Between February 16th and 18th 2012, 18 active trade union members came together in the MANDATE Organising and Training Centre [OTC] to become Global Solidarity Champions and advocates for the Decent Work and Development Education agenda. The role of the Global Solidarity Champion is to ensure that our trade union colleagues are always cognisant of the global perspective within our trade union work and to always be aware of what actions they can take and how we can make a difference in the work that we do.
The course ran from Thursday morning until lunchtime on Saturday. Participants came from both the public and private sectors representing ASTI, CPSU, IMPACT, MANDATE, NIPSA, and UNISON. As always the course was crammed full of interesting speakers and packed with a lot of information with which to give participants as broad an introduction to global issues as possible. After our initial introductions and some ice breakers we began to discuss what solidarity means to each of us and how it might be acted upon within our own workplaces. We then discussed aspects of globalisation, the impact it has on the world in general and workers specifically, and finally we drew the session to a close with a brief discussion on whether it is a positive or negative thing, or perhaps a bit of both.
Following a very welcome hot lunch, we began our first afternoon with a presentation by David Joyce, International Office with Congress, on the International Labour Organisation and the core labour standards.
For the second part of the afternoon we welcomed Aoife from the Migrant Rights Centre and Nusha from the Immigrant Council of Ireland, who I think, quite frankly, shocked participants about the issues of labour exploitation and trafficking for the sex industry, which happens within our own shores. We then heard a personal account from Ethel Mvelase, a South African national who found herself in a dreadful situation of forced labour a number of years ago, here in Ireland, and unfortunately is still seeking resolution to her case.
Our second morning kicked off in the Irish Aid Centre on O'Connell Street, where we were kindly invited by Irish Aid to hold our full morning session. Thankfully all our participants were able to find their way around Dublin and arrived in plenty of time to hear about the work of Irish Aid. The session on Irish Aid and the White Paper Review finished with a tour of the centre which was very informative on the work that Irish Aid are involved with in their priority countries. Throughout the rest of the course we learnt a little about International trade and how it works, including the unfair rules that are embedded within trading and the work of a recently established NGO Value Added in Africa.
The afternoon was filled with updates from members of our own Global Solidarity Committee who have become involved in a range of activities, following their own training on a similar type course and their interest in doing something practical with workers of the global south. The first session was conducted by Eugene Quinn of PSEU who gave a run through of how the PSEU Global Solidarity Committee was established, the fund they administer and the difference they have made to people around the world. John Coghlan, then spoke about the NGO and project he established "Disability Aid Abroad" and the work which is ongoing in Tanzania. He also spoke of his hopes to roll this programme out in a similar way in Uganda. This project is funded and developed by, with and for trade unions and it is very heartening for participants to see this work take shape.
Globalisation and exploitation was the theme of the next session where Brian Forbes, MANDATE spoke about these issues within the garment industry and particularly the complexities of the global supply chain, particularly in the Retail Sector. Rosie O'Reilly then spoke about the work of the Clean Clothes Campaign in Ireland and how participants can get involved in this through membership, email alerts and urgent actions. Whilst Rosie's organisation holds the secretariat for CCCI in Ireland, the network was established by Congress in 2010 and it is important to ensure that this work gets as wide an airing as possible among our trade union colleagues.
The day finished up with a presentation on the current situation in Colombia, by Martin McMullen who is a member of Justice for Colombia [JFC] Ireland. Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a trade unionist or human rights campaigner and it is essential that we work through JFC Ireland, in solidarity with our trade union colleagues there. Martin talked about the successes of recent campaigns with the release of some prisoners, such as Rosalba Gaviria Toro, but there are many more activists being held without charge or conviction who need our help. He finished the session by urging members to remind their union to affiliate to this worthwhile campaign, if not already done so.
A bright Saturday morning began with a session Climate Change given by Gavin Harte from the Stop Climate Change coalition. He gave a fascinating account of the likely outcome for the world in general, and Ireland in particular, if we continue to ignore climate change and treat it as someone else's concern. The last session then dealt with the current situation in Palestine and a first-hand account was given of the conditions in which Palestinian people are forced to live. This was eloquently delivered by Michael Robinson, NIPSA who is also a board member of SADAKA. It was an extremely informative presentation on the background and history of Palestine and helped to equip participants with a better understanding and insight into this complex issue. The course concluded with an evaluation session and a light lunch.
We always hope that the course proves beneficial and worthwhile to participants. But perhaps one of the most important elements of the training workshop is to provide participants with the information and knowledge to allow them to actively participate and make a difference in our work. As part of the evaluation we ask all participants to provide us with feedback on the course. The following are some of the quotes which participants wished to share shared with us of their opinion of the course.
"I found the course extremely interesting. It opened my eyes to things I knew nothing about. I would definitely recommend the course to others, as the issues dealt with are things normally we wouldn't give a second thought to. Our own ignorance has allowed these issues to escalate and the only way these will be reduced or eradicated will be through highlighting them through courses like this". Gavin NIPSA.
"This is an excellent course that opens your mind. Sometimes you just need to stop and listen to get away from the craziness of everyday tasks to realise there are many issues in the world that are of more significance. We need to work as a group, stand up for each other, be aware we do have a voice and what we do can have a major impact". Rachel, YouthConnect.
"The Global Solidarity course is an excellent means to educate and raise awareness in the unions on world issues and points the way to issues we should be dealing with for the future". Brenda, CPSU.
"It opens your eyes to things that we don't know anything about" Tom, MANDATE.
"The 2 � days were very full. I think I will go off and try to put together what I learnt and put what one thing I can do, to my branch and union for us to concentrate on. Perhaps the individuals who have attended before could meet up with each other to implement what they have learned". Frances CPSU.
"All trade unionists should complete this course because it shows, that regardless how small the contribution, solidarity with others can achieve a lot". Paraic McCormack CPSU
If you want to find out more about this type of course, or participate in the next course we schedule, please don't hesitate to get in touch directly by email to Fiona.dunne@ictu.ie.
