan- The GURN and the Master’s programme cial support from the Dutch trade union on Labour Policies and Globalization (see federation’s development department article by Frank Hoffer) are projects es- FNV Mondiaal and the German govern- tablished to motivate trade unionists so ment. The GURN is facilitated by ILO that they can refl ect upon and question ACTRAV, the steering committee consists the dominant discourses on globalization of the ICFTU (now ITUC) and TUAC and and economic restructuring. ILO ACTRAV. The aim of the research network is to give union organizations better access to the research carried out The creation of the global union within trade unions and allied institu- research network tions, while enabling them to exchange information on matters of joint concern In 2001 the ICFTU, the Trade Union Advi- and to develop the capacity to make anal- sory Committee to the OECD (TUAC), the yses and take part in debates and policy European Trade Union Council (ETUC), formulation. The GURN aims to facilitate several Global Union Federations (GUFs) and initiate research which is relevant for (then called International Trade Secre- the international labour movement. More tariats) and the World Confederation of concretely, the GURN consists of several Labour (WCL) conducted a major policy elements: research, resource web pages for and strategic review of international trade research, online discussions, a research unionism referred to as the Millennium database, an inventory of research insti- Review. It concluded by stating the ur- tutes and newsletters. In order to assess gent need to build research capacity and the progress of the GURN it is important links between researchers, particularly in to keep in mind the aims defi ned at the the global South: foundational workshop of the GURN in January 2004 in Turin. Global Unions also require greater capacity to generate and co-ordinate policy-oriented research on global economic issues and an en- Research hanced ability to convey and manipulate research data and analytical arguments. In the At the fi rst workshop in January 2004 one short to medium term, this means greater pro- of the aims the research network identi- duction and co-ordination of union-friendly re- fi ed was: search, including by maintaining profi les and databases with researchers in both the North to give union organizations better access and the South […]. Co-ordination between to research carried out within trade unions trade union research centres needs to be en- and allied institutions, while enabling them hanced. This requires better use of technology to exchange information on matters of joint including database libraries and on line infor- concern and to develop the capacity to make mation centres. All union-generated research analyses and take part in debates and policy should be available on line to all unions world- formulation.9 wide. The union movement itself must work to overcome our own “digital divide”.8 As a follow-up to the foundational workshop of the GURN in 2004, two topical The Global Union Research Network workshops have been organized to date. (GURN) was established in January 2004 The fi rst, Trade Unions, Globalization and as a follow-up to the strategic review of Development, took place ahead of the World

27 Social Forum near Porto Alegre in Brazil ICFTU, Switzerland, bilateral and re- in 2005. The second, The Impact of Global gional trade agreements; Production Systems on Labour , in close coop- TUAC, France, corporate governance; eration with the Global Union Federations and the Institute for Social Studies in The TUAC, France, OECD Guidelines for Hague, took place in the Netherlands in Multinational Enterprises; 2006. In both cases calls for papers were ILO/Ethiopia, international ﬁ nancial carried out to attract interesting contribu- institutions (IFIs) and poverty reductions, including from previously unknown tion strategy papers (PRSPs); researchers. The most important contributions will be published in separate books. NALEDI, South Africa, economic alter- In addition two working papers have been natives and poverty eradication; 10 published by the GURN, one in coopera- ETUI, Belgium, collective bargaining tion with Naledi, a trade union research 11 and wages; institute in South Africa and another in cooperation with the ICFTU. ILO/ACTRAV, Switzerland, migration; The long-term viability of the GURN CRIMT/CLC, Canada, global trade depends on the genuine interest and ac- union strategies (union renewal); tive participation of researchers from trade unions and the broader research PSI, France/GURN, Switzerland, health community. Even though the exchange politics and trade unions; and systematization of existing research TUAC, France, sustainable develop- form an important task for the GURN, it ment. is also important to facilitate and to carry out genuine research by its participants in For all the issues and topics dealt with, order to stimulate and generate new ideas gender, labour rights and employment are and debates. seen as cross-cutting issues. The GURN has also developed a list of more than a hundred research institutes and trade Resource web site for research union departments dealing with research.

Aims were also defi ned for the GURN web site at the foundational workshop. Moderated discussions They are as follows: to develop an essential repository for The development of online moderated trade union research; discussions were suggested at the foundational workshop in Turin in 2004, and to publish contact information of it was decided to start with discussions on GURN members and participating or- bilateral agreements and migration.13 ganizations, and To date, three different moderated on- to develop resource web pages on dif- line discussions have taken place in the ferent issues.12 framework of the GURN: Preparation of the General Discussion The priority issues for the resource web on Migration at the International La- pages have been determined by members bour Conference, moderated by ILO of the network in accordance with their re- ACTRAV (April 2004) sources. That means that only topics which were seen as relevant could be chosen and Bilateral and Regional Trade Agree- where a network organization volunteered ments, moderated by ICFTU Geneva to work on the topic. The following organ- offi ce (March 2005) izations conceptualized research informa- Outcomes of Country-Level Trade tion packages for the Internet: Union Actions to Infl uence Policies

28 of the International Financial Institu- ensure good information fl ow on what tions, moderated by the ICFTU/Global union researchers and union-friendly Unions offi ce in Washington (January academics are doing worldwide; 2006). facilitate exchange of information; The moderated discussions were per- summarize research on key areas and ceived as an important means to motivate on general union research; GURN members to become active. This disseminate information about new re- was successful to some extent, although search publications, reports, etc.15 the moderation of these discussions and particularly the translations were seen as very time-consuming. In each of the The GURN LISTSERVE is used for the ex- three discussions draft texts and reports change of information and regular news- were discussed and subsequently modi- letters, summarizing research on key fi ed after the online discussions. In the areas and on general union research. It case of migration the results of the dis- has been developed for union research- cussion were used by participants as ers as a tool for information sharing on background material for the discussion new research, new reports completed, etc. in the Committee dealing with Migration Information is currently shared through at the International Labour Conference in the list serve to some extent. However, it June 2004. is hard to fi nd a balance between sending out enough information and too much. As some GURN participants constantly Database receive information from a large number of sources, it is vital that it is focused and relevant to end users. With regard to the database the GURN The GURN issues regular newslet- foundational workshop defi ned the im- ters where new research results are dis- portance of keeping an open mind on seminated and which update GURN technical and human resource possibili- participants on the activities of the net- ties if the GURN web site is to become an work. To date nine newsletters have been essential repository for trade union re- published.16 search around the world (including database with search function).14 The GURN database was created in the GURN sustainability and barriers beginning of 2006 in cooperation with the to further development Friedrich Ebert Foundation as a tool for transnational exchange of ideas and in- In order to institutionalize the fl edgling formation of trade union research world- GURN as a sustainable innovation, it is wide. It serves as an expanding informa- important to take into account the stra- tion pool from which trade unionists can tegic triangle which was developed by obtain information and into which they Levesque and Murray 17 for trade union can deposit their research documents. work but can be transposed to the GURN. Currently more than 150 articles are in- The strategic triangle consists of strategic cluded in the database. capacity, internal and external solidarity. Most importantly, the strategic capacity of the GURN needs to be developed. It is es- LISTSERVE and GURN newsletters sential to use the GURN to foster genuine research and discussions about cur- The aims defi ned at the fi rst Workshop in rent issues which are of relevance to trade January 2004 for the LISTSERVE and the unions and to policy-makers. The inter- newsletter were to: nal solidarity means that GURN adherents

29 have various ways to participate and to address. All researchers have various that there are communication channels resources on which they regularly rely. A between members, the outside world and preselection of knowledge resources de- those organizations that are responsible creases investment costs to learn about for particular subject areas within the new resources and also reduces complex- GURN. The external solidarity refers to the ity. To overcome this inertia, it is impor- capacity to link with the community at tant to facilitate interesting research and large, including researchers outside trade debates in order to create a critical mass unions but also the public at large. of participants that makes an initial in- It is a major challenge for the GURN vestment to the GURN. This can only be to strengthen the links with researchers achieved by pointing to the medium and within universities and to build up close long-term benefi ts both to individual and relationships between the labour move- trade union research. ment and academia. It is also important Currently the GURN only addresses to assess critically the potential impedi- some of the key areas of concern to the ments to the success of such a research international trade union movement. This network. The most important diffi culties represents an important challenge for the are language barriers, technological bar- GURN. One of the tasks of a network is riers and organizational inertia. Each will to motivate its members to participate ac- be examined in turn. tively as it is very much a decentralized Language barriers are one of the key network which depends on the commit- issues for the network. A research net- ment of member organizations. The spec- work which strives to be global needs to trum of interests in a network should cor- communicate in more than one language relate with a well-defi ned audience so that in the medium term. This problem has the audience (i.e. the cooperating organ- been partially addressed by translating izations) see a benefi t in being a member the web index pages of the GURN into of the network. The GURN participants French and Spanish and by including art- have defi ned a relatively open and broad icle in other languages than English into spectrum of interests and there is a mul- the research database. Technological bar- titude of audiences of the GURN such as riers include insuffi cient experience with trade union researchers, trade unionists new technologies due to educational bar- who want to use the GURN for readily ac- riers and limited access to the Internet cessible information and pro-labour uni- due to scarce resources and insuffi cient versity researchers. The unifying factor infrastructure. In order to help overcome of these different audiences, which hope- the lack of experience with new tech- fully results in a sustainable commitment nologies, training courses on technology on their part, is the quest for social jus- within trade unions are of prime impor- tice and the fi ght for dignity and decent tance. ACTRAV, for example, offers such work. courses as an integral part of its workers’ education training. A variety of strategies are being pursued in order to address the Conclusion problem of limited access to new technologies due to scarce resources. The entire The GURN is a new and unique project GURN web site and the database are cop- within the international labour movement ied to a CD to enable off-line access at reg- through which trade union researchers ular intervals. Furthermore the web site is and academics are encouraged to share designed as “plain” as possible in order their research. In order to institutionalize to facilitate uploading of pages on slow the GURN, it is important that the inter- and erratic Internet connections. Organi- national labour movement has ownership zational inertia, the third barrier to the of the GURN and uses it as one of its pri- GURN, is undoubtedly the most diffi cult mary resources for research and policy

30 7 background information. The most impor- Dunlop, John T. 1990. The Management of Labor Unions (Massachusetts, Lexington). tant challenge for the GURN will be to involve trade union researchers and scholars 8 TUAC. 2001. Millenium Review. Interim Re- from different streams and orientations in port from the Global Economy Reference Group. order to contribute to interesting and crea- Draft. Unpublished Manuscript (Paris), paras 26 and 27. tive debates and thereby create enduring 9 See http://www.icftu.org/www/PDF/IFI.pdf synergies on trade union research. This is [2 Aug. 2007]. an important prerequisite for inﬂ uencing 10 Frye, Isobel. 2005. Extending Social Security to globalization so that increased social jus- Developing Countries. Particular Emphasis on Health- tice will be a major factor. care and Informal Economy Workers. GURN Discus- sion Paper No. 1 (Geneva), available at http://www. gurn.info/topic/econalt/healthcare05.pdf. Notes 11 ICFTU. 2006. Fighting for Alternatives: Cases

1 of Successful Trade Union Resistance to the Policies ILO. 2004. A Fair Globalization. The Role of the of the IMF and the World Bank. ICFTU/GURN ILO. Report of the Director-General on the World (Geneva). Commission on the Social Dimension of Globaliza- 12 tion (Geneva, ILO), p. 540. See http://www.icftu.org/www/PDF/IFI. pdf [2 Aug. 2007]. 2 ibid. 13 ibid. 3 Gramsci, Antonio. 1995. Further Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Edited and translated by Derek 14 See http://www.gurn.info/newsletr/01/2004 Boothman (London, Lawrence and Wishart). [3 Aug. 2007]. 4 Fairbrother, Peter. 2000. “British Trade Unions 15 ibid. Facing the Future”, in: Capital and Class, issue 71, 16 See http://www.gurn.info/newsletr/index. pp. 47–78. html [3 Aug. 2007]. 5 Hannigan, Thomas A. 1998. Managing Tomor- 17 Levesque, Christian; Murray, Gregor. 2003. row’s High-Performance Unions (London, Quorum). “Le pouvoir syndical dans l’économie mondiale: clés 6 Weil, David. 1994. Turning the Tide (Ontario, de lecture pour un renouveau”, in: Revue de l’IRES, Lexington). vol. 1, no. 41.

The Global Labour University network – Bringing unions and universities together

Trade unions need to engage in networks and alliances to promote the labour agenda in public debate. Cooperation between trade unions and universities are vital to strengthen labour-orientated research and offer high-level qualification programmes for trade unionists. In this context, the article reflects on the experience of the Global Labour University in building a network of Global Unions, national trade union centres’ universities, labour foundations and the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities to develop and implement international Master’s programmes on global labour issues for trade unionists.

Frank Hoffer * Senior Specialist in Workers’ Activities Bureau for Workers’ Activities ILO, Geneva

eversing the marginalization of social The vision of social justice and mean- Rjustice and fairness in public debate ingful democracy requires a global di- requires, fi rst and foremost, liberation mension – as the retreat towards national from an intellectual slavery that is un- isolation is no option, even for powerful able to think beyond globalization as an nations. With a view to promoting mu- overwhelming tide of unregulated mar- tually acceptable global rules and global ket forces. Debate leads not always and solidarity, these debates have to be inter- immediately to policy changes, but there national in topic and composition. are rarely policy changes without ana- Interests are inevitably becoming more lytical groundwork, debate and critical diverse, complex, and competitive within refl ection. more internally differentiated societies, and within a closely interlinked global economy marked by huge inequalities Shifting the public debate and imbalances of power. The trade union movement can rely less and less on a fairly The unleashed global market has to be homogeneous and loyal core working class civilized through global rules. This re- with similar workplace conditions, similar quires global public debate, campaigning social milieus, similar values and political and global civil society initiatives to main- orientations. Nostalgic dreams about the tain and broaden the concept that people good old days of a broad unifi ed working and not markets determine the rules of so- class are fi rstly, idealizing the past, sec- ciety. Without an international regulatory ondly, ignoring the socio-economic and framework, national options for reducing cultural reasons behind these changes labour competition are replaced by op- and thirdly, leading towards isolation and tions to adapt to a race-to-the-bottom. declining infl uence.

* The author would like to thank Edlira Xhafa, a former Global Labour University student, for her comments and critical feedback.

33 Labour is acting in an environment no longer treated as a desirable objective where competing interests are constantly but as an obstacle to creating dynamic and trying to infl uence and dominate public competitive markets. The late 1960s, when opinion. Power and reason are decisive “sympathy with the proletariat” was in factors in shaping debates and decisions. vogue among intellectuals, have passed. It is the exception that power can act to- In many developing and transition coun- tally beyond reason, and good arguments tries, politicians and university professors are rarely without any power. However are educated in the Western pro-business unfortunate, daily experience shows that schools promoting a model of develop- power often buys reason. This option does ment favouring liberal orthodoxy. They not exist for trade unions. They are fi nan- often play a crucial role back in there cially outgunned by companies and the home countries by shaping not only the myriads of think tanks, foundations, aca- politics of the moment but also paving the demics, and media, sponsored and at least same way of thinking for the new genera- partly controlled, by the rich and power- tions to come. Trade unions can no longer ful. Lacking the power of money and or- assume, in the same way, a commitment to ganizational power, the power of reason the causes of the labour movement. They becomes more important. have to take a much more proactive role in Engaging in debates and alliances with building partnerships and dialogue with other civil society groups, think tanks and the academic community and civil society academic institutions is part of any strat- groups. As in personal relationships, it is egy to gain infl uence in public debate. It as much about being with the right part- is unlikely that labour can achieve the re- ner as fi nding the right partner. quired substantive policy changes on its The research and knowledge base for own, but it certainly cannot be done with- new and innovative ideas to promote the out organized labour. This pivotal role of age-old visions of social justice, freedom, labour in any serious alliance for change and solidarity in the twenty-fi rst century creates the space for a self-confi dent but will not be created without tapping into open-minded approach to such dialogue the intellectual capacity of universities processes. Historically, changes towards and research institutions, where the bulk more democracy and social fairness grew of research in today’s world is under- out of such “new deal” coalitions. taken. Within universities, there are allies Regaining strength and membership who share the understanding that there requires, among others, attractive and is a need for better social global govern- innovative ideas to shape globalization; ance and that this requires genuine glo- productive international networking; ef- bal discourses on these issues. However, fi cient support for organized members; a they cannot become partners on the basis welcoming organizational culture and an of an instrumental understanding of re- open-minded but confi dent internal dia- search sometimes prevalent in the labour logue among members and, externally, movement, where scientifi c “evidence” is with civil society organizations, academic requested merely to support the already institutions and political parties. well-known truth. In the industrialized countries, la- The complex reality of globalization re- bour issues are far less prominent in the quires a wide range of qualifi cation and academic discourse than decades ago. At education programmes for trade unions. universities, many “friends of labour” are These programmes necessarily differ in retiring. Industrial relations are partly their methodology, target group and con- replaced by management and HRD re- tent. For example, a programme to develop search, the debate about labour law has capacity for health and safety provisions shifted from securing dignity and respect at the workplace can more directly rely on for workers towards a discourse on labour the practical shop fl oor experiences of par- market rigidities. Income equality is often ticipants than a programme that focuses

34 on non-agricultural market access nego- international rule making, its crucial to tiations (NAMA) regulations at the World understand diversity, build mutual trust Trade Organization or the risks and causes and establish cross boarder exchange and of exchange rate volatility for real wages cooperation. Multidisciplinary and inter- and employment. national research and debate is an impor- Cooperation with universities is one tant element to achieve better understand- element of a comprehensive qualifi cation ing and cooperation. strategy. In many countries fundamental Pooling limited resources and sharing changes in the role of universities in soci- knowledge can be facilitated in open and ety have taken place in the past 50 years. transparent horizontal network structures. From being elitist educational institutions Networks are effi cient and valuable for they became mass universities providing knowledge sharing, discussions and de- higher education to a substantial part of bate – they are far less suited for decision- the younger generation. making. The best way to destroy a network While in the past trade unions recruited is to try to control it from one point, or to their professional staff nearly entirely make it a decision-making institution with from workplace activists, trade unions in- inevitably dubious democratic legitimacy. creasingly see the need to recruit staff that However, many networks lose momen- has not only a trade union background but tum because they lack an active and ac- also high-level formal qualifi cation. There knowledged facilitator, purpose or com- is a growing number of trade union mem- mitment. Most people are very busy and bers, leaders, trade union staff and labour will only contribute to a network if this is educators with university degrees, as the related to specifi c projects or tasks. Focus- labour movement increasingly also needs ing the GLU around the development and people with academic skills. This also cre- implementation of Master’s programmes ates the need for trade unions to consider on labour policies and globalization at dif- which types of academic programmes are ferent universities has created a common required to meets their needs. purpose and strong commitment among the partners. The possibilities, the potential, and Bringing expertise together – the need for international networking, Building a Global Labour University exchange, and cooperation increase. How- ever, the barriers remain formidable. Busi- Challenging the conventional wisdom, an- ness, academic, cultural, political, sport, or alysing the changing pattern of work and entertainment elites have created global societies, building alliances and bridges communities. Labour is lagging behind. between labour and academic institutions, The lack of language skills, cultural differ- and providing academic qualifi cation pro- ences, fi nancial constraints and compet- grammes for trade unions are the motivating interests make direct communication ing forces to build a Global Labour Univer- and cooperation diffi cult. sity and global union research networks. The need to: Trade unions need to have ideas and (a) enhance the analytical capacity of trade concepts for a social dimension of glo- unions to understand and challenge balization far beyond the workplace and the existing common wisdom about even the nation state. This requires a dif- globalization; ferent type of mobilizing power, information sharing, knowledge generation and (b) build alliances with the broader civil analytical capacity. For democratic move- society; ments, responses to global challenges (c) develop alternative ideas for a fair and cannot be found in an isolated national inclusive globalization; and context. For trade union effi ciency within international companies, for infl uencing (d) build sustainable networks;

35 puts additional challenges on trade union series of workshops. International experts research, labour studies, and workers’ joined the staff from the two universities education in a broad sense. This concerns to teach at the pilot course. National and the content, the instruments and the meth- international trade unions actively en- odology of cooperation. At national level gaged by offering internship opportuni- many trade unions have created different ties to the students. cooperation arrangements with universi- In September 2005, a fi rst group of stu- ties to strengthen their knowledge base dents from 18 countries successfully grad- and to build alliances with academic in- uated from the pilot course. A continuous stitutions that often play a formative role feedback and evaluation process between in infl uencing public opinion. the students, the universities and the In 2002, in cooperation with Global broader network allowed the course to be Unions, labour foundations, universities modifi ed. Many “teething problems” were and national trade union centres, the ILO already addressed in the second course started an initiative to build a similar net- that fi nished in September 2006. work between trade unions and academic International teams are working on institutions at an international level. The textbook developments concerning glo- Global Labour University (GLU) idea was bal governance, macroeconomic regimes launched in order to facilitate discourse, and development, trade unions and glo- stimulate research, and provide univer- balization. The annual GLU Conference sity-level qualifi cation programmes on the is a platform for researchers, trade union- political, economic and social dimensions ists, and GLU students to debate the glo- of globalization for labour and trade union bal challenges labour is facing. The con- experts. The immediate objectives are to: ferences are also opportunities to develop new joint research initiatives. The fi ndings (a) engage with trade unions and univer- of the annual conference are published in sities to develop and implement new regular GLU yearbooks. university curricula to broaden the Since January 2007, the University of debate and knowledge base on labour the Witwatersrand (South Africa) in coop- and equity issues in universities; eration with the Congress of South African (b) qualify trade unionists and other inter- Trade Unions offer an additional Master’s ested labour experts, through interna- course on labour and development within tionally recognized university-based the Global Labour University framework. post-graduate programmes, on the In 2008 a third course will be launched by political, economic and social dimen- the University of Campinas in cooperation sions of globalization from a labour with the Unifi ed Workers’ Confederation perspective; (CUT) Brazil. This will have a special focus on development economics and on trade (c) establish a network for joint research unions strategies towards transnational on global labour issues; and companies in developing countries. (d) facilitate discourse among trade union- Regular international workshops pro- ists and researchers concerning the vide the opportunity to assess jointly the challenges of globalization. experiences gathered in the pilot programme. The extension to two southern In the pilot phase from 2002–05 the GLU universities strengthens the North/South network developed and implemented a cooperation within the GLU and allows pilot Master’s course on “Labour Policies students to pursue their studies partly in and Globalization” (see table) at the uni- the north and partly in the south. It helps versities in Kassel and Berlin. An inter- to overcome a certain dominance of Euro- national group of academics and trade centric thinking in the pilot course. unionists developed the curriculum for An international graduate school on the this course over the past three years at a social dimension of globalization for PhD

36 Curriculum of Master’s Programme on Labour Policies and Globalization

Regular courses Elective courses

R 1 Trade Union Strategies in a Global Economy E 1 Workers’ Rights in the Informal Economy R 2 Governance of Globalization E 2 Theories of Social Justice R 3 Strategies of Multinational Companies and E 3 International Trade Union Politics Labour R 4 Economic Policy and Union Strategy E 4 Gender and Globalization R 5 Labour Rights and Sustainable E 5 Migration and Global Labour Markets Development R 6 Organizational Development of Trade E 6 Legal Framework of International Trade Union Unions Influence One World Seminar E 7 Globalization and the Welfare State Colloquium on Current Trade Union Policies E 8 Privatization, Deregulation, and Liberalization of Services E 9 History of Trade Unions E 10 Work and Society E 11 Development Economics Six weeks’ internship with national or international trade union organization.

students was launched in 2007 at the Uni- initiating joint research and textbook versity of Kassel. The concept of the GLU is development; based on the assumption that infl uencing contributing to the international de- the globalization process is a continuous bate on global labour issues; and effort that requires not only joint teaching but also research collaboration. qualifying trade union experts on glo- In September 2007, the fi rst GLU bal labour issues. Alumni summer school was established to strengthen the international network However, many issues remain for further and to develop new ideas for international debate. Some of the constantly debated cooperation and research initiatives. questions will be discussed in more de- The GLU project has been successful in: tail below. They are: agreeing, among very diverse project A. Cultural diversity partners, the structure and content of B. Language barriers and monolingualism the curriculum; C. Gender mainstreaming selecting a highly motivated, diverse and gender balanced group of trade D. Finding good applicants and keeping unionists/students for the course; them in the labour movement establishing a certifi ed and interna- E. Prioritizing resources tionally recognized Master’s course on F. Why a residential course in the age of “Labour Policies and Globalization”; the Internet? initiating new forms of international G. Recognized Master’s programme ver- cooperation between trade unionists sus labour education and adult learn- and academics; ing versus university teaching.

37 A. Cultural diversity B. Language

Bringing people from different cultural Language is a central problem. Those who backgrounds together is a precondition for have to communicate in a foreign language experiencing and understanding cultural face an additional barrier in discussions diversity. It offers unique opportunities to and monolingual Anglophones do not al- learn from each other, to look at globaliza- ways refl ect suffi ciently on their “language tion processes from different perspectives advantage”, and quite “naturally” domi- and to debate globally acceptable visions nate discussions. The more limited abil- and strategies. ity of non-native English speakers to ex- However, putting people from around press themselves in writing and speaking the world in one group by no means au- creates high levels of stress. The fact that tomatically creates multicultural under- most natives in Kassel and Berlin prefer to standing. Being in a foreign country, fac- speak deutsch is an additional cultural and ing dual language barriers, (re)starting language challenge for the participants in university studies and working within a the pilot course. On the other hand, it also group of 18 nationalities creates insecur- puts at least native English speakers under ity, stress, and sometimes an initial reac- the need to operate outside the classroom tion of retreat. in a foreign language. The fact that all participants share There have been discussions whether some common trade union values is help- the GLU should also offer courses in other ful, but sharing the same political values languages. However, this would create does, by no means, imply necessarily per- subgroups where just the Arab Spanish sonal sympathy or practical solidarity. or Russian speaking community would People become more aware about their be among themselves. “Broken” English is cultural differences. Not everybody be- the lingua franca of our time and whoever comes friends and a need for genuine tol- wants to participate in a global debate has erance remains because differences and to master this language, and labour needs diverging political views remain after more people from the non-English speak- overcoming initial ignorance, insecurity, ing world to broaden the global discourse or prejudices. about labour policies and globalization. Different countries have also other The understanding of globalization pro- learning cultures and different traditions cesses and the search for policy responses how to interact in class room. The natural will greatly benefi t from more trade union- insecurity of facing a new environment ists outside the English-speaking world leads sometimes rather to a retreat than bringing their knowledge into the debate. to an opening up. However, at a later The positive side of the language problem stage the sense of belonging to the trade is that while other problems might grow unions prevails and helps to overpass during a course, this is bound to dimin- these insecurities. ish over time. Proactive facilitation is required to support the common study process based on interaction, participation and mutual C. Gender mainstreaming support. This cultural diversity becomes at the same time a very important lesson The programme has been successful in of understanding some of the dynamics of ensuring a high participation of women international solidarity and action, which (more than 50 per cent). This was achieved can not be taken for granted and which re- through strong encouragement for qual- quire an intensive process of understand- ifi ed women to apply, and safeguarded ing and refl ections. by a compulsory quota of a minimum of 40 per cent participation by women. En- suring a gender balance among the teach-

38 ing staff and the international network of funding. Does the training activity en- proved to be more challenging. This is tirely depend on membership dues for partly due to the fact that, within the aca- funding or can partnerships help to mo- demic institutions, and also in many trade bilize a broader resource base? The GLU unions, women are strongly underrepre- has created partnerships with universi- sented in leading positions. The network ties that permit combining the resources itself has limited control about the deci- of trade unions, donors, the ILO and pub- sion of network partners who will repre- licly funded universities. There is also no sent the organization at network activities. need to build and maintain a school or It requires a constant awareness-raising to hire full-time staff as the courses are effort to ensure that the commitment to based within existing universities. This gender mainstreaming is maintained in gives the GLU a high level of fl exibility practice at all levels. and a very low level of fi xed costs. It has In designing the programme, gender mobilized commitment in universities to mainstreaming was defi ned as a key fea- focus teaching and research activities on ture of the curriculum. In addition to a spe- labour issues, because it opens avenues for cial (elective) course on gender, all courses interesting interaction with trade unions should be gender mainstreamed i.e., they and the ILO. should systematically analyse the different impact of policies on men and women. In a diverse network, this can best be done E. Finding good applicants in the medium-term through a continuous and keeping them process of debate and refl ection. in the labour movement

Will committed trade unionists have the D. Prioritizing resources time and money to leave their job for a year? Will their trade union let them go? There is never enough money to do every- Elected trade union offi cials cannot allow thing which is meaningful. The challenge themselves to be away for a whole year is to make choices between important is- and trade union leaders are similarly re- sues. The trade union movement must luctant to absent them. These constraints address a broad range of complementary make it diffi cult for many otherwise inter- training and qualifi cation needs from ested trade unionists to apply. However, basic trade union organizing seminars, there have been many applications for the shop steward training, leadership courses, pilot courses in the last three years, so that to high-level university programmes. there certainly is a demand. However, in reality complementarity is The programme built in several safe- not achieved through a central plan, but guards to target the “right” people to through a process of trial and error. Dif- apply. Participants have to be recom- ferent qualifi cation programmes are de- mended by their trade union. Applicants veloped by different institutions. are required to write a short essay ex- Over time those programmes survive plaining their motivation for participat- that are perceived by trade unionists as ing in the programme and indicating their valuable. Some programmes might sur- research interests. For applicants from vive for a while because they have donor developing and transition countries the funding or are part of a well-funded insti- GLU has mobilized resources for scholar- tution, but at the end of the day qualifi ca- ships. A scholarship from the programme tion programmes that do not meet a genu- is conditional on a matching contribution ine demand will neither fi nd participants from the trade union or another donor to nor donor funding. safeguard against recommendation let- The resource question is not merely a ters that are more a favour to the applicant question of total costs, but also of sources than a serious recommendation.

39 Requesting the endorsement from the network to encourage students to main- trade union might work to some extent as tain contact over the years and to continue a selection mechanism that excludes ap- to work together. plicants critical of their own leadership. Beyond internal networking the GLU It gives the trade union centres a certain needs to be embedded in broader infor- power of pre-selection. However, the pro- mation networks of trade union and la- gramme is designed not only for the indi- bour research activities. The ILO is sup- vidual skills development of trade union- porting an initiative of the international ists, but also for organizational capacity trade union movement to build a Global building. Hence, anybody who applies Union Research Network (GURN). The should be suffi ciently anchored in his or GURN (www.gurn.info) facilitates de- her organization, something evidenced bate, research and information exchange by the organization’s support of their on global labour issues. It organizes application. workshops, online debates, supports re- One of the great challenges and risks search and maintains a number of web of a qualifi cation programme of this type sites to provide up to date information on is that people lose contact with their trade important global labour issues. The stu- union and use the newly acquired qualifi - dents are encouraged to join this network cation to look for better-paid jobs outside which offers them the opportunity to link the labour movement. The recommending up with a wider group of labour research- trade unions can make their recommenda- ers. It is too early to assess the success of tion and support conditional on the com- the strategy of network integration, but mitment of the applicant to work in the proactive stimulation of further coopera- labour movement at least for a number of tion is seen as vital for strengthening the years after fi nishing the course. However, international debate and for supporting this is diffi cult to enforce. Free and con- “retention” of the GLU participants in the fi dent trade unionists will always make wider labour orbit. individual choices about their own future. Even if people take up other jobs, it is not necessarily negative for the labour F. Why a residential course movement. in the age of the Internet? Instead of trying to retain people through commitment agreements, the New technologies open new possibilities stronger persuasion has to come from a for e-learning and networking that allow design of the programme that motivates for distant learning and time fl exibility. In continuous work in the movement. Stud- the age of instant global communication ying with trade union colleagues from a residential course looks very old-fash- many other countries, having the time to ioned. The advantages of distance learn- refl ect about trade union policies and get- ing are obvious. People can do this in a ting new insights in the (political) econ- fl exible manner and from their computer omy of globalization is stimulating and at work or back home. They stay in their motivating. An internship with a trade workplace and maintain contact with their union organization is an integrated part communities and families. While this has of the course. It provides students with advantages, it has to be balanced against exposure to practical trade union work the advantage of a genuine sabbatical year outside their home country and also links that allows participants to step back from their academic studies with some “down- their day-to-day work and usual home to-earth” practical trade union issues. life and look at the global challenges for The experience from the fi rst two labour from a different perspective. This courses is that most participants returned period of an intensive process of learning to trade union or labour activities at home. and analysis from outside “normal life” In addition, the GLU is building an alumni is at the same time an important phase

40 for critical refl ections and strategic think- building an alumni network. A common ing for the reality back home and how this web site provides comprehensive informa- reality adjusts to a broader picture of the tion about the project for a wider public. world developments. An interesting dy- An internal communication system fa- namic of the GLU residential course is that cilitates information sharing within the some classes are run with students from network. Course outline and course read- other courses in the respective universi- ings, bibliographies etc. are deposited on ties, giving GLU students the possibility to a common platform. Students can share go beyond discussion among trade union- their coursework and electronic discus- ists and test the validity of their arguments sion groups provide the possibilities for with people from other backgrounds. debates among student groups from dif- Distance education has also its own ferent universities. The electronic plat- limitations. It is beyond the scope of this form is also increasingly used for com- article to discuss the diffi culties exten- munication between former students and sively. However, it seems that the interac- provides good facilities for joint research tion in a classroom is of extremely high activities. One of the challenges of he GLU value in a learning process and not eas- remains to explore further the possibilities ily created in a virtual class. The value of for part-time or distance education. On a face-to-face meetings in understanding practical note, adding the dimension of different cultures, debating openly, and distance learning to the challenge of cre- learning from each other cannot be un- ating a complex multi-stakeholder Global derestimated. Moreover, one year of liv- Labour University network was seen as ing and studying together is much more trying too much in one go. than sharing experiences, as it transforms into an important phase for critically analysing and questioning political develop- G. Recognized Master’s programme ments in trade unions and in society as a versus labour education and adult whole and seeking for solutions. At the learning versus university teaching same time it lays the foundation of valuable networks and relations among the Since the beginning of the programme, GLU participants for cooperation in their the question of whether the course should future trade union work. be a formal university course or a trade Distance education programmes are union course has been hotly debated. based mainly on written communication, Entry barriers to formal education for which increases the communication bar- many workers, and the lack of recognition rier for non-native English speakers sub- of experiences and informal learning, were stantially. The discipline required from important factors to reject formal entry re- participants is extremely high and distance quirements and exams in workers’ edu- learning does not reduce (it probably in- cation. The underlying assumption is that creases) the study time required and very for trade union qualifi cation programmes, intensive individual supervision needs to formal qualifi cation is not a very valuable be provided. Offering a full course Mas- criterion and is an inherent element of ex- ter’s programme would require either that clusion. It was also not seen as a necessary someone is nevertheless released from disciplining and motivating instrument work duties, or would need to be stretched as committed trade unionists derive their over a longer period of time. learning motivation not from marks but Information technologies provide ex- from vision. Finally, labour – for good and cellent possibilities to complement the bad reasons – wants to keep full political course and networking activities. They control over the learning process. are extensively used in maintaining the However, the fact that formal qualifi - network, sharing information and teach- cation standards might require undesir- ing material among the universities and in able modifi cations to the curriculum and

41 the methodology of a course, is probably cover and value the importance of learn- the most important reason against for- ers’ experiences as important sources of mally recognized courses. It gives more knowledge. There is no given set of know- agenda-setting and control power to the ledge that needs to be transferred from the teacher and is hence less participatory teacher to the taught, but all participants and democratic. This also individualizes involved in the learning process bring the learning process as people are indi- their knowledge, experience and opinion vidually assessed. Learning in closed to the table. The shift from bringing en- groups of like-minded trade unionists lightenment to the workers, towards facil- creates an environment allowing a focus itating learning together, and from each on problems from a labour perspective other, has led to a language change from and creates a less competitive learning the partly paternalistic notion of workers’ environment. education to labour education, trade union These are valid arguments to main- training, lifelong learning, etc. tain traditional forms of labour education. While discussion and sharing experi- However, there are also a number of argu- ence are important, they are certainly not ments to supplement “in-house qualifi ca- everything and sometimes seem overval- tion” with formally recognized high-level ued in labour education. Sharing practical qualifi cation programmes. The expertise experience is not a substitute for study- and knowledge of universities can be ing theoretical concepts and paradigms. used, and universities are best equipped Indeed, practical experience can also be to provide knowledge and academic ana- misleading. Daily experience at enter- lytical skills that enable people to back up prise-level makes the employers’ argu- their political views with well-reasoned ment that wage cuts increase competitive- arguments and underlying theoreti- ness and create employment quite compel- cal concepts. Universities are motivated ling. The negative effects on productivity through joint programmes to develop a growth, aggregate demand, or the upward stronger focus on labour issues. Being in pressure on the exchange rate, are beyond a like-minded trade union community, in daily experience and require a different an open university environment, also re- level of abstract thinking. duces the risk of reinforcing the politically Humankind has accumulated know- correct truth instead of debating the chal- ledge and theoretical understanding over lenging questions. many generations and there is no need Learning is not always fun and is often (and most people do not have the ingenu- hard work. Participants want their hard ity of the few great thinkers each century work recognized. Certifi cation and formal produces) to reinvent the wheel. While recognition provide additional confi rm- sharing experience is important, and re- ation of the value and quality of a given fl ection indispensable, there is knowledge course. Recognized courses can also be that needs to be learned from books and an important stepping-stone for further teachers and which cannot be assumed to learning and qualifi cation. Integration be instantly derived from practical experi- into broader academic institutions can ence. The more distant the causes affect- be intellectually more stimulating. The ing personal lives, the more diffi cult it is to increased need for building alliances re- derive understanding and responses from quires an open-minded environment for personal experience, or from sharing per- discussions and debate in qualifi cation sonal experience. This needs to be taken programmes. into account in addressing globalization is- Education has always been a central sues. There is a need to broaden the experi- element of trade union work to develop, ence brought together. Global problems discuss, and disseminate new ideas. La- require global sharing of experience and bour pioneered many concepts of adult knowledge. There is not only a horizontal, learning. It was one of the fi rst to dis- but also a vertical problem. Complex issues

42 cannot be understood without acquiring The GLU already successfully facili- the accumulated wisdom of humankind. tated a “clash of learning cultures” and This is normally not found in classrooms, maintains the Hegelian optimism that the- but in libraries. Despite new technology sis and antithesis will be aufgehoben (will and new methodology there is no real lead to) a qualitatively higher synthesis. shortcut to avoid long hours of reading which stimulate meaningful debate. Universities traditionally have a more Conclusion vertical or hierarchical tradition of learning and they are probably overestimat- The speed of globalization is not slowing ing the knowledge transfer, and under- down and the need for a global solution is estimating the need for critical refl ection growing by the day. The apparent “Wash- and debate. While professors enjoy the ington Disarray” offers a window of op- discourse with other professors, this does portunity to broaden the debate about al- not necessarily apply to the same extent ternative forms of globalization. To seize to students. Professors might not always this opportunity requires sustainable see the value of students questioning their global networks and international move- wisdom and methodology. ments as prototypes of a global civil soci- Adults are prepared to learn – they ety. The Global Labour University is try- do not want to be taught. People do not ing to make a contribution to this process learn what they are taught, but what they by focusing on the social and labour di- want to understand. Adults have their mension of globalization, building inter- own interpretation of the world and they national links between academia and the respond on the basis of that view to any labour movement and qualifying trade new information. It is an illusion that unionists on global labour issues. knowledge can be transferred without Overcoming language and cultural refl ection, debate and discussion. Send- barriers and supporting an open, but ing and receiving a message are only value-based, research and learning envir- two loosely connected activities, whereas onment is seen as a valuable contribution common understanding can only be en- towards a modern labour movement try- sured through discussion and refl ection. ing to infl uence complex and differenti- In some lectures, students clearly felt a ated globalization processes. lack of participatory exchange with the Labour has a key role to play to make professors and, in several discussions, globalization fair. At the end of the day, the two different learning cultures and the broad involvement of working people expectations were debated. Finding better will make the difference between whether solutions is a joint, and not always easy, ideas remain just ideas or whether they discussion process. will change the current reality.

Educating for equality – Workers’ education and gender

More and more women are joining the unions. Has workers’ education kept pace? And can it help women trade unionists into leadership positions? What should gender-sensitive labour education look like? We asked an expert. Elsa Ramos, who has long experience of trade union programmes for women worldwide, was formerly the Director of the Equality and Youth Department of the ICFTU (now the ITUC).

Elsa Ramos Specialist in Workers’ Activities Asia–Pacific region ILO, Bangkok

Labour Education: Women workers still seem the unions – a very “public” domain – is to have too little access to positions of lead- the business of men. Unfortunately, far too ership within the trade union movement. many of our brothers still think like that. Can workers’ education help women to break Just recently, a top leader of a national cen- through the glass ceiling that is also found in tre in Asia (fairly young, too) said to me: the unions? “My wife would like to be more active in the union and run for elections, but I’m Elsa Ramos: Yes it can, in so far as it pre- really sorry that I have to discourage her. pares women for leadership positions. She’ll have to attend meetings, sometimes Workers’ education gives women the skills out of town, and maybe even take part in to tackle the myriad tasks facing trade un- collective bargaining, which often goes on ionists – whether they are rank-and-fi le until the wee hours of the morning. Who members, shop stewards, representatives will take care of the children?” It didn’t or leaders. However, all the education in occur to him that he could also take care of the world will not have much effect if the children and, more importantly, that sexist attitudes and behaviour persist, if his wife would probably be a very effect- stereotypes of male and female roles con- ive negotiator, women being “naturals” tinue to be reinforced in the structures for this job. and culture of trade unions. Everywhere today we have well-trained, experienced So what can be done to change attitudes inside women, extremely able and willing to lead organized labour itself? their unions. Dare I say it – they are better than some of our male leaders! There is a crucial need for “genderizing” However, few women get the chance the trade unions. In the mid-90s, the ICFTU even to get to fi rst base in the leader- evaluated the “women only” programmes ship contest. For those able to overcome and what impact these had had on the the hurdle of their often heavy family women and on their trade unions. While responsibilities, there is – still in many they had been extremely benefi cial to the parts of the world – the stigma attached women (of course!), the “value added” for to a woman “doing a man’s job”. It’s all the unions was in terms of more partici- right for women to be union members, pation by women in trade union activ- even active members, but leadership in ities (at local and federation levels), more

45 organizing efforts targeted at women (and to a lesser degree, among leaders. The hence, more women members, in particu- discussion and subsequent adoption of lar those in the informal economy and the gender policies and plans of action by na- export processing zones), a strengthening tional centres were also attributed to the of women’s structures, and union women project, as were some amendments to con- taking on more active, often leadership, stitutions to promote women’s participa- roles outside the unions (in women’s or- tion in executive boards. And, last but not ganizations and NGOs). In fact, quite least, the development of education and an achievement! Still, full integration of information material was noted. But much women’s – and gender – issues into trade is still needed to be done to implement the union policies, programmes and activities, plan of action, not least fi nding the nec- was judged to be wanting, woefully in too essary resources to sustain the activities. many countries. And where the impact Also, there remains a huge gap between was the least felt was on women’s partici- rhetoric and practice; clearly, the political pation in decision-making bodies inside will to change is wanting. the unions. This was, to say the least, most In Latin America and in Central and discouraging, especially as positive action Eastern Europe, the outlook is more op- policies and programmes had been adopt- timistic. More and more women are in ed – not without debate – by the ICFTU leadership positions, at all levels. ORIT, and its regional organizations. the ITUC’s regional organization for the After much discussion involving the Americas, has gone beyond the 30 per cent Task Force (set up by the ICFTU Women’s minimum women’s participation in activ- Committee to monitor implementation ities threshold set by the International; of the positive action programmes), the the average is now 40 per cent. And after regional women’s coordinators and edu- Western Europe, the Americas has the cation offi cers, and some national centres, highest number of women in union lead- a three-year pilot programme was devel- ership positions. oped to train union educators – both men and women – to conduct gender aware- Today, more and more women workers are ness training within their organizations joining the trade union movement. Have the and integrate gender perspectives in gen- services and training provided by the unions eral trade union education programmes. changed to take account of that? And each national centre selected for the pilot project was to set up a national Gen- Yes, but not enough. der Perspective Team – on a gender parity It should certainly not be thought basis and with the active participation of that unions did not provide services and the women’s committees – which would training for women in the days before the develop a national gender policy and a 1970s. Even when they represented a small strategic plan of action for its implemen- percentage of the membership (7 per cent tation. The project countries included in 1949, when the ICFTU was founded), Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Kenya, Ma- women already knew that their place was laysia, Mali, Morocco, the Philippines, in the union and that the union was theirs, South Africa, the United Republic of Tan- too. So they had a claim to these services zania, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. and training, as much as their brothers. But they also realized that for this to hap- And has that education approach worked? pen, they had to get more women into the unions, build a critical mass, create their The project was evaluated in 2003. One space and slowly transform the move- positive fi nding was a perceptible increase ment, not only for themselves, but for in gender awareness and better under- their brothers and for all workers. I call standing of gender issues among educa- these early years the “planting-the-seeds tors, organizers and youth activists – and phase”. Many sprouted, because they were

46 constantly tended by the Women’s Com- ministration, with a special focus on deci- mittee – founded way back in 1952! – and sion-making and leadership) as well as on by women (and some men) trade union- specialized subjects (economics, research, ists all over the world. structural adjustment programmes, etc.). From the mid-70s to the late 1990s, Thousands and thousands of women ben- there were a great deal of projects and pro- efi ted from the training which, in develop- grammes aimed at organizing and inte- ing countries, was made possible to a large grating women into the trade union move- extent by solidarity assistance from unions ment, in both industrialized and develop- in industrialized countries. Thousands of ing countries. This was no doubt fuelled unions, in turn, benefi ted from the women by the strong women’s movement all over who applied their skills in strengthen- the world, given impetus by the UN Dec- ing their organizations, organizing more ade launched in 1975. That movement women workers, making much-needed infl uenced even the hitherto extremely changes to the way trade unions work patriarchal trade union leadership and and transforming union structures and structures. Of course, a lot of the credit cultures to be more inclusive and diverse. must go to the trade union women who These programmes, which continue in have always had to fi ght an uphill battle many parts of the world, have chalked up for their place in their unions. But their some obvious successes – greater visibility struggle was given a much-needed femi- of women, a better image for the unions nist perspective through their interaction as inclusive organizations, more women and alliance with their sisters in the wom- joining the unions, more credibility for the en’s movement. At the same time, union unions as effective organizations address- women greatly infl uenced the women’s ing more than bread and butter (or rice organizations and NGOs. They learned a and fi sh) issues, and so on. But neverthe- great deal from the militancy and daily less, the pace of change is still too slow. struggles of women workers for equality Nowhere is this more evident than in the at the workplace, tackling issues such as still very low percentage of women in de- equal pay for work of equal value, equal cision-making positions. treatment in employment, trade union and human rights, maternity protection, To what extent does workers’ education cur- balancing work and family, sexual harass- rently take account of the different needs of ment, and violence against women. The men and women? small and big victories we enjoy today are the fl owers, plants and trees produced by Not enough – especially at the “higher” the seeds planted earlier. levels, such as the specialized courses of longer duration at the International Train- Was workers’ education among the seeds? ing Centre of the ILO, Turin. The problem is that labour education associates the no- It was one of the most important ones. tion of “leadership” with top, elected offi - During those years, the programmes and cials. That does not refl ect either women’s projects were mainly for women only, and thinking or women’s reality. most were in the area of training and education. Great focus was placed on raising What should gender-sensitive workers’ edu- women workers’ awareness of their own cation look like? worth and the value of their contribution to society, including the trade unions, while It requires culturally sensitive trainers. imparting the ABC of trade unionism. For example, they should obviously take The multi-level programmes included care to avoid sexist language. For gender skills training on the various aspects of awareness training itself, it is preferable trade union work (organizing, collective to have both a man and a woman among bargaining, labour legislation, union ad- the trainers. At the same time, we should

47 realize that the gender issue may have Can you indicate a particularly good example to be approached differently in different of how the needs of both men and women were parts of the world. So culture and trad- introduced into workers’ education? itions have to be respected, but we should not be afraid to examine them critically. Public Services International (PSI) has de- It is also important to take a close look at veloped a lot of useful material. Its publi- the materials used for labour education. cations on pay equity go into the practical At the very least, it should avoid stereo- issues in a way which makes them ideal typing. If it can actually enhance positive for labour education. Also, together with roles, so much the better. Checklists of Education International, it has produced gender issues can help to make sure they pay equity modules speciﬁ cally designed are properly covered in courses. for training courses. These manuals can And, of course, we have to make sure then be used in conjunction with other that more women take part in training resources. PSI also has material explain- activities. Thirty to 40 per cent should be ing what gender mainstreaming is, and it the threshold. This implies that the organ- goes in for gender mainstreaming itself. ization of the courses should be adapted For instance, it has resources on the link to women’s needs. Are the timing and the between gender inequalities and health venue suitable? Is childcare provided? Are and safety concerns. the needs of nursing mothers taken into ac- And UNI’s Global Equality Project count? Generally, mixed courses are pref- (GEP) has placed the emphasis on the erable, as they help both women and men education and training of women trade to be aware of gender issues. But in some unionists. The GEP workshops in Africa, cases, women-only courses may be needed. the Asia–Paciﬁ c region and Latin Amer- Again, this is partly a cultural issue. ica have been using active learning tech- As regards the content of courses, gen- niques. They also bring in women trade der aspects should be built into all the union leaders and activists who attended topics. For instance, the topic today is glo- previous seminars, and who can serve as balization and its impact on workers, their role models. The women who attend these families, society and national development. seminars go on to organize more women Courses on globalization need to cover is- into trade unions. That in turn gives them sues like migration, export processing the strength to promote equality at all lev- zones and outsourcing. In all these areas, els of the trade union movement and in women are very much involved and have society as a whole. particular concerns. The same goes for The workshops also make the link occupational and health and safety, HIV/ between gender equality and the ILO’s AIDS in the workplace, labour market re- Decent Work Agenda. That link is as clear form and a whole host of other topics. as it is vital.

48 Trade union education in Africa – Challenges and future prospects

Trade unions were established by workers to represent, protect and defend their collective social and economic interests. However, given the complex dimensions that these interests have assumed due to global economic and socio-political environments, the case for continual relevant and strengthened learning processes for personal and collective development has become an unrelenting imperative within the labour movement in Africa. It is therefore critical that trade unions uphold the value of education with a view to addressing these challenges and justifying their existence.

Mohammed Mwamadzingo Regional Specialist on Workers’ Education ILO/ACTRAV, Pretoria Insa Ben Said Dia Programme Officer International Training Centre ILO, Turin

rade union education has formed an two decades. These changes are largely Tintegral part of trade union activities due to globalization of the world economy, since the advent of international trade the failure of African economies to create union activism in Africa in the 1950s. employment opportunities at a time when Labour education reafﬁ rms the identity workers are losing jobs through restruc- of the organization while at the same turalization programmes, the informali- time upholds its main objectives. And al- zation of employment and the opening up though it has taken many forms, the pri- of new political systems. In effect, these mary aim has remained the promotion changes have necessitated trade unions to of the labour movement’s core principles, be strong and build the capacity to engage values and ideals. Trade union education governments, employers and other devel- is indeed the overall strategic instrument opment actors. that allows workers collectively to realize This being the case, trade unions their capacities in promoting, defending needed to broaden their base and build and enhancing their interest. At the same up a wider appeal. This requires organ- time, it provides an avenue to analyse its izing more members in the formal sector position vis-à-vis the social, economic and and especially among women and young geopolitical situation surrounding its en- workers. They also need to extend their vironment and the workplace. organizational representation to sectors The nature and form of trade union that have so far not been the traditional education in Africa has substantially base of trade unions. been inﬂ uenced by the changes that have Trade union education has enabled affected the world of work. The world members and leaders not only to un- economy has been undergoing dramatic derstand new trends in social and eco- changes at a breathtaking pace in the past nomic development, but also to engage

49 employers, governments and international with them. There is no doubt that it gave organizations – to ensure that the labour impetus to the development of a vibrant movement viewpoint is heard. trade union movement that was articulate and aggressive in presenting its demands. As a result, the ICFTU was encouraged to Development of trade union start the process of building another col- education in Africa lege in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The second, post-colonial phase of The three phases of trade union develop- trade union education took effect as soon ment in Africa are: colonial, post-colonial as many countries in Africa gained their and contemporary. political independence in the early 1960s. The colonial period starts in the 1950s The struggle against colonial rule had ob- with the concentration of educational ac- viously revealed the trade union capacity tivities especially in East, North and West to mobilize workers for specifi c goals. The Africa. These activities were largely meant nationalists, who had worked closely with to awaken the consciousness of workers trade unionists but had replaced colonial on the need for collective efforts to defend governments upon winning the struggle their interests, instil trade union principles for independence, moved quickly to estab- of unity to ordinary workers, and develop lish one-party regimes. It was argued then trade union leadership that could handle that trade union independence in the face workers’ problems. The activities were of a war against poverty, disease and igno- organized largely on a subregional basis, rance was a luxury that no African country often lasting two weeks to a month. They could afford. Africa, it was said, needed to were mainly organized on an ad hoc basis. unite its people under one leadership. The The methods of teaching and the materials relentless rhetoric mounted by the politi- used were often based on the experiences cians put trade unions on the defensive as of trade unions in the respective coloniz- they had not prepared themselves to fi ght ing countries. To a large extent, due to the back. Arguably, it was during this period low levels of literacy of the African work- that trade unionists in Africa faced enor- ers, the language used to deliver the mes- mous political pressures. The African La- sage was, in many instances, not easily un- bour College in Kampala was also under derstood by the majority. Nonetheless, the attack and was forced to close down in message on the need for unity and solidar- February 1968. The idea of opening a new ity was clear to most: the more the colonial college in Abidjan also fi zzled out. governments and employers resisted the This new political dispensation called development of trade unions, the more the for a review of overall trade union strat- spirit of trade unionism grew. egies. Trade union education was then This early period was also character- targeted to reach the ordinary workers ized by an increase of worker participa- at the branch and shop-fl oor levels. This tion in the struggle for independence. At stage of “mobile trade union education pro- the international level, the optimism about grammes” was born in the early 1970s and the future of trade unionism in Africa involved basic trade union training for shop was also refl ected in the decision by the stewards and branch offi cials, intermediate International Confederation of Free Trade courses for district and national leaders or Unions (ICFTU) to establish a permanent specialized training at national level, and educational institution: the African La- training of national leaders geared to the bour College in Kampala, Uganda. The formulation of the trade union movement’s college had an immediate positive impact economic and social policy. on trade union education in Africa. It cre- At the same time, the new approach ated an environment where young trade recognized the role of international trade unionists discussed issues facing them at union solidarity through the closer col- home, and shared ideas on how to deal laboration and coordination of educa-

50 tional activities, including exchange and of educational materials also expanded production of teaching aids with sectoral to other areas that had hitherto not been unions and at the international level. covered. Inter-regional activities were also initiated The third period also saw the incorpora- in order to provide opportunities for edu- tion of requirements that educational sup- cation instructors to compare experiences port should assist trade union organiza- and learn from each other. tions to develop the services they provide One of the most successful approaches to members and aim at involving working to trade union education was carried out people in the activities of their unions. In- during this period, under the monitors’ creasingly, education materials were trans- training programme. This called for the lated into non-European languages, such development of a programme to be carried as Kiswahili in East Africa. In addition, out in stages, with clearly defi ned objec- educational activities at the rank-and-fi le tives. The organizers also stressed the im- level were conducted in local languages, portance of selecting participants who were thereby facilitating a greater absorption likely to assume active trade union work. It of the information being delivered to par- became obvious that such activities could ticipants. The application of different trade not be achieved in countries where trade union education methodologies also inten- union education structures did not exist. It sifi ed and methods such as study circles was emphasized that trade unions needed became common knowledge. to determine their priorities, design pro- Today, with the advent of information grammes, select participants and carry out and communication technologies, and the requisite activities. This approach led particularly the Internet, a new dimension to intensive activities aimed at establishing has been brought to trade union education. structures for trade union education. Educators are now considering themselves The contemporary phase of trade as architects and engineers constructing union education in Africa began in the the bridge to the so-called “digital divide”, 1990s, which was characterized by the infor the benefi t of unionists and their com- tensifi ed democratization process, debate munities. Trade unions, as signifi cant in- on good governance and internal trade terest groups in the communities, are also union democracy, economic reforms, glo- developing a regional and national pres- balization and emergence of new tech- ence as part of the global information soci- nologies and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ety. As in many other social and economic This opened up the possibilities of Afri- issues affecting modern society, trade can trade unions to break away from the union educators are playing the roles of often imposed links they maintained with advisers, teachers and advocates to a mix the one-party regimes. Trade unions were of citizenry with varying, often limited, at last free to join any international trade levels of technological knowledge. Educa- union organization. tors argue that, in their position as the line This period also saw the emergence of defence for their membership and the of issues such as gender mainstream- general populace, trade unions are prob- ing, structural adjustment programmes, ably better positioned to sell the benefi ts of human and trade union rights and child the digital age than most self-proclaimed, labour as major priorities for the trade undemocratic, rigid and unfocused civil unions which had to be included in edu- society institutions. cational activities. Some of the educational It is also noteworthy to observe that work took the form of costly regional con- Africa contributes to more than half of ferences. At the same time, trade union the countries that have ratifi ed the Work- education had put more emphasis on ers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 training specialized staff and established (No. 135) (see table). This Convention a cadre of educators in virtually all trade and its accompanying Recommendation union centres. The work on the production No. 143 are important tools to enhance

51 Africa’s ratification status of the ILO’s Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135)

Country Date of ratification

Algeria 6 June 2006 Benin 1 June 2001 Burkina Faso 21 May 1974 Burundi 10 October 1997 Cameroon 5 April 1976 Chad 7 January 1998 Democratic Republic of the Congo 20 June 2001 Côte d’Ivoire 21 February 1973 Egypt 25 March 1982 Gabon 13 June 1975 Guinea 26 May 1977 Kenya 9 April 1979 Mali 12 June 1995 Niger 5 April 1972 Rwanda 8 November 1988 Sao Tome and Principe 4 May 2005 Senegal 24 August 1976 United Republic of Tanzania 19 August 1983 Zambia 24 May 1973 Zimbabwe 27 August 1998 Total African countries: 20 Total all countries: 78

Source: ILOLEX database (as at 12 September 2006).

the role of trade union education because of trade union education in Africa has al- they ensure that workers’ representatives ways been unique and its approach dif- and educators enjoy effective protection ferent from any other form of adult edu- against any act prejudicial to their duties. cation. Its scope and content are designed These tools are also important in that they to create and also raise awareness among compel ratifying countries to provide fa- union members, activists and leaders as cilities to workers’ representatives, to ena- well as providing them with skills to meet ble them promptly and effi ciently to carry the diffi cult challenges of their workplaces out their functions. and organizations. Increasingly, trade union education is organized with the aim of educating tar- Scope and content of trade get groups and making them supportive union education in Africa to their organizations and better perform- ing. It is in this context that trade unions In order to establish itself clearly as one of have a traditional obligation to ensure that the most infl uential services that unions their members are satisfi ed with the edu- provide to their members, trade union cation offered. education should be properly designed In this regard, while trade union educa- and implemented. In this regard, the scope tion in Africa has concentrated on labour-

52 related subjects, the activities have not en- velopment, information technology, in- tirely been limited to “bread and butter” ternational trade, trade union and politics, issues, such as collective bargaining and political economy, the environment, social wage negotiation, but have also included a and cultural values, and young workers. wide range of many other questions important to workers and their communities. There are three broad levels of trade Methodologies and approaches union education – basic, intermediate and of trade union education in Africa advanced. These three categories cover subjects such as: trade union history, aims Trade union education is always focused and objectives of trade unions, handling on identifi ed target groups within the or- members’ problems, some aspects of la- ganization and can assist in the resolution bour law structure and the functions of of identifi ed problems. Thus, methodolog- trade unions, collective bargaining, health ical planning approaches are important and safety at work and the duties of trade in meeting the targeted relevance of the union offi cers (shop steward, branch secre- courses desired. However, the methods, tary, branch chairperson, treasurer, etc.). techniques and materials are means and Other specifi c subjects may be added. not ends. The end is the type and the qual- They include trade unions and the econ- ity of learning. omy, human and trade union rights, wom- In Africa, trade union education seldom en’s participation in trade unions, ILO takes place within the confi nes of a trad- Conventions, international trade union itional classroom. Unionists, their leaders organizations, leadership skills, strategic and the facilitators interact through at- planning, organizing and public-speak- tending meetings, study circles, fi eld visits ing techniques. and group discussions in workshops (col- In various forums, trade unionists have loquially described by many trade union reviewed the relevance of the scope and educators as “a shop that works”) aimed content and concluded that, to a large ex- at strategizing the way forward on issues tent, trade union education has succeeded closer to their welfare and that of the in preparing leadership to perform their larger communities in which they live. duties and also informing membership of A variety of participatory or active their rights and obligations. The subjects methods are applied, as well as passive covered in the learning process were also techniques, including the lecture, the dis- considered adequate in relation to current cussion, the forum, the large group discus- challenges. sion, the buzz session or small group dis- Nevertheless, for labour education to be cussion, case studies, role playing, study more responsive to the dynamic changes circle and others. In effect, all these meth- of trade liberalization, privatization and re- ods are considered relevant, depending on trenchment, advancement in technological the choice, objectives and target groups. developments, increasing cases of violation In terms of other appropriate method- of human and trade union rights, it is nec- ologies and approaches needed to make essary to initiate deliberate improvements trade union education more responsive in the curriculum by raising awareness on and dynamic in the context of the new the need for acquisition of new skills, fa- challenges facing the trade union move- cilitating the strategic networking and al- ment, it is necessary for workers’ edu- liance between labour educators and the cation to adapt to the new opportunities larger civil society and sensitization and and potential associated with information building of trade union militancy. and computer-based technology, such as The challenge to respond dynamically the use of electronic media, the Internet will call for the introduction of non-trad- and CD-ROM. In addition, trade union itional courses such as democracy and education must be called upon to take good governance, entrepreneurship de- up the challenges posed by the changing

53 political platform by introducing new ities through extra-budgetary resources political dimensions such as the impact by designing project work that could be of national and international geopolitics fundable from external support. on trade union work. At the same time, unions need to pull It is also critical to call for the adap- resources together to offer advanced train- tation of current methodologies and ap- ing at specially designated institutions proaches to take account of other innova- such as the labour colleges, most of which tive techniques of education and learning currently have excess unutilized capacity. such as drama, traditional songs, and use There exist various national labour colleges of radio and print media. It is equally im- in Ghana (Ghana Labour College), Kenya portant to use research as a learning tool (Tom Mboya Labour College), Senegal (In- to enhance awareness of current and fu- nefo), South Africa (Workers’ College and ture trends affecting workers. Distela) and the United Republic of Tan- Trade union education has always zania (Mbeya Labour College). This pro- taken many forms and has constantly had cess of institutionalization of educational to adapt to new situations. But its basic structures can help promote learning and principles have remained strictly adhered studying in the labour movement by or- to. Specialized training has sought to meet ganizing seminars, outreach programmes, the specifi c needs of trade unions and to be academic and non-academic courses and relevant to the types of people it is aimed discussions. This will also assist in the pro- at. Importantly, trade union education has motion and implementation of comprehen- also been instrumental in contributing to sive education and training programmes the development and strengthening of infor the trade union movement. Strategic ternational trade union solidarity. liaison with institutions of higher learning in their respective countries should also be encouraged in order to secure ad- Challenges facing trade union ditional support for programmes. Equally education in Africa important are the links with the media, representative and democratic non-gov- Concomitant to the obstacles to trade ernmental organizations, United Nations union growth already identifi ed (global agencies and academic institutions. Such economic reforms, technological advance- linkages can also facilitate the integration ment, drastic change in climatic and en- of union agenda into programmes devel- vironment changes, and labour market oped by other actors. dynamics) trade union education in Af- In terms of utilization of human re- rica is undergoing teething problems.1 sources, trade union education should For instance, trade union educational ac- not be restricted to educators and train- tivities remain heavily dependent on out- ers from labour education departments, side fi nancial resources. Moreover, these but also take advantage of the existence foreign sources are shrinking while de- of the knowledge and skills available in mand for them continues to grow. This other departments such as economics means unions have to take certain bold and research, gender issues, trade union steps, among other things, by having to do rights, administration and fi nance, com- so much with so little. Trade unions must, munication, and organization. as a matter of urgency, take appropriate Other challenging areas that have in- measures to address this issue. fl uenced the face of trade union education National trade union centres and their include: management of trade unions affi liated organizations need to value edu- as modern institutions, new services to cation by explicitly budgeting for basic members, and issues that are of concern training activities within their respective in contemporary society, such as employ- organizations. Unions should also be en- ment creation, policy development, entre- couraged to undertake educational activ- preneurship, management, project design,

54 planning and evaluation, child labour, build new capacity to assess strategies HIV/AIDS, the environment, international to improve the membership base for all confl icts and corruption. affi liates; assess the role of workers’ education in knowledge creation, storage and Summary, conclusions dissemination, including enhancing and future prospects skills development and attitudinal changes; Trade union education is, and will continue to be, an important part to the re- make trade union education catalys- alization of the principles and ideals of tic and pragmatic, both in content and the labour movement in Africa. However, methodology; just like the movement itself, trade union develop cost-effective methods of de- education must continue to be dynamic. It livery which take into account non- must change and adapt to new situations conventional approaches, including and challenges. It should be innovative, mobile exhibits, street forums, dis- experimental and responsive to the needs tance education methods, concerts, of the diverse target groups that constitute popular theatre, folk and mass media. the movement: shop fl oor activists, young However, it should be clear that trade workers, women, and leaders. union education is a discipline of its Nevertheless, trade union education own merit and should not lose its must not be seen as the panacea to all the identity; problems and challenges facing the trade make trade union educational insti- union movement. It is an important ve- tutions, educational materials and re- hicle for the movement to use in creat- sources to respond to the new chal- ing awareness and searching for solutions lenges; and to the myriad of issues affl icting trade unions: promoting organizing campaigns, harness the role of the International fi ghting the HIV/AIDS scourge and other Training Centre of the ILO, Turin as social evils, resolving leadership issues, the centre of excellence in trade union encouraging youth to join unions, main- education and increase its collabora- streaming gender aspects and enhancing tion with various regional and national solidarity. Trade union education should, labour colleges in Africa. therefore, not be an end in itself. Though much has been achieved in Af- rica, trade union education must still be nurtured to meet the following challenges: Note develop information-gathering meth- 1 ods, storage system and dissemina- For a succinct discussion of the challenges facing trade unions in Africa, see ICFTU-AFRO (2005), tion, including the continual adoption A Trade Union Vision for Africa towards Challenges of of new communication strategies and Development, Organizing and Social Justice. (Nairobi, the application of new skills; ICFTU-AFRO).

Trade union education in Asia

The challenges to trade union education in Asia are those to trade unionism in general. Some of these challenges relate to trade unions, their actions and structures, others to external pressures to which the actions and structures must respond. Further, some challenges flow from how we have conducted trade union education.

Christine Nathan Regional Specialist in Labour Education ILO, Bangkok Hiro Ishibashi Specialist in Workers’ Activities ILO, Manila

ith the collapse of communism, the Thailand industry unions are legally per- Wonly ideology in the fi eld holds that missible but most employers follow the “good economic performance requires liberal- Japanese way of dealing only with those ized trade, macro-economic stability, and get- organized workers in their own employ. ting prices right” and that “private markets In many countries trade unions face major will allocate resources effi ciently and generate obstacles when seeking registration, such strong growth”. This presents signifi cant as unnecessary delays, bureaucratic inter- problems for trade unions. ference and cronyism. The ILO view that labour is not a com- It is also increasingly diffi cult to gain modity fi nds no acceptance in this new trade union education leave. This is, in ideology. The trade union concern that part, because companies try now to oper- economic effi ciency be tempered by hu- ate with far fewer staff (to be “leaner”). It manity, fairness and security are seen as is also because the ideas included in the restrictive trade practices. ILO’s Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140), which covers vocational, trade union and civic education, are now External and internal pressures largely ignored. This makes face-to-face on trade unionism training far more problematic. Governments (especially in countries Globalization has augmented the capacity in transition to a market economy) man- of corporations while further weakening date many terms and conditions of em- the ability of trade unions to organize. ployment and some (particularly multi- Corporations can manipulate subcon- national) companies offer good terms and tracting, supply chains and production conditions, thus limiting the need for trade networks as they expand globally. unions. This has become more obvious in Employers are increasingly likely not the general economic expansion since the to recognize trade unions, often per- 1997 economic crisis in Asia. A period of ceived as an external third party coming continued growth has seen trade unions between them and their workers. Even unable to regain some of what was lost in where employers accept trade unions the years after 1997. “Contract” workers on there is a tendency to limit their scope to lower wages and conditions work side by single workplaces (especially in Asia). In side with what remains of the “permanent”

57 workforce from 1997 after more than fi ve workers who are injured at work or who years of renewed growth and advance- contract an occupational disease, there ment. Despite this growth, there has been is limited rehabilitation, especially voca- an increase in non-standard (informal) tional rehabilitation, and workers’ com- forms of employment. Workers are now pensation seldom meets the actual cost casual, contractual, dispatched (employed of injury or disease. Social justice has al- indirectly via agencies), outsourced, part- ways been of concern to trade unions but time, seasonal, and project-based. their standing as social partners has been Thus trade unions are weak and have weakened by the end of the mid-twentieth limited structures. Unfortunately, legis- century compromise (which saw accept- lation often encourages weakness by al- ance of trade unions as a means of avoid- lowing competing organizations to fl our- ing the spreads of communism). ish, thus limiting the unions’ strength. Examples of this are the multiple national trade union centres in the region. With rel- What does the present climate atively low union density and small organ- mean for trade union education? izations the unions lack internal resources both human and fi nancial. Meeting the There are many issues for which education demands of registration is time-consum- would be an effective tool for strengthening, especially as turnover of mainly ing trade unions and assisting them to be part-time representatives is often high. more effective. But the declining income Few unions in Asia are able to charge one from membership dues and from external per cent of wages as union dues and col- sources (mostly international trade union lection is also time-consuming. With the solidarity and development cooperation decline of trade union membership in the from some governments) means that trade developed economies a further source of union education is more limited. It is seen fi nancial and solidarity support has been by many unions as a peripheral issue. severely restricted. Governments some- Further, for the past 20 years or so the times have transferred resources from focus of most trade union education has trade unions to non-governmental organ- been on trainer training. Although there izations (NGOs). are a signifi cant number of trainers, the Trade unions sometimes fi nd them- problems with this approach are: selves in competition with NGOs. These Many of those who have been trained are often better resourced from govern- to be trainers are those who previ- ment as well as private sources. Some- ously would have attended leadership times, they are able to take a role in in- or skill-based courses to learn how to fl uencing employment conditions through be effective unionists. Yet, after trainer customer standards. Thus workers in some training they are expected to return to developing countries may gain decent pay their trade unions and conduct trade and working conditions, not through their union education. own organization, but through the infl u- ence of customers in the third world and Many trainers see themselves as, at NGOs that can gain access to workplaces best, course directors who organize where trade unions cannot. These organ- guest speakers and introduce them izations are not representative and do but have little direct effect on training nothing to advance growth of democratic outcomes. skills among workers. Some NGOs seek to This perception is almost certainly be- work with trade unions but many do not cause they lack the experience neces- and trade unions are often unwilling to sary to train effectively. It is diffi cult to work with NGOs. conduct effective training unless you Finally, in many developing countries have some appreciation of what you there are poor welfare systems and, for are training about.

58 There is often a greater focus on issues happens at regional as well as national (globalization, ratifi cation of conventions, level. In addition funding organizations child labour, HIV/AIDS) when many are in competition with each other. As a union representatives lack the skills and consequence few really long-term or inte- knowledge to deal with the basic operations grated activities occur. of the union (recruiting new members, col- It should be possible, for example, to lecting dues, controlling monies, admin- have one funding agency train trainers istering the union, gaining recognition and another funding the trainers to carry from employers) let alone how to negotiate out training on their return and, possibly, collective agreements, handle grievances a third to fund evaluation. or take cases to various legal institutions. Trainers can be more effective if their Skill-based courses or leadership develop- initial training (followed after some ex- ment almost no longer occur. perience by training in design and man- Further, there has been a focus on or- agement and in writing materials) is in ganizing and campaigning with a stress presentation and if they also have access on building a movement. Unfortunately, to well-designed training materials. There this has meant that basic skills and lead- are quite a few such resources but, for ership training has been ignored. Getting trainers, accessing them is also a problem. the balance right is never easy. More emphasis upon online access will be Too much of trainer training has been critical in the future. However, such access about “designing” courses or “writing” suggests that publication of manuals and materials and too little about presenting books (which is expensive to produce and courses. This is particularly a problem if to distribute) should be a lower priority the main experience of trade union edu- than in the past. cation has been attending issue-based Despite this heavy emphasis upon courses at which a variety of “experts” ad- trainer training there are no databases to dress the course and where a course dir- identify them and to form a basis for a net- ector does very little to ensure that what work of trainers who can be encouraged to has been discussed is turned into some co- conduct training and to access the online herent understanding of the implications materials. Knowing what exists and what for trade unions. Trainers are not merely trainers offer is an important step in de- course directors. They should be capable termining what can be done. Thousand of of presenting effective learning sessions activists have been trained by unions at and should have clear aims and objectives the local and national levels, the ILO, the for their training sessions. Global Union Federations (GUFs), or the There are few resources for trainers International Trade Union Confederation when they return to their organizations (formerly the International Confeder- from a trainer training course. Often they ation of Free Trade Unions and the World are the only persons with an interest in Confederation of Labour) in the past 30 trade union education and they, conse- years or so. Many of those who have been quently, get no support or encouragement. trained received no further support. Further there are few or no fi nancial resources so that they can conduct training. There is competition for access to ever Are there new developments more limited resources. So organizations in trade union education? seek funding for themselves. Given the problems noted above there There are very few truly new develop- is a tendency to “overtrain” in some or- ments in trade union education. What has ganizations simply because it is important occurred in the past few years is that ac- to spend the fi nancial support within the cess is potentially far easier and greater. organization; seeing any of it go to other Before discussing this issue it is important trade unions in their country is likely. This to review what key tools are available to

59 trainers, their organizations and whoever Active, participatory training is funding their activities. First, it may be useful to try to estab- Ideally all trade union education should lish some clarity about types of courses be active and participatory. It should work and the range of learning activities re- on the principle of IPR: Information, Prac- lated to them. Often terms are used in- tice, Review. terchangeably and are unhelpful in assist- Active learning ranges from mini- ing nominating organizations to identify lectures with interspersed questions to appropriate participants. Examples of dif- participants, through to buzz groups, ferent course types and typical learning small groups, role plays, fi eld trips and activities are: case studies. It is important when using Seminars in which participants are these techniques for the trainer to have provided with information and are ex- clear aims and objectives against which pected to have the experience to make to assess responses, and to draw together appropriate use of it. Seminars are usu- disparate responses into a coherent com- ally of not more than one to three days in posite. Reports from small group activ- duration. ities and case studies cannot be simply Workshops in which participants are accepted, they should be analysed. Simi- assisted to develop policies and strategies larly with role plays, participants must be to deal with a range of issues. The expec- actively involved in developing, for exam- tation is that the participants have the ple, a checklist for interviewing members knowledge and experience to achieve the with a grievance, then preparing and car- objectives of the workshop with appropri- rying out a practice interview, followed ate guidance. May be up to fi ve days in by a review of the practice using the duration. checklist. Debriefi ng of role plays needs Skill-based courses in which partici- to focus upon the intended learning out- pants learn and practise the skills covered comes and on ensuring that any tensions in the course. May be up to two weeks in are eased. duration. Development style courses in which participants are exposed to a range of in- Modular training formation and learn analysis, policy development and report-writing skills. The When paid trade union training leave course is designed to lead to improved at- was more extensive, courses were con- titudes and behaviours. May be up to two ducted during working hours and were or three months in duration. usually of several days duration. Given Discussion groups/study circles in the greater diffi culty of organizing face- which participants take part in discussion to-face training in which the employer in small groups after being provided with pays wages, training is more likely to basic information about an issue. They re- be organized at weekends and evenings. quire skilled leaders/facilitators and sup- Consequently, it makes sense to develop port materials to lead the small groups in modules of training that can be conducted discussion. Participants develop self-con- in 2–3 hours (they should still use IPR). fi dence in clarifying and expressing ideas. Trade union representatives should the May be up to three hours in duration but be able to access the skills or knowledge usually 30–60 minutes. previously acquired over several days by A programme of training by regional attending a range of modules over a more and national organizations could include extended time period. Of course, this is elements of all of these types of training. more taxing on trainers and their organizations as many more activities must be arranged.

60 Distance learning with modular face-to-face learning, more effort may be required to make topics free As face-to-face learning becomes more standing. diffi cult, distance learning becomes more It should be remembered, however, that viable. However, it requires two compo- distance learning does not provide oppor- nents to be effective: tunity for personal contact or immediate (1) There are suitable materials for distri- feedback or for participants to learn from bution to participants. Suitability in- the experience of others. And it does not cludes that they are topical, deal with provide for development of union solidar- typical issues facing the participants ity through personal contact. and readable. These materials include: Discussion groups/study circles (com- information, and assessment tasks bining elements of distance learning with (practice). The review phase of IPR may short face-to-face activities) may overcome be conducted by participants returning some of these drawbacks if: work sheets for comment or by provid- There are well-trained facilitators. ing model responses after completion. Assessment tasks may include: There are well-planned materials for participants to use to prepare for responding to questions discussion. fi nding information (e.g. copy of collective agreement, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Programmed learning developing a submission for presentation (to management, union offi ce, The emphasis upon active learning to government) some extent has diverted attention from another strategy that is particularly useful developing a draft policy/motion for for dealing with technical knowledge is- a meeting sues. The classic in this fi eld is How to read a responding to case studies balance sheet: An ILO programmed book. This surveying members, etc. publication was produced in the Manage- ment Development programme within the (2) Some self-assessing components. If ILO. The programme is a self-assessing ac- there are a number of lessons which tivity that can also be used in face-to-face participants must carry out and return training. Booklets like this would be very to the trainer before proceeding to the effective distance-learning tools for tech- next lesson the trainer must be able to nical skills required by union offi cers. respond quickly or participants will lose heart. But this is costly in time and may be costly in fi nancial terms Online learning as well. Distance learning is more expensive the more participants stick A major problem facing all involved in with the lessons! One method may be trade union education is access to training to make the early lessons self-assessing courses, to leave and to training materials. but require a fi nal response to be sub- The Internet has great potential to increase mitted that includes, for example, a re- access as more people have ready access view of the whole programme through to a PC. It is feasible to develop sophis- multiple choice questions and a writ- ticated learning packages for use online. ten response. These could also allow centralized record- ing of progress and success. It is possible A modular approach may make distance to present materials in such a manner that learning more effective allowing there progress can only follow if participants to be fewer lessons on each topic but, as complete assessment tasks correctly.

61 In the short run the focus on online ac- Over time more materials could be de- cess may be trainers. Rather than aiming veloped in modular form for trade union to involve masses of rank-and-fi le work- representatives and rank-and-fi le members. ers or even trade union representatives, an Further, it would make sense to integrate initial programme supported by the ILO distance, online and face-to-face learning, Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) so that trade union education might be or- might be targeted to trainers. This may ganized with distance or online learning be a method for providing them with the activities prior to face-to-face learning and stimulus and support necessary to become even following face-to-face learning. involved in actually conducting training. Over time this material could be trans- The focus of this component would be lated to any of the range of languages on providing modular training packages required. Meanwhile, it would usefully so that trainers would not need to design provide trainers access to materials and courses but simply to conduct them using course ideas. pre-prepared materials and session plans. It is worth reviewing, at this point, what Materials should include: ACTRAV is currently doing. It is stepping up its activities, for example, by: Background reading. Rather than developing special materials this may international campaigns to promote be achieved by linking to other online the ratifi cation of ILO Conventions materials with study guides about the organizing meetings and seminars on key issues to consider in the reading. subjects of interest and topicality to There could be some self-assessing ac- workers tivities to ensure learning is effective. preparing representations to ILO mem- A timetable for the course or a module. ber States to secure the respect and implementation of their commitments Aim and objectives for course, sessions, module. project implementation and technical cooperation and assistance in the fi eld An active learning session plan. training of trade union leaders Handouts related to aim and objectives conducting specifi c programmes per- and the session plan. taining to labour issues. This indicates Case studies, role plays, fi eld trip the extent of trade union education. instructions. Some of these activities are more relevant Advice on how to brief any guest speak- to trade union education than others as ers so that they cover what is required. the following sections show. PowerPoint presentations and other useful visual aids (there are a wide range of photos and graphic materials What issues should form the focus potentially available for improving of a comprehensive trade union trade union education but they are not education programme for the ILO? readily accessible through a single database; a project to collect such materi- Given much of the discussion above, it als, make them easily found (for exam- would be useful to focus on: ple, there are many useful graphics on The skills required to carry out the a CD produced by the ILO which are whole range of trade union roles, in loose subdivisions but are simply encompassing: numbered. Each should be catalogued with a range of keywords to facilitate – Union administration; retrieving these graphics and make – Recruiting, representing, negotiat- them available online). ing and grievance handling;

62 – Effective social partnering (making What structures? representations to governments and others). It was suggested above that there is com- – Leadership development for union petition for diminishing resources and a representatives (it might be appro- tendency to operate in isolation. There is a priate to focus on this more than need for, at the very least, more coordination in the past. There might be useful of trade union education programmes so common skills that underpin the that they work together to achieve trade development aspect of training. For union objectives and share materials and example, research, problem solv- other resources. ing, strategic analysis, policy devel- It will be very useful if, prior to the glo- opment, report writing and making bal conference on education, the following presentations). targets were achieved: – Understanding Conventions and Briefl y outline what trade union edu- Recommendations, integrating rat- cation programmes have been con- ifi cation into Framework Agree- ducted in the past fi ve years with em- ments and collective agreements. phasis on their impact on the work of Developing a case for ratifi cation for trade unions to improve membership each Convention. Setting priorities outcomes. for ratifi cation (for example, some It would be productive if participants key Conventions that integrate with in regional conferences were asked to worker objectives, such as the Work- complete a survey before attending. ers’ Representatives Convention, The survey could seek specifi c infor- 1971 (No. 135), the Paid Educational mation to demonstrate the effects of Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140), earlier training programmes. For ex- the Occupational Safety and Health ample, if there had been a project de- Convention, 1981 (No. 155), and re- signed to campaign around ratifi cation lated Recommendations). of, say, Convention No. 155, the survey – Understanding how to make a com- would seek information about what plaint to the ILO (this is a topic that was done and whether there was any could utilize online learning). indication that ratifi cation had, indeed, – Integrating issues relevant to women been made more likely. and youth into programmes and de- Identify the existing range of potential veloping specialized programmes resources that could be pooled to support for them where required. an agreed comprehensive, integrated – Greater emphasis on improving trade union education programme to OSH outcomes, including environ- be taken to constituencies. These re- mental issues. sources should include six elements. 1. Trainers who have been conducting Dealing with social justice issues training. including: 2. Other trainers who could be encour- – HIV/AIDS aged to take part in training. – Ability 3. What training materials and pro- – Skilling the workforce grammes exist that could form the – Child labour basis for common materials available online? – Rural workers 4. A team of experienced trainers able – Informal economy to write materials as agreed in for- – Migrant workers. mats that can be readily customized for online access.

63 5. Agree on how a trade union edu- among other things, ensure that well- cation programme could be coord- produced training packages were devel- inated. This might involve setting up oped and made available of line. At na- a Global Union trade union educational level there would be committees tion committee that worked with the with representatives from Global Unions ILO workers’ education specialists. whose functions would be to ensure that 6. The roles of the various parties trade union education courses were con- should be agreed. ducted and organizations were encouraged to conduct some joint training and This committee (see point 5 above) could to share trainers. operate at a number of levels. At the re- It would be enabling if agreement gional level the ILO workers’ education could be reached, in future, to minimize specialist would work with represen- training of trainers programmes in favour tatives from Global Unions (ICFTU–Asian of providing support for trainers and their and Paciﬁ c Regional Organization and organizations to conduct trade union edu- GUFs). The regional committee would, cation courses.

64 Trade union education in Europe – Some latest developments

European trade unions are faced with workplace challenges old and new, both in their traditional roles and in their responses to the political and economic outcomes of globalization. Each of these factors shapes the development of trade union education as an essential element in trade union renewal.

Jeff Bridgford* Director ETUI-REHS Education European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Health and Safety Brussels John Stirling Principal Lecturer Co-Director of the Work and Employment Research Centre Northumbria University, United Kingdom

n 2000 the European Trade Union growing impact of cross-national employ- ICollege published the fi rst major comment relations systems exemplifi ed by the parative survey of trade union education emergence of European Works Councils. in Europe and concluded that the “diver- This context is critical to the understand- sity uncovered in the research should ing of change. This article will examine not be surprising given the different his- the key dimensions of those changes and torical traditions of national trade union review how they translate into union edu- movements, the range of approaches to cation programmes at the national and workplace employee representation and European levels. the disparities in legal frameworks and funding opportunities”.1 This diversity had led to particular and specifi c national Renewing trade unions approaches to the six areas that the survey established as key indicators: access, Comparative analysis of trade union de- funding, participation, the role of national velopment is notoriously diffi cult given confederations, content and pedagogy. the particularities of national cultures This is not the place to attempt to rep- and historical traditions. However, many licate the earlier work but it is important trade unions have been engaged in ani- to reassess the analysis in the light of the mated debate about their survival and accession of the new Member States to their renewal.2 These debates have often, the European Union (EU) and the rapidly but not only, been spurred on by declining

* Thanks are expressed to the following organizations’ education departments which provided information for the preparation of this article: ÖGB (Austria), SAK (Finland), Solidarnosc´ (Poland), LBAS (Latvia), SACO (Sweden), MSzOSz (Hungary), UGT (Spain), DGB (Germany), TUC (UK), TCO (Sweden), EAKL (Es- tonia), ESZT (Hungary), KOZ SR (Slovakia), LO (Sweden), GWU (Malta), CGT (France), CGTP-IN (Portugal), SEK (Cyprus), GSEE (Greece), CITUB (Bulgaria).

65 membership. At the workplace, there is a development have clearly infl uenced the renewed (some would say new) focus on content of trade union education, there “organizing” that goes beyond simple has been some stability in terms of organ- recruitment. Workplaces have been dra- ization and pedagogy. There have been matically affected by changes in organiza- no major changes in the framework of law tional and occupational structures. While that now covers trade union education in the focus on change often neglects what the “old” 15 Member States of the EU. Nor remains, it is clear that unions are faced have there been signifi cant changes in col- with challenges from new workplaces that lective agreements covering trade union derive their existence from the “knowledge education, with the interesting, if minor, economy” and information technologies. exception of a new agreement in Greece Such workplaces are often associated with (2006) which allows for a limited number young workers who may fi nd it diffi cult to of private sector workers to take nine identify with trade unions. months unpaid leave to follow courses at Beyond the workplace the traditional the newly established Greek Trade Union alliances of trade unions with the polit- Education Academy. Data from the “new” ical parties of social democracy have been and “candidate” Member States of the EU weakened or restructured. Hence, sup- show that it is diffi cult to establish appro- portive labour legislation can no longer priate legislation, but this is not to suggest be assumed, and the success of right-wing that a framework of rights does not exist.3 parties in European elections has seen the There have been subsequent positive dismantling of union rights and a reduc- developments. The new Labour Code in tion in union power and infl uence. This is, Slovakia provides for paid time off for at least in part, related to the challenges trade union education. There is now a of globalization and the ideological dom- right to participate in programmes with inance of neo-liberalism. It is clear that the earnings protection in Latvia. The accred- steady emergence of the European Union itation of courses in Hungary can make itself as a supranational institution has an funding available. In Bulgaria the right important role in shaping employment re- for time off work has been incorporated lations. “New” Member States are starting in sectoral collective agreements in Bul- to be infl uenced by new systems of social garia, and WETCO, a trade union edu- dialogue and information and consulta- cation institute, has been recognized as tion frameworks. In addition, the domi- a national agency for vocational training nating role of multinational companies in and education. major economic sectors brings with it a Pressures for “organizing” are increas- global approach to employment practices ingly refl ected in the content of trade union and towards dealing with trade unions. education programmes. In the United In sum, European trade unions are Kingdom, the Trades Union Congress faced with workplace challenges old and (TUC) has increased its training for trade new, both in their traditional roles and in union representatives from 32,471 in 2001 their responses to the political and eco- to 46,502 in 2005. In addition it has adopted nomic outcomes of globalization. Each the United States model of an organizing of these factors shapes the development academy which initially began with re- of trade union education as an essential cruiting and training new union organ- element in trade union renewal. izers on behalf of its affi liates. In Sweden there has been a shift in emphasis in delivery to refl ect the need for membership ac- Education for change tivity and involvement. The national trade union centre (LO) and affi liated organiza- It is clear from the responses from national tions have targeted funding on basic mem- trade union confederations to the recent bership training and have had a dramatic survey that, while changes in trade union increase in involvement, from 11,000 mem-

66 bers in 2001 to 38,000 in 2005. Numbers ent audiences. Change in education pro- in the other Swedish national trade union grammes refl ects changes in trade unions federation, TCO, have also increased. In more generally and the signifi cance of the Greece, numbers have increased, partly as Internet has been widely debated. One re- a result of the increase in courses avail- viewer has argued that change has been able regionally and locally. Participation in “suffi ciently rapid to suggest that unions programmes in the new Member States of are indeed morphing from institutions the EU remains restricted, but in fi ve of the of the Webbs to institutions of the web”.4 responses to the survey from Central and Such change has the twin impact on trade Eastern European countries there were in- union education across Europe of provid- dications of trends towards slightly higher ing a need for new skills in using the numbers. Other organizations, SAK (Fin- web and utilizing interactive electronic land) and the DGB (Germany) for example, delivery as a signifi cant mode of deliv- have however seen the number of course ery. Reaction has been mixed, however. participants decline. In Germany, distance learning is not well Cost-effective delivery has become accepted. In Finland and the United King- even more signifi cant since the 2000 sur- dom more distance learning experiments vey and there has been the merging or and projects are going on, but the num- downsizing of education facilities along- bers are still modest. side strategies to enter into a commercial Finally, the national confederations con- market place to fund programme deliv- tinue to act as catalysts for delivering pro- ery. Cost pressures are likely to continue, grammes. This remains the case in general as internal union funding declines with but it is critical to the development of trade membership reductions and public ex- union education in new EU Member States penditure is squeezed. However, alter- where the establishment of a strong and vi- native strategies and sources of funding able confederal centre is essential. In this have been pursued with some clear exam- respect, external support for these coun- ples of success. In Spain trade union edu- tries is important in establishing training cation has been considered over the past where there may be other priorities and three years as appropriate for government a paucity of resources, including skilled funding. In the United Kingdom, the TUC trainers. Rapidly changing economic sec- has rapidly expanded its involvement in tors through privatization and overseas dir- vocational education, particularly basic ect investment also stimulates an interna- numeracy and literacy, through its promo- tional and comparative dimension to pro- tion of union learning representatives. For- grammes as the lessons of other European rester (2004) records the UK government trade unions are contextualized within the investment of £34 million in 350 projects particular cultures and traditions of these and this is continuing to grow. In Finland countries. It is to this broader, European the Human Polytechnic, a private train- dimension in trade union education that ing institute, is prepared to provide trade this article now turns. union education, in cooperation with the SAK. However, other organizations, for example the DGB in Germany, are facing The Europeanization less benign competition for trade union of trade union education education provision from private training institutes. The Europeanization of industrial rela- Costs have conditioned delivery modes, tions has led to signifi cant changes in the as schools have been closed and revenues demands placed upon trade union offi c- for residential programmes reduced. ers and representatives, producing new Distance and electronic delivery have training needs within trade union organ- emerged as potentially both cost-effective izations. As a result, the European Trade and enabling in reaching new and differ- Union Confederation (ETUC) agreed a

67 training strategy whose overall aim is to ETUI-REHS education also offers develop a European trade union identity, one particular “long” transnational by providing training for the leading ac- course, Training Future Trade Union Lead- tors of the European trade union move- ers, for young trade union offi cers soon ment and by adding a European dimen- to be faced with the challenge of Euro- sion to national trade union education pean trade union activities. This fl agship activities. course, which is in its fi fteenth year, aims The ETUC training agency, the Eu- to provide an understanding of the latest ropean Trade Union College, was estab- developments affecting European trade lished in 1990 and merged in 2005 into a unionism and an opportunity for improv- broader organization, the European Trade ing certain operational skills. In the fi rst Union Institute for Research, Education week participants present national experi- and Health and Safety (ETUI-REHS). In ences of workplace representation and operational terms the Education Depart- collective bargaining and become more ment of the ETUI-REHS retains a small aware of what is happening beyond their secretariat based in Brussels, but, given own national borders. The second week, the cooperative nature of its work and the held in Brussels, provides an opportunity availability of resources (schools, train- to visit the institutions of the European ers, experts etc.) within ETUC-affi liated Union, the ETUC, the European Industry organizations, it has a broader-based Eu- Federations and also the employers’ or- ropean presence. ganization UNICE, thus ensuring a better understanding of the ways in which EU decisions are taken and of the ways Training the leading actors of in which trade unions can expect to infl u- the European trade union movement ence this decision-making process. In the third week participants are encouraged to The core of ETUI-REHS education work work on European trade union responses is the provision of “short” transnational to a variety of different European indus- courses for European trade union offi c- trial relations challenges. ers and representatives, refl ecting key A new initiative has been the Top ETUC policy priorities: the latest being, Level Summer School, which is now in its reinforcing Social Dialogue and collective second year. Organized closely in coop- bargaining in Europe; delivering the Lis- eration with the secretariat of the ETUC, bon agenda; reinforcing workers’ rights in this course provides general secretaries multinational companies; recruiting and and presidents of ETUC-affi liated organ- organizing. In addition, ETUI-REHS edu- izations with an opportunity to examine cation has provided a vast range of tailor- a series of topical issues in an informal made courses in response to the chang- environment: for example in 2005, trade ing needs of ETUC affi liated organiza- union organization in a changing society; tions – notably, language learning courses demography; social cohesion and the fu- to improve communications between ture of welfare states; and restructuring European trade unionists (English and and delocalization. French); courses to enhance strategic and In this way thousands of trade union- project management skills. The ETUI- ists at different levels from all over Europe REHS education response to emerging have been able to benefi t from a unique policy priorities, for example, the creation European learning experience. They have of European Works Councils, has led to been able to acquire new elements of in- the organization of a series of courses for formation, notably by comparing aspects trade union representatives from multi- of different national industrial relation national companies: inter alia, Air France, systems and by becoming acquainted AKZO Nobel, Cegelec, Freudenberg, Man- with latest developments at the European oir, Lhoist, Pernod Ricard, Vinci. level or latest policy positions of European

68 trade union organizations. In some of the ropean trade unionists and are therefore courses, or in some parts of these courses, suitable to different transnational training they have been able to develop new skills; environments. These have been constantly the preparation of action plans for future reviewed in the light of further experi- trade union work at the national and/or ence and have been distilled into differ- European levels; the use of electronic com- ent publications: for example, the Euro- munications; the learning of foreign lan- trainer’s Manual, Language Training for Eu- guages. In addition, they have been offered ropean Trade Unionists: a Guide, Dialog-On a rare opportunity to share European trade materials for distance learning and electronic union values and to gain a broader Euro- networking. ETUI-REHS education has also pean perspective on trade union issues. established a series of pedagogical courses (training Eurotrainers I and II) and workshops (using information sources, engag- Adding a European dimension ing in distance learning, developing lan- to national trade union education guage learning) and thematic workshops (Europe and globalization, sustainable de- In quantitative terms, most European trade velopment). These events have developed union education takes place at the national, shared notions of best pedagogical prac- sectoral, regional or local level. In order to tice and offered opportunities for train- strengthen the European dimension of na- ers to update their own knowledge and tional trade union education, while at the skills. As a result, ETUI-REHS education same time reinforcing the quality of these has established a network of Eurotrain- forementioned European activities, ETUI- ers, and these Eurotrainers are now bet- REHS Education has been involved in ter equipped to act as trainers on trans- three interconnected initiatives: network- national courses and to offer a European ing of training departments and trainers; dimension to courses at national level. production and dissemination of training ETUI-REHS education has also devel- resources, and provision of an EU infor- oped its work on training resources and mation service for education and training has produced its own materials in a va- projects. riety of different languages, for exam- Through a process of networking ple European Union and Globalisation, and training departments from affi liated or- Worker Representation Systems in the Euro- ganizations, ETUI-REHS has succeeded pean Union and the Accession Countries (in in establishing a unique European trade cooperation with the SDA). The challenge union education community. It is built is to ensure that they meet the needs of around an advisory committee, confer- trainers and learners who are working in ences and projects. It provides a channel different contexts and who are affected by for the transfer of ETUC political priorities widely varying cultures, levels of experi- into training activities and an opportunity ence as well as by different industrial rela- for advising on ETUC affi liated organizations. It has become clear that paper-based tions’ own training needs. In this way it materials have a limited usefulness, and has been possible to establish a common so ETUI-REHS education has changed its cultural framework ensuring minimum publication policy and moved towards standards for training activities and to electronic publishing. As a result, a vari- engage in a Europe-wide networking ex- ety of different materials are available in ercise, which has proved to be an essential different languages as electronic fi les for prerequisite for other joint activities. downloading from its web site. Within this European trade union edu- ETUI-REHS education has also estab- cation community ETUI-REHS education lished an EU information service that of- has developed teaching and learning fers information and advice on a range methodologies, which take into account of EU programmes and funding oppor- the different cultural backgrounds of Eu- tunities, the aim of which is to support

69 European trade union education projects. of industrial relations continues to grow It provides a number of online facilities; so it needs to be matched by initiatives at an information library which includes the European Union level to ensure that simple introductions to EU programmes workers’ representatives are supported and budget lines as well as offi cial docu- through rights to training. For example, ments; and a help desk. It also produced Miller and Stirling 5 have described the a manual for managing European projects lack of specifi c training rights in the EU successfully. Directive on European Works’ Councils as “an opportunity missed” that still remains to be addressed. Concluding remarks However, in the face of an often hos- tile climate, the challenges of change are Trade union education remains under-re- being addressed by dynamic trade union searched, but the latest survey data pro- education programmes that extend peda- vide some signifi cant information, partic- gogy and practice into new areas of ac- ularly as regards developments in “old” tivity. There are important lessons to be and also “new” EU Member States and the learned in Europe, as trade union organ- role played by the ETUI-REHS in provid- izations seek to develop their skills and ing a European dimension to trade union knowledge base to ensure they remain in- education. In spite of severe cost pressures, fl uential actors in national and European there has been a general level of stability industrial relations systems. which underlines both the signifi cance of education and training as a trade union activity and its resilience in exploring new Notes avenues for resources. Patches of declining participation rates (seemingly an in- 1 Bridgford, J.; Stirling, J. 2000. Trade Union Edu- evitable consequence of declining num- cation in Europe. ETUCO, Brussels. 2 bers) have been offset by some examples Forrester, K. 2004. “The quiet revolution? Trade union learning and renewal strategies” in Work, Em- of growth and expansion in the light of ployment & Society, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 413–420. new strategies. 3 For an introduction to trade union education While some stability in legal frame- systems in Central and Eastern Europe, see Bridg- works and collective agreements support- ford J., Kostal, M., Martinek, D. 2000. “Trade Union ive of trade union education is notable, it Education in Central and Eastern Europe: Some Ex- is clear that development is required in amples” in Transfer, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 486–497. two directions. First, there is a need for 4 Freeman, R. 2005. “From the Webbs to the web: trade unions in countries developing new the contribution of the Internet to reviving union fortunes” in Fernie, S. and Metcalfe, D. (eds) Trade legislative frameworks for industrial rela- unions: Resurgence or demise? (London, Routledge). tions to exert the necessary pressure to en- 5 Miller, D.; Stirling, J. 1998. “European Works sure that laws include provision for paid Council Training: An Opportunity Missed?” in Eu- time off work for participation in edu- ropean Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 4, No. 1, cation. Second, as the Europeanization pp. 35–55.

70 Labour education the Nordic way – The Nordic Folk High School in Geneva

With its more than 75 years of experience, the Nordic Folk High School in Geneva has a strong tradition of labour education. Every year, about 35 trade union members from the Nordic countries take part in a course run alongside the International Labour Conference in Geneva.

John Steen Johansen Danish Workers’ Education Association AOF, Denmark

he whole concept of Nordic-style Backlund and Sture Thorsson (Sweden) Tpopular education and study circles all realized that the support of a knowl- is based on bringing people from dif- edgeable and active public opinion in ferent backgrounds together. They learn the Nordic countries would be crucial to together and they learn from each other. those efforts. So they contacted the non- Every year, the course run by the Nordic formal adult education organizations that Folk High School in Geneva (NFHS) dur- were positive towards international co- ing the International Labour Conference operation. The idea was to found a Nor- is different, depending on the agenda of dic centre for international studies and to the conference and the interests of the offer active members of the Nordic labour new student intake. And every year the movement and the political and coopera- course inspires people to participate in tive organizations an opportunity for gen- international work, to commit themselves uine Nordic cooperation within an inter- and to contribute to practising democ- national environment, despite their lack of racy and building social capital and ac- language skills. tive citizenship. From the very beginning, the languages used at the school were Danish, Norwe- gian and Swedish – in practice, generally A brief history a mixture of these closely related Nordic languages. And right from the start, the Towards the end of the 1920s, public and participants attended the International published opinion in the Nordic countries Labour Conference. The school was ini- seems to have been largely ill-informed tially intended as a Nordic initiative with and negative about international cooper- two main purposes – to strengthen Nor- ation. Scholars were able to study inter- dic cohesion and “Nordic Added Value” national issues in Geneva, but the many by bringing together young active mem- people without an academic degree or bers of the trade unions and non-formal language skills had no such opportunity. adult educational organizations for joint However, since 1919 and the establishment study events in an international environ- of the ILO, the labour organizations and ment; and to ensure that the students took their members had been taking part in in- back their experience and knowledge with ternational cooperation. The Nordic rep- them to transfer to their colleagues and resentatives Ludvig Krabbe (Denmark), friends, so acting as advocates of a broader Christina L. Lange (Norway) and Sven and more open international orientation.

71 The aim was to establish a school open formal adult education in the folk high to everybody, but the target group was and schools with a kind of action learning: is primarily young active members of the being and studying where it is at – where trade unions, together with the political the action is. and cooperative popular movements who The founders of the NFHS had a vision are interested in working internationally for their school. At the beginning, there in and outside the Nordic countries. Know- was no pre-existing experience of the ledge was to be promoted of the interna- model that was planned for the NFHS. In tional cooperation that came into being that sense, the very fi rst course might be after the First World War, and an interna- described as partly planned and partly im- tional atmosphere was to be blended with provised. Improvisation has always been the Nordic Folk High Schools’ strong trad- a strong element within the school. When ition of bringing young people together to working in an international environment, discuss democracy and society. at the Conference and among the differ- The annual course offers the students: ent committees and delegates, a constant a four-week study session on the ways capacity for compromise is needed. New in which labour movements and other approaches have to be found and sched- popular movements can infl uence a ules have to be changed. globalized world Delving back into the archives and the many stories told by those who took part, an understanding of Nordic coopera- it seems as if the backbone and the core tion and Nordic Added Value value of these courses over the many years a wide knowledge of international co- has been the combination of lectures, in- operation, international institutions, troductions, dialogue with the many del- Conventions, legislation, rules and egates and advisers, and the projects car- regulations as they relate to the labour ried out by the students. market and the ILO’s tripartite system Over the years, teaching methods at the courses have changed, evolving from stimulation and inspiration for labour a rather more “chalk and talk” approach activities nationally, regionally and into today’s balanced mixture of lectures, internationally debate, projects and group processes. This a growing knowledge of and insight strong and, over the years, varied and into common values in the Nordic carefully balanced mix of learning and countries education has been going on in an ever- inspiring setting of action learning. You greater understanding of and for the are where it is at, each individual in con- Nordic languages stant dialogue with the conference and the an outstanding opportunity to broaden delegates and counselled by the teachers their minds and qualify for further in- and inspired by your fellow students and ternational work. the common discussions. When the students meet in early April In the 1920s and 1930s, the courses lasted for the four-day preliminary course in a for three months. The initial two weeks Nordic country, within a folk high school focused on inter-Nordic communication setting, the main aim is to get acquainted and understanding and were spent in a with other participants and the languages Nordic Folk High School. The fi nal part of the other Nordic countries. The prelim- included many study visits. The students inary course is followed by fi ve weeks of travelled widely on their way to Geneva, group study over the Internet, preparing visiting institutions and organizations. for and leading up to the journey to Ge- From the very beginning, the courses neva at the end of May. had a special fl avour, in the sense of mix- International topics change just as the ing the Nordic tradition of residential non- international institutions do. Thus, the

72 European Union has become a recurring The NFHS has always worked for Nor- theme in the Nordic School, even though dic cohesion, and Nordic-style coopera- Norway, Iceland and Greenland have not tion has for many become a symbol of the joined the EU. Despite this fact, they have Nordic added value within international adjusted their legislation in line with that cooperation, always putting peace, under- of the EU and are substantially cooper- standing and international and active citi- ating with the Union. So the differences zenship on the agenda. between, and relative signifi cance of, the When asked, participants evaluate the ILO Conventions and the EU directives school very positively. In that sense, the are tackled and thoroughly discussed school is an outstanding success. Des- from new angles every year. The partici- pite the participants’ differing individual pants always seem to engage in emotional aims within the course, and their differ- and political debates about the necessity of ent backgrounds, qualifi cations, age and being EU members. experiences, and despite a series of prac- Language and culture are, of course, tical, economic problems in fi nancing the both classic themes in an international school and the challenges posed by lan- high school environment and provide the guage differences, they rate it as a unique means of crossing barriers and building experience that they certainly would not friendship and solidarity. Even though the want to have missed. themes seem to change over the years, in That experience has, for many of the fact they are durable, coming back over participants, mainly been in terms of the and over again in different disguises. For personal development stimulated by the example, the abolition of child labour has process and by encountering other Nor- been on the ILO’s agenda from the very dic participants and the international en- beginning. The school’s themes and the vironments and organizations. project working groups follow the agenda Some participants have built interna- of the ILO Conference. tional networks and developed their inter- Many of the students have stated that national skills, moving on to more formal their lives are different after the course. competences and careers in international The overwhelming impressions, the new work within the labour movement. In friends, understanding, horizons and per- general, the participants acquire greater spectives, and the networks and changes international understanding and aware- seem to carry on generating warmth and ness and more knowledge about the ac- inspiration over many years. While attend- tivities of the ILO and other international ing the Nordic Folk High School, there is organizations. no doubt that the individual receives ex- The school is at its best when it is a tensive and challenging inspiration. melting pot for ideas and projects, giving One challenge for the organizations perspectives on both Nordic non-formal involved – the stakeholders – is to make adult education and the global labour the best of the people they send, so that movement, and providing inspiration both the organizations and the individu- that stretches beyond its limited course of als derive maximal benefi t. Another aim, four weeks plus the Internet course. Seen for the national labour movement and over the years, there have been dramatic all the other stakeholders in the NFHS, changes. Compared with the beginning could be to achieve greater effectiveness and the proud traditions of non-formal in taking up and meeting the challenges adult education and study circles, the tools brought back each year by committed stu- have changed but the challenges and the dents. For example, the students could be problems remain. So, despite the impres- given more opportunities to write articles, sion of being perhaps even better prepared give presentations and organize networks for the course than one might have been and projects within the Nordic coopera- some 50 years ago, it is still a remarkable tion programmes after they return. change to be in Geneva at the ILO for the

73 fi rst time. Watching, listening, interview- no means diminished in the globalized ing and discussing are core disciplines world of today. And the ILO also needs once the students are there. This is cer- the NFHS. Each year, its students witness tainly not a joyride. It is hard work for stu- the considerable work performed by the dents. The stakeholders should take more ILO, and the need for it as a global meet- interest in the education and the methods ing arena and an enabling institution. used in order to improve opportunities Celebrating more than 75 years of the for workers. Perhaps other countries and Nordic Folk High School of Geneva means regions could be inspired to do the same. not just looking back but also continuously One could imagine initiating courses like renewing, improving and elaborating the those of the NFHS for other regions or teaching methods used in the NFHS and countries in order to strengthen and in- workers’ education. The school should spire workers’ education in general. be regarded as a study circle and a Nor- Building knowledge, confi dence and dic think tank on workers’ education. It social capital is a prerequisite for tackling should be constantly creative and should such global challenges as sustainable de- challenge organizations and individuals velopment, building sustainable democra- by raising and tackling the sensitive, dif- cies and welfare societies, fi ghting poverty fi cult consequences of a globalized labour and hunger and abolishing child labour market and living conditions. and traffi cking. We are all facing these The NFHS must strike a delicate bal- challenges, and we will continue to do ance between meeting future demands so in the years to come. The Nordic Folk from organizations and participants and High School and its tradition are a small staying on track as an international folk but essential contribution to building the high school. So we constantly have to en- understanding, knowledge and social cap- gage in self-questioning. We can hone our ital required. methods by asking ourselves whether we Moreover, it is important that the are doing things in the best possible way. NFHS should set a clear agenda in view We should also seek new ways of improv- of the Nordic commitment to the ILO and ing cooperation between the Nordic Folk the tripartite system at the international High School and the ILO and the many level. No other school or course is doing organizations working around the annual the same. The signifi cance of this has by conference. These are today’s challenges.

74 Trade union training and labour education in Latin America – Progress and challenges

In Latin America, diversity is as broad and changing as it is complex. So any pronouncements on diversity have to take account of the realities in each nation, sector and population group concerned. Significant influences include income levels, gender differences and the level of socio-political organization and participation. Hence this overview of progress and challenges in education is based on broad, observable trends and not on the specifics of each country.

Carmen Benítez Workers’ Activities Programme International Training Centre ILO, Turin Eduardo Rodríguez Calderón Principal Specialist, Workers’ Activities ILO, Santiago de Chile

“In confronting the many challenges that the future holds in store, humankind sees in education an indispensable asset in its attempt to attain the ideals of peace, freedom and social justice.” 1 JACQUES DELORS

signifi cant advance at the regional charge. In some countries, the principle A level is the progressive social consen- was also established that education should sus that education is a human right and is be non-denominational. In other cases, it therefore lifelong. This political consensus proved possible to lay down educational has not yet led to a change in the education responsibilities for enterprises, as in Art- system – in other words, to an appropriate icle 123 (paragraph “A”, point XII) of the linkage between the various components Mexican constitution. The right to voca- of its structures or to the social, solidar- tional training and work was also asserted. ity-based responsibility that its fi nancing Other historic contributions included would entail. The big challenge is to make trade union participation in national liter- this right a reality for everyone. acy campaigns. For instance, Brazil’s CUT The trade union movement is one of the labour confederation (Central Única dos actors that have done most to stimulate and Trabalhadores) developed a Youth And promote educational development. This Adult Literacy Project called “All The Let- led, from the beginning of the last cen- ters”. In 2005, 80,000 workers benefi ted tury onwards, to the successful inclusion from this project, and most of them came of education in the range of constitutional from the most vulnerable groups. Another rights, with the recognition that education recognized experience is that of the Adult should be compulsory, public and free of Secondary-Level Education Centres run by

75 the CGT (Confederación General del Tra- search of better working and living con- bajo) in Argentina. These have a long and ditions for themselves and their families. important history behind them. Some re- Others still are overqualifi ed for the jobs gional trade organizations such as ICFTU- that they are paid to do. These phenomena ORIT 2 and the IUF 3 conducted literacy represent a stumbling block for social and programmes in Haiti a few years ago. human development. The recognition of education as a life- Some of the most signifi cant advances long human right has multiple implica- at the regional level in the fi eld of edu- tions. The renewed value placed on par- cation are: ticipation and the involvement of all the Better basic education coverage. It social actors in education is seen in the will be possible to achieve the millen- growing trade union participation in de- nium goal in various countries of the fi ning education policies and programmes region. for all.4 This despite the fact that the State’s responsibility to guarantee education for Improvements in the quality of edu- all remains intact. Another implication cation. However, there are defi cits in which should be discussed is the trade coverage. union role in continuous training for Reduction of the training gap between workers, with all that this can entail both women and men. The gender parity politically and fi nancially for the State. index is in inverse proportion to age. There are notable examples of how trade For instance, there is greater equality union education can be fi nanced without of opportunity for the 15–24 age group the organizations’ losing their independ- than at age 25–59. ence and autonomy. One of the most highly Changes in the population structure developed schemes is in Spain, but there are tending to reduce the quantitative are also experiences in the Latin Ameri- pressures on education, but the quali- can region. Those of Brazil, Chile, Panama tative pressures will grow stronger and and Mexico may be cited. Each has specifi c stronger, given the advances in scien- characteristics. tifi c and technological knowledge. By contrasting the right to education with the population’s actual access to it, The educational community now insights may be gained into the defi cits shows greater participation than in the and the levels of inclusion and exclusion. past, and the institutional conditions In the process, it becomes clear that new exist for this trend to be consolidated. indicators will have to be developed and that some of the traditional indicators will Many educational challenges remain, need to be redefi ned. among which are: In the past, education was seen as a Overcoming the inequality in access to path to social betterment and this re- education between the urban and rural mained so for many years. However, due populations. to the changes wrought by the third scientifi c and technological revolution, the Equalizing access opportunities and implementation of neo-liberal policies, the educational development. opening-up process and free trade, edu- Inclusion of indigenous and black cation is no longer a guarantee of social people. betterment, although it remains indispen- Improving access to vocational training sable for the achievement of more and bet- programmes, which most informal sec- ter options for living and working. tor and rural workers currently lack. Today, hundreds of thousands of pro- fessionals have sought refuge in the infor- Increasing public funding of educa- mal economy, while others are part of the tion. This is mainly spent on teach- great migration fl ows across the globe in ing staff’s salaries. Minimal funding

76 is earmarked for the infrastructure cooperation, and the ILO itself, which needed and for research and devel- through its technical cooperation and as- opment of teaching methods. In some sistance has made education one of its cases, greater social contributions are main pillars and is the only body that has, demanded from those who have least. from the outset, conducted tripartite train- 5 Strong promotion of research and de- ing activities for the world of work. velopment of teaching methods. Many As education is a lifelong process, trade of the current efforts, including the al- union training builds on the previous location of resources, are not produc- learning experiences of the workers who ing results, due to a lack of innovation are members or fraternal supporters of the and reorganization within the educa- organization, and the same goes for other tional process. processes of vocational training, citizenship training etc. So it is appropriate to Respecting the trade union rights and outline the advances and challenges affect- labour rights of education workers and ing education in general before presenting promoting effective labour dialogue those relating to trade union training. so as to reduce labour disputes and improve working conditions and the working environment. Trade union training in Latin America Consolidating trade union and citizen participation in the education system. The training given by social movements in Latin America has for the most part been Free trade treaties can, in some cases, put preceded by the work carried out with education at risk, if it comes to be regarded the grassroots communities through pop- as a merchandise or a business. This out- ular education. The application of Paulo look tends to perpetuate inequality and Freire’s method, as set out in his book La excludes millions of human beings from Pedagogía del Oprimido,6 echoes the social the treasure-house that education can be, movement’s own views by affi rming that in so far as it values liberty and promotes a nobody is more cultured than anyone else society based on the principles of democ- and that there are parallel, complementary racy, solidarity, tolerance and peace. On cultures. A scholar does not know what the other hand, different kinds of com- a cook knows. Neither does a university mitment are emerging, such as the one professor know what a mechanic knows. made within UNESCO and the United The idea is to value these forms of know- Nations both to achieve the millennium ledge by building on the social practice goals and to make education a universal, and experience of each person, then sys- lifelong right, so as to achieve compatibil- tematizing concepts that make it possible ity between the greater interdependence to interpret one’s own reality, reconstruct of countries and the fulfi lment in practice one’s own identity and history and affi rm of the human right to education. This is a oneself fi rstly as a person and then as a great challenge which must be resolved. social actor, thus applying the basic in- International cooperation has come to ductive method: praxis-concept-praxis. play a vital role in the development of edu- Starting from these principles, and in cation. In this respect, mention should be the search for spaces through which the made of UNESCO, the Organización de Es- trade union movement seeks to construct tados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, and reinforce its own collective identity, la Ciencia y la Cultura (OIE – Organization trade union training develops as a specifi c, of Ibero-American States for Education, Sci- non-transferable function of the labour ence and Culture), the Center of Regional movement and as a pillar of its affi rmation Cooperation for Adult Education in Latin as a historical subject and a socio-political America and the Caribbean (CREFAL) actor. This subject must be able to make which is also an instance of inter-agency its presence felt in the construction of

77 democratic processes for the emancipation capable of driving real, effective participa- and transformation of men and women tion processes. Representative democracy who are capable of infl uencing society by is not enough on its own. It also has to be placing people and work above capital. participative. Continuous assessment of Thus, it is asserted that trade union train- trade union practices, together with self- ing is political and strategic in nature, in critical review, is fundamental here. order to strengthen the organization and This means that the independent rep- its transforming action. resentation of the workers will depend to The ability to generate alternative, cre- a large extent on trade union training, if ative, committed thought also depends a situation is to be avoided in which the on the depth and systematization of trade trade union movement becomes an instru- union training, which should develop ment of political parties or other power workers’ critical and political judgement centres. as a product of collective refl ection and confrontation. Obviously, the principles and values Gender mainstreaming that inspire and shape the processes of trade union training are very important in The concept of gender has helped to de- producing a militant, free and autonomous mythologize the social relations which, trade union leadership. So, too, are democ- historically, have legitimized the differ- racy, social justice, equality, equity, worker entiated treatment of people. empowerment, pluralism and effective In the context of trade unionism, wom- international solidarity. Below, some of en’s role within its structures originates in these elements are examined, as they are the exercise of power in a patriarchal so- also among the main challenges. ciety, as women joining the unions adopt behaviour that is alien to the identity that they have formed in private life. In pre- Trade union training and democracy dominantly male working environments, the traditional feminine identity adjusts In Latin America, democracy has tended and, in some cases, becomes similar to that to lack substance. This has to do with our of men, in order to take part in the power history which, in some cases, has simply re- structure. For the trade union movement, peated authoritarian practices dating back taking up the struggle for equality means to the colonial era. Often, people do not retrieving the genuinely emancipatory think of themselves as citizens but rather content of its role in society and making as subjects. This is refl ected in labour re- an effort to combat the male-centred vi- lations and society in general. One of the sion of work, which equates the concept biggest challenges for trade union train- of work with that of employment,7 and ing is to prevent the reproduction of au- which systematically makes unpaid do- thoritarianism and egocentricity in those mestic work invisible, so underrating its who exercise trade union leadership. To economic and social contribution. achieve this, it is vital that workers should Trade union training must incorporate analyse their own history, identify their working methods and teaching strategies advances and setbacks and constantly re- which facilitate this type of refl ection, fl ect on their own behaviour, so as to re- through the reconstruction of masculine build and reinforce their collective iden- and feminine identities in Latin Ameri- tity as a free and democratic movement. can society, building strongly on feelings Room has to be provided for the expres- of solidarity and social justice in order to sion of disagreement, thus avoiding situ- transform the work culture and power ations of power abuse. This all has to do relations. Without a training strategy that with educating people to exercise power, mainstreams gender into all subjects, we and with a genuine empowerment that is will end up reproducing gender-blind-

78 ness, intolerance and inequality in soci- a cosmopolitan society poses other chal- ety. If the trade union movement cannot lenges for trade union training, with the overcome the inequalities between men aim of making its strategies much more and women workers within its own or- inclusive and welcoming of differences ganization, it runs the risk of losing its that transcend those of gender. There is a role in society. need to counter the xenophobic attitudes Trade union training should monitor sometimes expressed in trade union dis- the process, in order to prevent a repeti- course, due to fear of the unknown and tion within trade union organizations of the falsehoods that breed in the collective the typical division of labour between men imagination, exploiting the vulnerability and women. For women, trade unionism of these people. The trade union move- must not be an extension of domestic ment must prevent and combat such at- work or a reproduction of their discrimi- titudes through trade union training. natory, subordinate relationships within In any case, the management of these the family. An obvious indicator, and one training processes demands a great deal that should give us pause for thought, is of care and continuous collective review the small number of women trade union- in order to ensure that positive discrim- ists in the power structures at the various ination, and the affi rmative measures to levels. which it has recourse in many cases, does not become another source of inequality or of infl uence-peddling. The aim of promot- Equality of opportunity ing equality through trade union training and the concept of discrimination should be achieved in a fair way. The methodology used in trade union Social relations are much more diversi- training must promote a choice of content fi ed and it may be said that no one model, that gets the participants actively involved either male or female, exists. This is par- and, in line with the trade union context, ticularly the case in the industrial urban it must promote training action that has environments of the metropoles, where the aim of reconstructing the dynamics of cultural diversity is much more visible everyday social, cultural and political life. and people do not always behave in the These methods foster the reconstruction same way.8 Analysis of equality of op- of identities distorted by the predominat- portunity requires the appraisal of other ing models, which are based on exclusion relevant differences, such as those of race, and are contrary to the trade union move- social class, ethnicity, religion, etc. The ment’s own principles.9 ILO’s Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) defi nes discrimination as any distinction, Ethics and pluralism exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opin- The trade union movement needs upright ion, national extraction or social origin. people with strong critical faculties. Only Frequently, depending on the social re- then will practice have a liberating content. lations established in the interplay of in- Trade union training must generate an at- terests between the social actors, these dif- titude of ethical commitment, given the ferences can turn into inequalities which, demanding task of achieving the common in some cases, may take on greater im- good. This also implies promoting political portance than the gender difference. In awareness among workers, so that they are other cases, the combination of different in a position to judge and question histori- discrimination factors makes the prob- cal contexts and shackling structures.10 lem more complex to tackle. To continue Trade union training should foster an on this point, the incorporation of mi- ethical environment for trade union com- grants into the trade union movement in mitment and action, in which transparency,

79 checks and assessment make it possible socio-political endeavour. For instance, to conduct trade union management in we have programmes that promote the a democratic, participative way. Thus, it acquisition and respect of trade union, la- should foster the process of unity within bour and social security rights; training the working class, while developing a of trainers; the creation and operation of strategy of alliances with other social and training schools and centres; safety and popular organizations. For this, it will be health; housing; trade union media and necessary to generate a process of dia- communications; cooperative develop- logue within a framework of ideological ment and other forms of social organ- pluralism, in order to make consensus ization of work; and fi nally, participation possible on problems which the great main and construction of the social dimen- jority of people have in common. sion of globalization, which is ultimately part of promoting decent work.11 It is important to note that, although ICFTU-ORIT, CLAT and the Global this cooperation and solidarity operate Union Federations (GUFs) mainly between North and South, other in Latin America initiatives have developed on a South- South basis. While the national level has ICFTU-ORIT regards education as a train- received most attention, a very important ing process of a socio-political nature. Thus, role is also played by support for the train- it makes the strategic link between trade ing of union offi cers at levels ranging from union, vocational and formal training at the bi-national to the intercontinental. the national, subregional and continental Labour education is one of the fi elds levels, the watchword being “education in which the trade union principle of infor all, throughout their lives”. Attention ternationalism is constantly and system- is therefore focused on workers and their atically expressed. The solidarity of the families, from an integral perspective. Belgian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, This approach tends to prevail within Nordic and Spanish trade union move- its affi liated trade union organizations. ments is especially recognized, as is that Something similar happens in the case of of the Canadian and US unions. WCL-CLAT and of the Global Union Fed- Cooperation on trade union develop- erations. In this way, efforts are made to ment happens multilaterally through the shape a proposed education model which big global centres and their regional bod- links the building of knowledge to the ies, but also through bilateral work and, world of work and civil rights. more recently, through the support of fra- Trade union organizations committed ternal non-governmental organizations. to educational development make visible Other signifi cant successes have been those economic forces that are tending to achieved through government-backed position education as a merchandise and development cooperation funds, by chan- not as a human right. Unions demand that nelling support to strengthen trade union the State should fulfi l its inescapable role organizations, and by building up their as the guarantor of compulsory, public, capacity for dialogue on labour relations. free, non-denominational, high-quality, This success has been achieved by the lifelong education, together with the nec- trade union centres of the European coun- essary social participation in the framing tries, but also of Canada and the United of education policy. States. Some of these centres have created Within the trade union sphere, co- entities with strong organic links to them, operation and international trade union but which are independent from a legal solidarity were fundamental rights from point of view, so that they can channel the beginning of the trade union move- trade union development cooperation. ment, as they contributed and continue to Trade union organizations have played contribute to all fi elds of trade union and a vital role in channelling funds for labour

80 education through the ILO and, in this this process, trade union training plays a way, education programmes to strengthen strategic role in orienting the action for trade unions have been developed, among mobilization and social transformation other things.12 taken by the trade union movement and While the funds contributed through its organizations. Added to this, there is cooperation and solidarity have been im- the importance of broadening the cover- portant, we should not forget the great age of the trade union training processes. historical contribution made by the ex- Thus, it is clear that education occupies a change of experience and technical and prominent place in the organization’s pol- policy support, which has been of signif- icy and practice. icance for the trade union movement as This same question might well be a whole. All this has resulted in greater asked within every organization, and it international unionization, cohesion, link- brings us closer to knowing the hierarchi- age, relevance and joint struggle. cal level occupied by trade union training As mentioned, internationalism is a within trade union policy. On the opera- historic principle of trade unionism and tional plane, we may select several indica- today the practice has been renewed and tors. They could be: structure, functions is constantly developing, enabling links to and fi nancing. be made between global and local issues, Trade union organizations include an given the internationalization of produc- educational structure within their statutes. tion processes and the growing independ- The most common structures are a secre- ence of countries. tary, a department answering to a secre- tary or an elected representative to whom the educational function is assigned. The Advances and challenges fi rst of these would indicate a higher hierarchical position and priority. In a number What advances has trade union training of countries, the trade union organization made in Latin America, and what are the have a very substantial educational infra- challenges? Full answers to those two structure, with institutes, schools, and cen- questions would require analysis of the tres for technical and higher education.13 situation at levels ranging from the local Among these, we may highlight the cases to the regional. Space does not permit that of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Likewise, depth of treatment here, but the following union organizations in various countries section points to some phenomena that have established links with academic and can stimulate refl ection on this issue. research institutions, in order to target First, we need to know what priorities their educational action and to have an education sets itself as a part of internal impact on the universities’ extramural and external trade union life. The answer programmes. to that question should lead to two planes Of the regional trade union organ- of refl ection – one is political and ideologi- izations, CLAT has an extensive network cal, the other objective and operational. of institutions, including the Workers’ The fi rst plane goes back to the ques- University of Latin America (UTAL), the tion that ICFTU-ORIT asked itself: What Instituto Internacional de Estudios y Ca- is the challenge currently facing trade pacitación Social del Sur (INCASUR), the union training in terms of strengthening Instituto Andino de Estudios Sociales organizations and their transformational (INANDES), the Instituto Centroameri- action vis-à-vis the hegemony of domi- cano de Estudios Sociales (ICAES), the nant neo-liberal, globalizing thinking? Instituto de Formación Social del Caribe Its answer to this question was that the (INFOSCAR), and the Centro Nacional de strategy for taking issue with hegemony Promoción Social (CEMPROS), as well as will be reached via the construction and the Instituto Latinoamericano de Cooper- socialization of socio-political thinking. In ación y Desarrollo (ILACDE).

81 ICFTU-ORIT has developed a school Most of these organizations are in a situ- for socio-political thinking and has ation of fi nancial dependency – essen- formed a continent-wide collective made tially, they are dependent on coopera- up of members of the education teams tion and international solidarity, either from affi liated national centres and fra- directly or through the support received ternal organizations. from NGOs. So a clear challenge is to be- At the national level, the general chal- come self-fi nancing. lenges that we observe relate to the hierar- Over time, the organizations have chical and functional level. In the fi rst case, sought out various options for achieving it would be appropriate to give educational a higher fi nancing level for education. work the rank of a secretaryship, as this The most striking are those in which would ensure that, on the one hand, discus- funds for worker education are granted sion, participation and coordination with by law. This is the situation in Brazil and the other trade union authorities would Panama, for example. In other countries, it be at the higher executive level and, on has been possible to build in budget lines the other hand, education would be well for worker education, which are passed on placed for reporting and making propos- to the unions. Among such cases, we may als to national trade union congresses. cite those of Chile and Mexico. In other As regards functioning, it may be ob- cases, some collective bargaining gains served that for a large number of national are achieved which can be used to sup- trade union centres, links to the affi li- port the fi nancing of education. ated organizations are precarious and it While the rhetoric may identify edu- would therefore be appropriate to set up cation as a priority, this does not sit easily a coordinating mechanism, within which with the lack of earmarked funding and it would, for example, be possible to make the lack of permanent, systematic action recommendations on national education to provide education with the resources policy, strategies and programming. This needed for its development. mechanism would also be an excellent Another factor linked to educational means of socializing successful sectoral fi nancing is the cost, in both time and ex- and local experiences. In some countries, pense, to people who take part in train- such mechanisms have been established ing activities. In this regard, it is impor- through national conferences, consulta- tant to recall that the ILO adopted the tive councils or other bodies. Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 At the regional level, the challenge (No. 140), and the accompanying Rec- seems to be to fi nd the most appropriate ommendation No. 148 14 but only eight way of benefi ting from the existing in- countries in the Americas have ratifi ed frastructures and from the development the Convention. An important challenge of the schools for trade union thinking is to promote its ratifi cation by the other that have been generated in the region. countries and achieve a higher level of This could improve two relevant factors, implementation. namely the level of impact or effectiveness One last fi nancial consideration which and economic feasibility. This challenge should be discussed is the recognition of could be resolved when the new regional trade union education as an integral part trade union organization is formed, follow- of lifelong learning. Apart from its polit- ing the trade union unity achieved by the ical implications, such recognition could ICFTU and the WCL in November 2006. pave the way for the State to establish some type of support mechanism for the fi nancing of this fundamental education The financing of education for social development and democracy. “The pedagogy of the oppressed is ceasing Trade union organizations that are totally to be of the oppressed and is becoming the peda- or partly self-fi nancing are an exception. gogy of people in permanent liberation.” 15

82 Notes 8 UNDP. Human Development Report 2004: Cul- tural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World, http://hdr. 1 Chairman of the International Commission undp.org/reports/global/2004. on Education for the 21st Century, UNESCO report, 9 Fundo para Igualdade de Gênero (FIG – Gen- Learning: The Treasure Within, 1996. der Equality Fund) of the Canadian International 2 The Inter-American Organization of Workers Development Agency (CIDA), Sistematizando Camin- (ORIT) of the International Confederation of Free hos, Transposição de Obstáculos e Ocupação de Espaços Trade Unions (ICFTU). ORIT and the Central lati- no Mundo do Trabalho, Brazil–Canada. 2003. noamericana de Trabajadores (CLAT), a wing of the 10 Betto, F. 1973. La Mosca Azul: Refl exión Sobre el World Confederation of Labour (WCL), launched Poder (Lima, Editora Rocco). a unity process at the regional level following the 11 unifi cation at the world level of the ICFTU and the Abramo, L. Trabajo Decente y Equidad de Gén- WCL, which formed the International Trade Union ero en América Latina. Santiago de Chile, ILO. First Confederation (ITUC) in November 2006. edition 2006. 12 3 International Union of Food, Agricultural, ILO (International Labour Organization), Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV): http:// Workers’ Associations. www.ilo.org/actrav, ACTRAV programme at the In- 4 ternational Training Centre in Turin: http://www. UNESCO. Educación para todos en América Latina itcilo.org/actrav/english/index.php. un objetivo a nuestro alcance, Santiago de Chile, 2004. In particular, see Chart 9 on civil society participa- 13 This situation is deeply rooted in the history tion in the various stages of the EPT Plan, p. 74. of the trade union movement. For example, the La- 5 ILO (International Labour Organization): bour University of Mexico (Universidad Obrera de http://www.ilo.org. México) was established on 8 February 1936, three International Training Centre in Turin: http:// years after the Argentinean CGT set up the Argen- www.itcilo.org. tinean Labour University (Universidad Obrera Ar- CINTERFOR (Inter-American Research and gentina). Documentation Centre on Vocational Training): 14 ILOLEX. Database of international labour http://www.cinterfor.org.uy. standards. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/ 6 Freire, P. 1970. Pedagogía del Oprimido (Buenos index.htm. Aires, Siglo Veintiuno Editors). 15 Freire, P. 1970, op. cit. 7 Duran, M.A.; Serra, I.; Torada, Y.R. 2001. Mujer y Trabajo, Problemática Actual (Valencia, Germania Serveis Grafi cs, s.l.).