RESPONDING TO GLOBALISATION - INTERNATIONAL STUDY CIRCLES
The role of workers' education

Written by: Alana Dave
International Study Circle Co-ordinator, IFWEA

October 1998

Trade unionists and workers around the world are having to increasingly deal with the negative effects of globalisation. Seeking higher and higher profits, capital is now able to shift production freely across borders in the search for cheaper labour and new markets. Transnational corporations have become the dominant actors in the world economy forcing workers in one country to compete with workers elsewhere. But globalisation also means that workers everywhere are facing similar problems and attacks. Labour world-wide shares experiences of IMF and World Bank Structural Adjustment Programmes, increasing unemployment, privatisation, the rising power of transnational corporations, industrial restructuring, the changing nature of jobs and attacks on worker and trade union rights.

National and international trade unions are facing the challenge of how to respond to globalisation. In many countries, trade unions at a local level are facing a decline in trade union membership. They are having to recruit members, organise new industries and rebuild their industrial muscle. International trade union organisations like the International Trade Secretariats are experimenting with different strategies to link workers in the same company like setting up global and/or regional company councils, running corporate campaigns, campaigning for codes of conduct, gathering and analysing corporate information and negotiating international framework agreements concerning basic trade union and workplace rights.

Globalisation means that trade unions in one country cannot deal with their problems in isolation from the problems workers are facing elsewhere. Local problems need to be understood within their international context. The source of trade union strength today relies not only on being well organised at a local level. It also relies on building links and solidarity with counterpart trade unions in other countries. Workers and trade unions need to share information and ideas. In this way, effective strategies can be formulated to build struggles at both a local and international level in opposition to the effects of globalisation.

But the international perspective in many trade unions is still weak. International work is often left entirely to international departments which are under-resourced. In many trade unions, international departments are non-existent. International links are mostly dominated by only a few individuals with little rank and file participation. Giving and receiving international solidarity during industrial disputes is often neglected, and many unions still do not have the means to distribute such information quickly, cheaply and efficiently. With a few exceptions, issues concerning globalisation have not yet been integrated into trade union education programmes. As a result, there is little awareness raising amongst the membership of the relationship between local and international issues. Often where education on globalisation has taken place, the issues are treated abstractly and are removed from the everyday experiences of workers.

The role of workers' education

The international workers' education movement today is formally represented by the International Federation of Workers' Education Associations (IFWEA). IFWEA is an international organisation which brings together those organisations involved in workers' education including national and international trade unions, labour support organisations, workers' education associations, and other NGOs. IFWEA has over 100 affiliates in 53 countries around the world including KLSI in Korea and other organisations in the Asia-Pacific region.

At IFWEA's Congress in 1996, a resolution was adopted on globalisation and workers' education. The resolution emphasised the crucial role which the international workers' education movement needs to play in developing the capacity of labour to respond effectively to global economic change. Workers' education is an important tool in developing a critical awareness of globalisation and the alternatives to it. IFWEA has adopted the theme of "Defending and Advancing the Interests of the International Working Class in an era of neo-liberal globalisation and the new world order", and plays an educational role by running education programmes on this theme, developing education materials, and circulating information.

IFWEA's President, Dan Gallin, gives concrete meaning to this work when he states that: " We need to give priority to projects which can strengthen effective international links, and to issues which demand an international response, and move towards the development of education programmes which are delivered internationally". This perspective is important. We are saying that it is not only necessary for the content of our education to focus on international issues, but also that the delivery of education programmes should be global in reach. In this way, workers in different countries can learn from each other about the effects of globalisation and discuss common responses and strategies. This approach helps to make the reality of globalisation concrete and shows that it is rooted in the lived experiences of workers. It is not simply about far removed markets, capital flows and financial institutions. So international study circles have been explored as a vehicle for delivering global education programmes on key international issues.

The potential to conduct global education has been strengthened enormously by new information and communication technologies. It is now possible to link workers and trade unionists around the world using the Internet as a tool for discussion and the distribution of information. Although not a substitute for direct contact between workers, computers allow us to link internationally in a more cost-effective way than regular international meetings. International study circles make use of the technology in such a way that the education process remains participatory and under the democratic control of the learners.

What is an International Study Circle?

An international study circle is a means of delivering global education. The concept of a study circle is not a new idea. In many countries world-wide, study circles have been formed by trade unions and other workers' education organisations to build a culture of democratic discussion and debate. Most experiences of study circles have been at a local or national level. An international study circle is implemented at a grassroots level, but forms part of a coherent and integrated international programme.

An international study circle works by organising groups of workers based in several countries. Each group meets together for an education programme on international issues using the same education materials, and following the same curriculum and methodology. The education programme usually lasts for about 6 weeks and consists of two hour sessions which are run on a weekly basis. Each group has a co-ordinator who writes up a report after every session. The report is then put onto the international study circle web-site for all other groups to read and discuss in their next session. In this way, workers from different countries are sharing experiences and ideas on the same issues, so that they can understand better the effects of globalisation in their own countries. An international study circle also aims for common activities and long-term links and solidarity between workers in participating countries.

IFWEA has already run two pilot international study circles for workers in twelve countries. The countries which participated included Peru, South Africa, Britain, France, Barbados, Germany, Kenya, Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Sweden and Belgium. In total, there were about 150 workers who participated. The focus of the international study circles was on transnational corporations. Each country shared ideas on how transnational corporations operate in their national economy, the advantages and disadvantages of foreign investment for workers, and how trade unions can organise in and respond to these global companies.

Sharing information on globalisation

During the course of the pilot programme, the workers were able to share valuable information and experiences concerning the impact of globalisation and transnational corporations in their countries. Here are a few examples of the reports which the participants sent to the project web-site.

"The last two decades have seen immense changes in the employment culture of Britain. Huge investments of foreign capital, traditionally associated with job security is now repaid with job losses. Large parts of an elderly workforce with full employment rights and benefits have been replaced with younger more qualified people who have greater skills but less rights. Whole sections of servicing jobs and staff required by the parent company are now sub-contracted, often to other transnational corporations. With less employment and less pay, the effects on local communities can be devastating". From the study circle group in Britain.

"We agreed that foreign investment overall was not good. Their entry into our economy, was not productive investment which expanded industry and created lots of new jobs. Their main interests is simply to make profits. But they do serve to introduce new technology and expertise to the country. Where they do create jobs, it is with the poorest sections of our community for cheap labour. They also make use of local sub-contractors to do their dirty work of supplying cheap labour and not adhering to labour standards". From the study circle group in South Africa

"Workers need to organise in transnational companies. The methods which they can use are: encouraging links with other trade unions representing workers in the same TNC; organising lobbying and consumer boycotts; organising demonstrations; trade unions should act in solidarity to promote uniformity in terms and conditions of service in the same transnational company; organising go slow strikes within the same TNC globally; the International trade Secretariats should assist their affiliates to build strong plant structures in the countries where transnational companies are operating; International Trade Secretariats should negotiate on behalf of workers in the same TNCs". From the study circle group in Kenya

"The Swedish Trade Union Confederation, the LO, is participating in the otherwise secret negotiations on the MAI. The LO has to the best of our knowledge, never criticised the content of the proposed agreement. They have however tried very hard to convince the other parties, including the Swedish Government of the necessity to make it possible for the MAI to accommodate some rules regarding the rights of employees". From the study circle group in Sweden

An international study circle for Asia-Pacific

IFWEA's affiliates in the Asia-Pacific region will be organising an international study circle entitled "Globalisation and the responses of trade unions in Asia". The programme will be aimed at worker educators and trade union representatives in Korea, Taiwan, India, Australia, Pakistan, and the Philippines. In Korea, the programme will be co-ordinated by KLSI. It is due to begin in February 1999. There will be six sessions which are held on a fortnightly basis.

The focus on globalisation is particularly appropriate given the current crisis in the region. This has been brought about by indiscriminate liberalisation and the uncontrolled movements of speculative capital across the global financial markets. The costs of globalisation for Asian workers are many. Throughout the region, workers are losing jobs. Work is being relocated to those countries which offer the cheapest and most docile workforce.
India has 17 million unemployed people. In the Philippines, more than 3 million are unemployed and close to 7 million are underemployed. Even the more industrialised Japan and Korea have not been spared.

The social organisation of work has also changed. Labour flexibility now characterises the way in which work is organised. Employers maintain a small core of full-time workers alongside a huge number of temporary and casual workers. Labour flexibility includes the increased utilisation of women, apprentices and migrants in the workforce. It is also aimed at eliminating or controlling trade unions. Many trade unions are facing further restrictions on workers' right to strike, collective bargaining and organise.

In this context of globalisation and economic crisis, worker's solidarity at a national, regional and international level is crucial. How can labour struggles be co-ordinated at a regional level? What forms of workers' organisation are necessary? Around what issues can solidarity be most effectively built? These are just some of the challenges which the new global order and crisis presents to the Asian trade union movement.

At a facilitators seminar for the Asian International Study Circle held in Manila in September, the content of the education programme was prepared. The programme will focus on the key instruments of globalisation including the role of transnational corporations in the region, and the policies of the IMF and World Bank. The effects of globalisation on workers' lives will then be examined. The programme will conclude with two sessions focusing on how trade unions should respond to globalisation. After the completion of the international study circle, IFWEA plans to hold a more intensive seminar to evaluate the results of the education programme and to discuss future regional activities on globalisation. We hope to invite a wide range of interested organisations to this seminar.

Future activities

In addition to the study circle programme in Asia, IFWEA is planning several other activities. We are particularly interested in exploring how the international study circle model could be applied in an industrial context. In partnership with the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF), we will be running an international study circle in a single transnational company in the food sector. The education programme will be used to link workers in the company in different countries, and will focus on key trade union issues, the international strategy of management and an international strategy for the union in response to the company. In this way, we hope that the international study circle will strengthen the international organisation of workers within the corporation.

A further international study circle is being planned for women workers and will focus on the globalisation of the food industry. Women make up a large percentage of the workforce in the industry. They are involved in planting, harvesting, processing, preparing and serving the food we eat. Increasingly, the food industry is dominated by large transnational corporations which have impacted dramatically on people's working lives and food quality, safety and sustainability. For example, the high proportion of pesticides used in modern food production is a serious problem for women workers. The international study circle will include women workers from Nicaragua, Peru, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Britain, Kenya, South Africa, Estonia, Bulgaria and the Philippines. It will aim to strengthen the participation of women workers in trade union activities and enable them to build new alliances and networks of solidarity.

IFWEA will also be running an international study circle on migrant workers in the global economy. Globalisation has been characterised by the large-scale movement of workers across borders who are extremely vulnerable and mostly unorganised. They have been the victims of xenophobic reactions from local communities fearful of cheap competition in the labour market. The education programme will look at these issues and aim to strengthen trade union recruitment of migrant workers at a local level and to improve trade union policies concerning migrant workers.

There will also be international study circles which focus on workers' rights in international trade agreements, IMF and World Bank Structural Adjustment Programmes and organising in transnational corporations.

Conclusion

Workers' education is an indispensable resource for strengthening the international trade union movement. But we need to think of the education which we offer in broader and bolder terms than in the past. Globalisation necessitates that trade union education has a strong international focus, and helps workers make the link between local workplace problems and the wider international context. Workers often feel helpless and isolated in the face of giant transnational corporations and powerful world financial institutions. Trade union education needs to build their confidence in what could be one of the labour movement's most effective tools of struggle: international trade union solidarity.

International study circles are just one example of attempts to develop a new approach to trade union education. We hope that IFWEA's programmes will be successful in building organisations and international links. Collectively we need to share educational methodologies, and activities, thereby enhancing our capacity to respond to globalisation with strength and clarity.

For more information please contact Alana Dave at: IFWEA, c/o GMB College, College Road, Whalley Range, M16 8BP, Britain; +44-161-8605952 (phone); +44-161-8811853 (fax); alana.dave@mcr1.poptel.org.uk (e-mail); http://www.tsl.fi/ifwea/isc (project web-site).