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17 June, 2010At a workshop on communications and networking, metalworking trade unions in India examine how to strengthen communication capacity in the country.
INDIA: Meeting in Chennai a group of communication and trade union leaders from the metal sector held a workshop to discuss how to improve union communication and networks.
Participants identified that achieving two way communication with workers through existing methods and developing new communication technologies will be essential to build membership and campaign on issues important to metalworkers.
Through group work and discussion a number of ideas were identified including the need to train union leadership and members on how to use new technologies to enable greater sharing of information on trade union successes and struggles. An example of establishing a community centre that provided workers and their families with access to information technology training was seen as a positive example that unions could adopt. The power of study circles as a way to develop union communication and networks was also noted.
The meeting discussed the importance of using communication to bring the unorganised and unprotected workers into the union. Embracing new technologies for communication may also be a way for unions to bridge the generation gap and bring in young people to the trade union movement.
Affiliates participating in the workshop learnt about IMF communication channels, how to find out information and how to feed in information
The IMF National Workshop on Communications and Networking takes place in Chennai on June 17 and 18, 2010.