FOCUS □ TRADEUNIONEDUCATION A one-world research and study opportunity Understanding the driving forcesof global capitalism, appreciating culturaldiversity, and recognising the different priorities and interestsof workersin different countries are necessary pre-conditions for policyalternatives based on unity, cross border solidarity, and cooperation FRANK HOFFER isSenior Research Officer with the Bureau for Woricers' Activities (ACTRA V) atthe international Labour Organisation in Geneva. The author would like to thank CLAIRE HOBDEN for her helpful comments and support. Sinceple seen in two the Eastern waves fallof Europe of the liberation. Berlin liberated Wall, First, themselves we the have peoseentwowavesofliberation . First, thepeople in Eastern Europeliberated themselves from oppressive, party-controlled command economies; then, transnational companies - makingfulluse oftheopportunities ofglobalcapital mobility - liberated themselves from thecontrol of democratically elected national governments. Whilethe former gave millions of workers the opportunity to organisethemselves in independenttradeunionsforthefirst time, thelatter has proved tobe a deadly threat totrade unionpower. The days of nationalcorporatism and institutionalpower - whenlabour,capital, andgovernmentweresitting atthetripartite table,hammeringoutnational solutions - aremelting likesnow underthe sun. Nowadays,capitalists prefer to meetamongthemselves inDavos,lobbying governments unilaterally to raiseshareholder value. Negotiations havebeenreplacedbyblackmail for ever-more favourable investment conditions and governments no longerseektobalancetheinterestsofcapitaland labour,butrather executethe imperatives oftheglobalmarket. Meetingthe global challenge Against thisbackdrop, tradeunionsneed to radicallyupscale and internationalise their work,a critical component ofwhichmustincludescaling up their research and education activities. Granted,given resourcelimitations, diverging viewsamongnational tradeunions,theconstant need forimmediate action,thetotaloverstretch ofthevery fewinternational trade unionofficials, thelackoftechnical expertise, thelanguagebarriers andcultural differences, declining andaging membership, and a growing stratification ofthe workingclass; this is easier said than done. Nonetheless, meetingthe evolvingglobal challengewillrequireadditional toolsand initiatives movingbeyond departmental internationalism andtraditional forms ofworkers' education. Partnering withUniversities Astransnational companies, complexglobaltrade and capitalmarkets, and over-arching macroeconomic ,fiscaland monetary policiesincreasingly determine labourmarket conditions, so theneed increasesfortechnicaland theoretical skillsto internationalise trade union policies at local, national and globallevel.Thisis thereasonthat tradeunionshaveincreasingly recruited academically trained staff, andthisis thereasonwhythe Global Labour University (GLU) developed a global,university-based qualification programme for trade unionists. Effective responses tothechallengeofglobalisation cannotbe foundinan isolatednational context. A national strategy tendsto pushtrade unionsintoa national competitiveness pactinorder tooutcompete andgainexport markets .Never hasthere beena greater needtobuild international institutions and demandrulesthat willlimit theglobalmarket powerofthefewand benefit thesocialwell-being ofthemany. Understanding thedriving forces ofglobalcapitalism , appreciating cultural diversity, andrecognising thedifferent legitimate priorities andinterestsofworkers in different countries are necessarypre -conditions forpolicyalternatives based on unity, cross-border solidarity, and cooperation .The GLUwas setup as a network ofuniversities , international and national tradeunions, civilsocietyorganisations and theInternational LabourOrganisation (ILO) to contribute to this daunting task.To thisend,itoffers postgraduate programmes andresearch opportunities fortrade unionists and labouractivists, combining academic studieswithpractical workthrough close cooperation withtradeunionsand fieldbased internships. Withcampusesin Brazil,India,SouthAfrica, and Germany, theGLU providesa "one world" research and learning environment forlabourto research, analyse,and identify effective policy measures tomeetthelabourchallenges oftoday. Itis notonlya uniqueglobalnetwork, buthasa strong focuson theglobalsouth,replacing the traditional north-south knowledgetransfer with transversal globalcooperation. Ateach campus, tradeunionists from different partsoftheworld studytogether, and the faculty exchangeprogramme between theuniversities ensures a diversityofprogressive academicviews.The curriculumwas jointly developedbyuniversities, trade unions, theFriedrich Ebert Stiftung ,andtheILO, andwas designedto focuson a labourperspectiveof key global labourissues such as trade, globalgovernance, macroeconomics, wage policies , the informal economy,development economics , international labourstandards, andinternational tradeunionpolicies. Long-termneeds and short-term pressure In their dailywork, mosttradeunionists areconstantly caughtup withfire-fighting, confronted withhavingto findinstant responses to burning issues.Tradeunionsoften needpeoplenow,and training - intheir view- mustbe brief, targeted, andwithimmediate benefits forstrengthening the organisation and representing members.This short-termism is understandable, butitis impossible to close the skills'gap withoutinvesting beyondshort-term needs.Today,lacking internal capacity, tradeunionsoftenfeeltheymustbuy external expertise. However,while studiesand researchcan alwaysbe commissioned, it is of long-term, strategic importance that trade unionists themselves buildon their "ontheground" experINTERNATIONAL union rights Page 10Volume 19Issue 12012 tise with advanced,theoretical and analytical capacities. Thereis an unfortunate discrepancy betweenknowledge on theshelf and itsapplicationinpractice : muchas anoutside academic consultant would neverbe able to understand the realities oflabourorganising without everhaving been a unionist, itis equallyunlikely fora trade unionist toconfront theglobalchallenges oftoday without acquiring an adequateleveloftheoretical andanalytical skills. Atrade unionwith bothtypes of expertise, however, willbe bestequippedto applytheknowledge totherealities oftoday. Discourse versus discipline Qualification programmes mustnot only cover newtopical areas,they also havetodealwiththe factthatthecomposition, values,and culture of working peoplehaschanged dramatically inrecent decades.Even at the nationallevel,a homogeneous working-class identity has largelydisappeared . Unity today must therefore bebuilt onconvictionand choice, as workplaceexperience, milieu...