Organising, politics and education

Abstract

FOCUS □ TRADEUNIONEDUCATION Organising, politics and education The roleoftrade unioneducation has been consciously recognised bythe ITFas a necessary and integralpartof the process to repositionunions and defendrights ALANA DAVE IsEducation Officer with the International Transport Workers Federation In London At the Federation theITF International global (ITF) Congress adopted Transport in1998, Mobilising affiliates Workers' of the InternationalTransport Workers' Federation (ITF) adopted Mobilising Solidarity , a programme whichasserted theneed to developa strategic responseto the negative impact ofneoliberal transport restructuring on the rights oftransport unions andworkers world-wide. This programme providedthe foundation from whichthemajority ofsubsequent policydecisions have evolved resulting in the current Strong Unions, Sustainable Transport policyframework. Since1998,thescaleoftransport restructuring and theaccompanying shifts in employment relationshipsand rights, has necessitated a muchdeeper, morecritical interrogation ofunionapproaches to organising, bargaining andcampaigning. Significantly, theroleoftradeunioneducation has been consciously recognised bytheITF as a necessary andintegral part oftheprocesstoreposition unionsand defendrights. Withtheshift in approach of the ITF articulatedinitiallyin Mobilising Solidarity , came a redefinition of the federation's education work. TheITF'sOrganising Globally- Fighting for our Rightsprogramme states: 'ITFeducation workhas changeddrastically .Previously mainly delivering basictradeunion educationcoursesfordeveloping countries, itis now dealingwiththeglobalrestructuring in the transport industry, industrial priorities of ITF industrial sections, and building organising, analytical and campaigning capacityon a regional, subregional and globallevel.Bothindustrialised anddeveloping countries aretargeted'. However,thereare severalchallengeswhich need to be faced forthe ITF to delivertrade unioneducationwhichleads to actionand ultimately contributes to socialchange.Firstly, how to developan educational approachto strategic organising. Secondly, how to bringpoliticsand ideologyintothefederation's tradeunioneducation discourse.And thirdly, how to link the processof educationto organisational developmentand growth atglobaland national levels. Educationand organising Organising inthetransport sectortakesdifferent forms, from international organising acrossbordersin multinational companiesor alongtransportcorridors , to organising a particular occupationalgroupofworkers within one company, to organising workerswithno clear employment relationships. Mostimportantly, andregardless of the formof organising, it is the workerswho need to be readyfororganising and driveand control thecampaign from below.Thisapproach presentsa politicalchallengeforinternational organisations, whereorganising priorities agreed ata globallevelmight ormight notcoincidewith thereadiness andmoodofrank-and-file workers and unionmembers to assertand defendtheir rights. In suchsituations, cantradeunioneducationcreatetheconsciousness necessary forinternationalorganising campaigns,or do workers and unionsturn to tradeunioneducation when thereare alreadyhighlevels of consciousness creating a demandand searchfornew ideas, skillsand strategies? These are the conceptual questions whichhavetobe asked,so that we can better understand thepossibilities andlimitations ofeducation fororganising at different moments and indifferent contexts. Whena unionor groupofworkers decidesto organise, thereshouldbe a close and dynamic interrelationship between theorganising strategy of a unionanditsformal andinformal education programme . However, often therolethateducation can playis too narrowly defined. In manycases, thelink between education andorganising isinterpreted as theneed to train organisers. Whilst the training oforganisers isindeedessential, education should not be limitedsolelyto thisfunction. Education mustplaya rolein everyaspectofa union's life, so as toincrease andstrengthen workers 'participation and control - building effective leaders,strengthening democratic structures and stimulating an active, involved andpolitically consciousmembership whoareprepared toarticulate andfight for working classrights andinterests. Likewise at an international level,thedifferent facetsof theITF'soveralleducation programme, needto be understood holistically inrelation to a globalorganising agenda. Whilst someprogrammes might be tailor-made to support theeducational needsofspecific organising projects, broader education programmes ona widerange ofissues affectingtransport arejustas essential tobuilding a cultureofsolidarity andorganising amongst affiliates. The participatory and collaborative practices of tradeunioneducationenablescollective knowledge , commoninterests and sharedneeds to emerge whichought todrive international organising campaigns. Without thisdeeper processof knowledgebuildingunderpinning international organising campaigns, theability to win internationalunionrights as well as to exercisethem, couldbe seriously weakened.An appreciation of themeaning ofthisprocessis captured byArlette Gayfrom an ITF affiliate in Chile:"Inorganising, thefirst thing we do is to shareinformation with other workers tobuilddeep confidence with each other and to buildtherealand deep solidarity of workers actingcollectively. Organising is fundamentally aboutbuilding thebase oftheunionand thedemocratic structures. Organising helpsmake ourunions moredemocratic". In relation to specific organising targets, there are particular educational challenges. Likeother unionorganisations, ITF affiliates arefacedwith INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 6Volume 19Issue 1201 2 thechallenge oforganising growing numbers of precarious and informal transport workers. The findings of an ITF global researchprojecton organising informal transport workers showthat unioneducation programmes mustbe specifically tailoredto addressthe needs and rights of informal workers. In manycases,unionorganisersand educators withexperience oforganising andeducation forformal workers finditdifficult to relateto the situation of informal workers. Thusthetraining oforganisers andactivists needs toaddress theparticular issues,situations anddifficulties of organising informal workers such as overcoming suspicion andbad experiences, dealingwithunionplurality , overcoming theoppositionoftheemployers or authorities, motivating workers tojoinunions, understanding their interestsandrights , andfinding thetimeandplaceto meetwithinformal transport workers. Educating, building capacity and empowering leadersintrade...