Follow up working group meeting for KSSH (Albania) on: “Trade Union Education Strategy and Planning”, Tirana, January 16, 2009

The working group meeting on: “Trade Union Education Strategy and Planning for KSSH” was organised as a follow up of the “Evaluation of Trade Union Education”* (ETUE) joint ILO-ITUC/PERC/ KSSH project and of the Strategic Workshop that took place in March 2008 and that formulated recommendations for the future. In the meantime the KSSH made decisions on its future Trade Union education policy and structures, asking the ITUC and ILO for a follow up meeting. The working group meeting was held on 16 of January 2009, in the Trade Union Center for Training and Qualification, in Tirana.

The objectives of the working group meeting were to (1) discuss the orientations defined by the KSSH Education Council document “System of education in KSSSH” of October 2008, (2) to define general orientations for KSSH education strategy, (3) to define the objectives and general orientations for KSSH education programme for 2009-2010, (4) to identify the capacities that KSSH needs to implement in its strategy and programmes and (5) to discuss how these capacities can be found (inside the organisation) or established (through external cooperation).

The working group meeting gathered ten participants who were actively involved in the preparation of the document “System of Education in KSSH”, among them the KSSH president and Vice president, leaders of the Teachers TU, TU of Health and TU of Textile and Handicraft, researcher and technical secretary of the Education Council, TU educators and representative of the Women and Youth forums, the director of the TU Center for Training and Qualification and the international department.

The working meeting was chaired by Mr. Xhafer Dobrushi , Vice president of KSSH. The ITUC – ILO team was represented by Mr. Hubert Cambier, ITUC and ILO expert who was one of the key speaker and Mr. Jasmin Redzepovic, ITUC PERC SEE Office – Sarajevo. The meeting agenda included: (1) the presentation of the work done by KSSH since the Strategic Workshop and of the document “System of education in KSSSH” and of the education programmes and orientations of the KSSH professional federations (2) presentation of the education programmes and orientations of the KSSH women and youth structures, (3) presentation of the education programme and orientations for 2009/2010 of the TU Centre for Training and Qualification, former LITUSA, (4) main elements of an education strategy, (5) discussion on the role of political and educational objectives of KSSH for 2009-2010, (6) role of the professional federations, of the regional structures, of the women and youth structures and of the TU Center for Training and Qualification (7) the place of education on the process of reforms of KSSH and (8) the role of external cooperation and the importance of building cooperation inside Albania.

After the presentation of the main political and education priorities of the KSSH, which are: (1) recruitment of new members, (2) the access of TU leaders to high level education, (3) active involvement of young and women workers into the Trade Union work (4) defense of workers rights and development of social dialogue (5) and EU integration of Albania, the participants were informed about the recent KSSH decisions on the consolidation of its education policy and structures, the creation of the KSSH Education Council and Technical Board for education and the new status and role of the TU Center for Training and Qualification, former LITUSA. The technical secretary of the Education Council gave a presentation of the education plan for 2009. Presentations on the role of the Women’s and Youth structures in the federations and the confederation and the different education activities were also made. The new status of the Center for Training and Qualification and the new status of its autonomy should open new possibilities of cooperation and partnerships with different organizations, universities and institutions for the benefit of the entire workers movement in Albania.

Mr. Hubert Cambier explained the concept of “Plan for Action”, linking the TU education with the priorities of the organizations, closely planed, evaluated and monitored by the trade union leadership and persons responsible for the trade union education which was intensively discussed. He presented different models of education strategies: centralized one, decentralized model, built on the professional federations and the decentralized model, built on the territorial structures. Following the presentations the participants discussed the various models and stressed that the KSSH education strategy has to be linked with the division of responsibilities between the federations, confederation and the regional structures that are currently under discussion in the context of the KSSH Congress preparations.

The working group participants expressed great satisfaction about the ETUE project and the outcomes of the working group discussion, which will be continued in the frame of the regional activities in SEE and at the national level in Albania. It was agreed that the ITUC and ILO will explore possibilities to provide technical assistance to the KSSH in its efforts to develop and implement its trade union education strategy, in cooperation with other solidarity support organizations.

The activity was co-funded by the LO-TCO and the ILO

/PERC SEE Office

*

The ILO and ITUC PERC initiated the project “Evaluation of Trade Union Education”, which is a part of the ITUC general strategy whose orientations have been defined during the CEETUC conference in November 2005 and the PERC Program orientations, adopted by the PERC Assembly, held in March 2007, reaffirming the importance of education as a basis for trade union action. The BSPSH joined the project in May 2007.

In the frame of the project an evaluation report on trade union education of KSSH was prepared that included all information collected by a questionnaire and trough interviews with the leaders, activists, trainers, as well as, information provided and discussed during the strategic workshop with KSSH that was held in March 2008. Same text as in the BSPSH article –could be deleted