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Report

Equipping European trade unions through training to go “on the offensive”

The future is an opportunity that should not be feared

European trade unions will need to continue to embrace change to further strengthen their role, position and ability to represent their 60 million members. Trade union education has an important part to play in this process and the European Trade Union Confederation’s (ETUC) four-year “on the offensive” Seville manifesto provides a useful guide in helping achieve this. This was the message delivered to participants during the Trade Union Education – The next steps Conference that took place in Kiljava, Finland on 22-23 February.

The event, which brought together heads of trade union education from all over Europe, was primarily designed to reinforce the European trade union education community. It also presented the ETUC’s strategy for the period 2007 – 2011 and examined future needs in European trade union education and ways in which ETUI-REHS and affiliates can respond.

Opening the conference, Jeff Bridgford, outgoing Director of the Education Department of the ETUI-REHS, spoke of “the need to provide trade union officers and representatives with an opportunity to exchange information and experience, to acquire new skills and to share trade union values”. The Conference was “a great opportunity to enhance cooperation” between different national trade union education departments.

John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC, used his address to emphasise how trade union education and training was vital to future “forward looking” trade unionism.

Trade unions are facing new challenges, opportunities and threats, he said. “The ETUC needs good officers, representatives and also trainers. Your job is absolutely crucial”, he continued, a sentiment echoed by Lauri Ihalainen, President of SAK who added: “We need versatile, competent trade unionists that can work at the international level”.

The issue of change was a strong theme of the conference and was highlighted by Philippe Pochet, the new ETUI-REHS General Director. He underlined the importance of promoting a vision of trade unionism via key issues which would ring true with both actual and potential future union members.

“We need to think strategically about the future and be proactive”, he said. “Take sustainable development. It will have important consequences for our societies and our work and we must use this opportunity to outline trade union priorities and values”.

Cooperation is key

Greater cooperation between different trade union training providers was an important challenge facing participants at the Kiljava Conference. Currently education and training activities are largely driven by external and financial assistance which can lead to fragmentation. The challenge for trade union training providers is to further develop the capacity of trade union training and to channel efforts towards developing needs both on the ground and within strategic planning.

Grigor Gradev, ETUI-REHS Researcher and Executive Secretary of the Pan European Regional Council (PERC) provided a brief presentation on the PERC’s nature and policy orientation. He also underlined the fundamental role of trade union education and training for securing quality human resources that can meet the challenges of the future.

PERC, he said, faces diverse realities due to the various labour relations and social systems within and outside the EU. PERC was seeking to bridge these differences in systems and promote European values and standards as much as possible. However such a process required a degree of caution given that transferring EU approaches and best practice to labour relations systems outside the EU was not simple or straightforward.

The Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) was formally established at a Founding Assembly in Rome, Italy, on 19 March 2007, following a resolution adopted at the ITUC Founding Congress in November 2006 in Vienna.

The PERC brings together 87 national trade union centres affiliated to the ITUC, in 55 European countries, representing 85 million members. Under its constitution, ETUC General Secretary John Monks also acts as General Secretary of the PERC, with Mikhail Shmakov, President of FNPR Russia, elected as President.

Practical assessment of future training needs

To ensure an effective and practical exchange about trade union education initiatives, a “market place” was organised where different nationally-based trade union trainers and ETUI-REHS staff were invited to present key existing activities.

These short, practical presentations covered an array of issues including:

• Improving recruiting and organising;
• Multinational companies and restructuring;
• Dealing with the free movement of workers and immigration;
• Facing the challenge of globalisation

and training methodologies including:

• Training trainers;
• Practical trade-union-focused foreign language training;
• Distance learning techniques.

Participants were then given the task to put forward key priorities for future European trade union training using the ETUC Seville manifesto as a guide.

The ETUC Seville Manifesto – in a nutshell

To go “on the offensive” on five broad fronts:

1. for a more equitable European labour market;

2. for improved social dialogue, collective bargaining and worker participation;

3. for more effective European economic, social and European governance;

4. for a stronger EU;

5. for stronger unions and a stronger ETUC.

Several important issues were brought out in all the group discussions:

• EU-level education courses need to compliment national courses to a greater extent to ensure greater participation of officers from national trade unions;
• How could courses be more successfully delivered to participants that are fluent in different languages?;
• A more critical assessment of current training courses and whether they are successfully responding to trade union requirements is required;
• New or additional courses were needed on sustainable development, vulnerable workers and precarious work, the phenomenon of globalisation, migration, flexicurity and developments in European society. The emphasis of courses should underline the impact each issue is having on the European economy and workers rights;
• More courses are needed that disseminate best practice with regard to successful trade union recruitment methods;
• Should there be courses geared to training trade unionists for lobbying activities?
• Courses could be aimed at grassroots trade union members as well as officers that represent them in order to ensure trade union members have a better grasp of the issues affecting their lives;
• More courses that foster transnational thinking are needed given that many of the challenges trade unions face increasingly cut across national borders;
• Courses are needed that help increase the number of women as decision makers within trade union structures.

What they said

Jeff Bridgford – outgoing Director of the Education Department of the ETUI-REHS

“Education is a key resource for trade unions. Our courses provide trade unionists with the opportunity to meet, learn and understand each other across Europe”.

Lauri Ihalainen – President of SAK

“Workers rights stop at the border. We need transnational border rights. Don’t fear globalisation. It’s a challenge to be faced. On average, in Finland, workers change jobs five times during their working lives”.

John Monks – General Secretary of the ETUC

“We need positive forward-looking trade unionism. We must not be defensive about the future”.