| In addition to
collective bargaining, campaigning on social problems has been a
priority for trade unions for ages. Campaigning, for safer
workplaces and for maternity rights has helped reach these
important milestones. In many countries, trade unions have had to
campaign for the very right to exist, when governments have tried to
outlaw them, or employers have sought by different methods to
suppress them.
Trade unions have also used campaign methods
to achieve wider goals. Good examples of achievement include:
-
participation
of trade unions in the struggle against apartheid in South
Africa, and
-
the
empowerment of women.
In the fight against child labour, campaigning
is once again a strategy which the trade union movement can use
effectively to raise awareness, and to improve and implement
international standards. Already in 1866, the International Workers'
Congress called for an international campaign to stop child labour
and demanded such legislation. The trade union movement has also
been the driving force behind the drafting of ILO Convention No.
138 on the Minimum Age for Entry to Employment and has also worked
hard for the adoption of Convention No.182 on the Worst Forms of
Child Labour.
In order to strengthen workers' organizations
at the international, regional and national levels, as well as to
strengthen human resources within workers' organizations,
workers' education is also very important for the trade union
movement.
There are many reasons why trade unions have
started workers' education on child labour.
Union activists and
members need to be better informed about the scale of this problem,
debates about policies, types of action, etc. It is very important
to ensure that union grass-roots are also involved in formulating
plans and carrying them out. Education is the key tool in ensuring
this.
Under this heading you will find materials to
be used in your education activities and campaign work.
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