IMF communicators meet

SWITZERLAND: Mobilising people against precarious work was one of the key issues considered by the 40 participants of the IMF Communicators' Forum held in Geneva on June 20 and 21. At the meeting, delegates heard reports on how precarious employment increasingly affects metalworkers in many parts of the world and debated how trade unions can best mobilize people against precarious work. Delegates were then issued with a challenge to submit photos and short texts that show the faces and tell the stories of precarious workers in the metal sectors in their country. Details of the Precarious Work Photo/Journalism challenge can be found on the IMF website here. Earlier in the meeting, Elizabeth Lukin from Essential Media Communications reported on the strategy and effectiveness of the Australian trade union movement's "Your Rights at Work" campaign, which includes extensive media relations efforts, television advertising and grass-roots activism. Using short films as a medium to communicate with trade union members and others on trade union issues was included in the meeting's agenda and was followed by a special evening presentation of Labour Film Shorts at a local cinema. A lively discussion was also held on trade union journals and on the future of trade union access to mainstream news media. Delegates also provided feedback on revitalizing the IMF quarterly journal, Metal World. Delegates of IMF affiliates in 17 countries from every region around the world participated in the meeting, along with communication representatives from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' International (ICEM), Building Workers' International (BWI), International Transport workers Federation (ITF) and the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF).