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EI
monthly monitor
Vol
7 N°3 January - February 2000
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| FOURTEENTH EI EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING |
Members’ involvement key to successful EI activities
In his presentation of the March 1999-January 2000 Progress Report, General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen stressed three main areas: the economy (the on-going debate on rules for globalisation), education, and support for members in difficult circumstances.
The 22 members of the EI Executive Board present indicated their satisfaction and full support of Education International’s current campaigns in the framework of the 1999-2001 Working Program. This commitment reflects the confirmed involvement of numerous national unions in the 3-8 April 2000 Global Action Week, a strategic moment in the Global Campaign for Education launched in October 1999 by EI and other NGOs from around the world. EI’s latest contribution (now available on the Internet) to the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World was enthusiastically praised by the Executive.
With exactly 18 months to go before the next Education International Congress, the 25-27 January 2000 Executive Board meeting confirmed Kathmandu (Nepal) as the venue for the July 2001 (Shrawan 2058 in the Nepali calendar) third World Congress. The Board members reviewed related items such as procedures for roll call votes and a new system for granting Congress assistance; the new formula adopted, with allocations based on a country’s Gross National Product, derives from a consultation with member organisations during 1999.
The Board examined requests for affiliation and granted membership to the Educational Workers Trade Union of Georgia (EWTUG, Georgia) and the Trade Union Federation of Education and Science of Albania (FSASH, Albania), bringing the number of EI affiliates to 296 unions with some 24 million members in 153 countries and territories. Welcome to our new European colleagues.
Juan Somavía, new Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), met with the EI Executive Board in Brussels on 25 January 2000.
In other agenda items, members of the Board approved resolutions on human rights in Chechnya and on the spread of AIDS (sent to EI members), agreed on a members’ consultation on ‘Public education in the third millennium’, approved recommendations from the Status of Women Committee and dealt with financial matters such as accounts, the revised budget and use of EI’s Solidarity Fund.
The EI Officers will meet again on 6 and 7 June 2000 and before the
next Executive Board meeting at the end of October 2000.
| REGIONS |
Europe
EI/Europe Regional Committee
The EI European Regional Committee met in Brussels on 13 December 1999 (prior to the ETUCE Executive Board), with the President, Lars-Erik Klason, in the chair. The Committee approved a document setting detailed and specific equality and rights targets for work by European affiliates, covering subjects such as ILO Conventions, child labour and the problems of the ‘accession countries’. There was strong support for the Global Campaign for Education, and the importance of the 3-8 April 2000 Global Action Week for Education was emphasised (see previous issues of the Monitor).
The EI/E Committee called for a peaceful solution
to the tragic Chechnya dispute and demanded respect for the human rights
and welfare of civilians and, in particular, children. The members supported
the unions in England and Wales seeking restoration of bargaining rights
and insisted that any system of performance-related pay should be the subject
of negotiation and agreement. Next meeting: May 2000 (to be confirmed).
Baltic Sea Conference of Education International on Quality Public Education
EI member unions from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia have been invited to attend the fifth EI Baltic Sea Conference. The three-day event hosted by OAJ (Finland) will take place from 25 to 27 April 2000 aboard the Helsinki-Stockholm ferry m/s Silja Symphony and in the Finnish capital.
In the framework of EI’s campaign on Quality Public
Education for All, the programme addresses a wide range of topics (to be
debated in English and Russian) and broad issues such as: A Better Future
for All - Equal Opportunities by Public Education and Between Social Welfare
State and Neoliberal Privatization: Public Funding of Education under Scrutiny.
Regional questions such as EU membership, the development of the Baltic
Sea Region through education & research, and Baltic trade unions’ cooperation
are on the agenda. During the 26 April stopover in Stockholm (birthplace
of Education International in 1993), EI’s Swedish affiliates will offer
a reception and a bus tour of the magnificent old town.
Quality public education for all in Central and Eastern Europe: what to do?
Some 50 trade unionists from Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, FYR of Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia met from 6 to 8 December 1999 in Bratislava (Slovakia) for the sixth annual EI Central and Eastern Europe round table on education. On the theme For a quality public education for all in an integrated Europe, the participants discussed illiteracy, minorities, the needs of young people, reforms, teacher training, evaluation, lifelong learning, the concepts of quality and public services, and the on-going Global Campaign for Education.
In the context of increasing emphasis on the privatisation
of public services, EI’s initiatives in the follow-up to the 1998 Congress
resolution on ‘defending and promoting public education’ were welcomed
by the unions’ representatives. The participants declared their support
for the continuous improvement of the quality of education, and expressed
their worries about the impact of economic difficulties facing the countries
concerned. The discussions led to concrete proposals on the Global Action
Week for Education (3 to 8 April 2000) to promote free, publicly-funded
and democratically-administered education for all children without discrimination.
First meeting for EI members in the Mediterranean region
In view of the wish expressed by numerous EI affiliates
in the region, a first Mediterranean meeting is planned to take place in
the last quarter of 2000 in Marseille (France). Participants from countries
bordering the Mediterranean Sea will be invited to discuss Changes in the
Mediterranean Society and New Challenges for Schools. The meeting to be
hosted by French teacher unions FEN, FSU and SGEN-CFDT will feature a round
table with experts from different countries (Spain, Turkey, Morocco, France),
commissions, debates, speakers from international organisations such as
the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the European Trade Union Confederation
(ETUC) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). In the final session,
participants will be invited to answer the question Will globalisation
allow us to have one or several Mediterranean identities? and to examine
actions and common priorities for the region. Arabic, English, French and
Spanish will be offered as working languages.
North America & Caribbean
Activities and developments in the Caribbean
A Caribbean Round Table was scheduled for 24-27 February 2000 in Roseau (Dominica) with a focus on Globalisation: implications for education in small developing states. The North America & Caribbean Conference will take place from 15 to 19 November 2000 in Grenada, with the theme School Reform in the 21st Century. The meetings were planned by a committee composed of representatives of EI, NEA (USA), CTF (Canada), JTA (Jamaica) and the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT). Education International and CUT have now established formal relations, as agreed by the 3-4 December 1999 meeting of the CUT Executive. The two bodies will manage joint programmes and representation of member organisations at the regional and international level.
A recent increase in activities for women teachers was reported in the
region with a training session attended by participants from nine teachers
unions on 17-21 May 1999 in St. Lucia with follow-up activities to be coordinated,
a first Status of Women Conference prior to the CUT’s biennial Conference
last August in Barbados (violence in schools was discussed), and the creation
of a CUT standing committee on the status of women.
| EDUCATION |
Regional Consultations of NGOs on Education for All call for urgent action
Despite concerted efforts made by many governments to fulfill the promises of Jomtien, Africa -caught in a vicious circle of poverty, indebtedness, corruption and mismanagement of the resources and institutions of the state-, remains the least educated continent. Meeting in Johannesburg (South Africa) on 4 December 1999 for a regional consultation of the Education for All Forum, NGOs also blamed globalisation, structural adjustment programmes, progressive disengagement by governments, privatisation and armed conflicts for the present state of crisis in education. Unless urgent action is taken, the 2015 EFA goals will remain out of range for Africans, warns the declaration adopted by the non-governmental organisations present, including representatives of Education International. The NGOs described their vision of sustainable education, urged partnerships for collective action, proposed a minimum of 7% of GDP to finance education and called on partner countries to increase their aid to at least 0.7% of their GNP, the UN agreed target.
The Asia-Pacific Conference on Education for All 2000 Assessment, in Bangkok (Thailand), 17-20 January 2000 noted with grave concern that girl children accounted for almost two-thirds of children not in school and urged proper and upgraded schooling for girl children in the region, newspapers reported. The focus was on the progress made within a decade in the Asian and Pacific countries after their commitment to the Convention on the Rights of Child and the Education for All (EFA) Declaration in 1990, stating that all children have the right to relevant, basic education of good quality. However, the Conference found many children continued to be excluded from the education system. Arguing that South Asia was the most 'gender insensitive' region, a UNICEF spokesman suggested strategies to get more girls into schools, such as campaigns at the national level, increasing the number of female teachers, and emphasizing women's roles.
Other ‘pre-Dakar’ consultations were scheduled for 24-27 January for
the Arab States and North Africa, 1-3 February for Latin America and the
Caribbean, and 6-8 February for Europe and North America. This meeting
worked on preparing a European viewpoint for the Dakar meeting and on ways
of improving education in Europe, with an accent on Eastern and Central
Europe. More information on these consultations is available on http://www2.unesco.org/wef/
| WOMEN |
Gender issues reviewed by EI’s Status of Women Committee
Meeting for the second time under the new structure adopted by the 1998 Congress, the EI Status of Women Committee -now composed of the 12 women members of the Executive Board- studied several questions and forwarded recommendations to the 25-27 January 2000 meeting (see cover page).
The Committee, chaired by Jan Eastman, proposed collecting data in preparation for a two-year programme on gender issues in Central and Eastern Europe, reiterated an appeal urging members to monitor the revision of the ILO Convention 103 on Maternity Protection (a poster has been sent to affiliates), and reaffirmed EI’s commitment to participate in the 44th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March 2000, the Special Session of the UN General Assembly to review the implementation of the Beijing Platform (5-9 June 2000 in New York), and in the World March of Women (October 2000).
Work will continue on studying the feminisation of the teaching profession, gender projects, the education of girls and work will be developed on issues such as health (in particular HIV/AIDS) and social security, young women teachers, and mainstreaming of a gender perspective in all EI activities. The education of the girl child remains the priority for action. It was also recommended that round tables for women continue to be associated with regional conferences to facilitate and maximize the participation of women and also that consideration be given to including training in how to lobby effectively.
A questionnaire on the status of women in education will be mailed to
EI affiliates in March 2000 with replies requested by June. The report
to the third World Congress will be based on the information provided in
the responses received.
| SECRETARIAT |
The International Trade Secretariats (ITS) and the future of the trade union movement
The annual ITS General Conference held 12-14 January 2000 in Berlin (Germany) debated the future of the trade union movement. Participants included the ITSs, the ICFTU and TUAC (Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD). The debate started by an introduction from the ICFTU’s Millennium Committee by General Secretary Bill Jordan and an exchange of views with the host German unions.
The report of that committee will be a major item at the ICFTU’s 17th
World Congress 3-7 April 2000 in Durban (South Africa). The issues highlighted
during the debate were: new challenges -both opportunities and threats-
arising from political, technological, organisational changes, social concerns
and relations with governments and international institutions, precarious
employment, new services expected from unions, such as negotiating access
to lifelong learning, greater cultural diversity and gender equality in
trade union leadership, effective solidarity and mobilisation at all levels.
All of this may require a review of existing structures and operations
and the use of new information technologies to develop networks linking
members at the base. The topic of future strategies was on the agenda of
the 13th EI Executive Board in March 1999.
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ICFTU-ITS delegation meets UN Secretary-General In other ITS-related news, General Secretaries Bill Jordan (ICFTU),
Fred van Leeuwen (EI), Neil Kearney (ITGLWF) and Ron Oswald (IUF) met United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York on 20 January 2000 to
discuss the UN’s Global Compact. The Global Compact calls on business to
respect nine universal, international standards in the areas of human rights,
the environment and labour standards. The meeting confirmed the need for
global rules to regulate global markets. Trade unionists aim to enable
the benefits of globalisation increasingly to spread to all people through
social dialogue and partnerships. More information about the Global Compact
at: http://www.icftu.org/english/tncs/glcindex.html
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| HUMAN & TRADE UNION RIGHTS |
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Take a minute to send a word of support to Dr Taye Woldesemayate Among the scores of greeting cards received lately by Education International, one from Ethiopia carried a particularly touching and inspiring message: “I thank you for everything you have done to support me and my family. Without your moral and material support things would have been difficult. I would like to assure you that I always protect my self-esteem and health with all possible ways. Keep the solidarity force energetic as ever. Teachers have to unify their forces. Thanks again for everything. Give my regards to everyone both at the headquarters and regional level. I wish you the best of Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Sincerely yours, Taye Woldesemayate.” Detained since 29 May 1996, the trade unionist was sentenced on 10 June 1999 to 15 years of imprisonment for alleged conspiracy to overthrow the State. Other leaders and members of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Union (ETA) have been dismissed, harassed and jailed by the dozen. According to eye-witness reports received by Amnesty International, Deputy Secretary General Assefa Maru was assassinated without warning by police in Addis Ababa as he walked to work on 8 May 1997. Woldesemayate and Maru (posthumously) received the EI Human Rights Award in 1998, and Dr Taye was also named ‘Man of the Year’ by the Magazine Ethiopian Review. EI and its affiliates have given constant moral, humanitarian and legal support to our Ethiopian colleagues. It is most important, as Taye’s message clearly shows, that we continue our action. Why not take a minute today to send a word back to Dr Taye Woldesemayate c/o Prisons Office,
A new Human Rights Campaign to support prisoner of conscience Taye Woldesemayat was launched on 16 January 2000 by his fellow alumni from Illinois State University (USA). Details of the FreeTaye Campaign can be found on http://www.freetaye.com , with plenty of information on our ETA colleague, sample letters (in English and French) ready to be sent to Ethiopian officials, a message for Dr Woldesemayat in his Addis Ababa prison, and links to EI’s and AI’s website sections dedicated to Dr. Taye. For further information contact: FreeTaye,
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Workers’ pensions and global capital markets: guidelines to be prepared
A meeting on pensions and global capital markets held on 4 November 1999 in Stockholm (Sweden) was attended by over 60 representatives from trade union Confederations in 17 countries, together with ICFTU, TUAC/OECD and six ITSs including Education International.
The participants reviewed and commented the work of a task force, known as the Practitioners Group, which had undertaken the “mapping” study and prepared the conference. Their work was based on an assumption of the need for strong state underpinning of pension provision, whatever the method of financing in an individual country. Huge sums of workers’ money around the world are, however, invested in real funds. Workers and their representatives have some influence (usually small) in certain funds, no influence in others. “Our” money is often being invested in enterprises providing low labour standards. Another central fact was that populations were ageing -the so-called ‘time bomb’-, with dangerous possibilities for all types of pension provision, but, obviously there are special dangers for pay-as-you-go/taxation-based systems.
The conference gave a first opportunity to highlight a wide range of
views on several multi-faceted issues and likely future difficulties. ICFTU’s
Bill Jordan summed up, noting that many state pension schemes are running
into difficulty and that pensions must be protected. Jordan added that
attention must be given to pension fund money being (wrongly) used to provide
redundancy pay. An ICFTU/ITS/TUAC committee should be formed shortly with
a mandate to focus on: the continuation of the mapping study; investment
policy, governance and structures; guidelines for the investment of workers’
capital. More details in the March 2000 EI Magazine.
| INTERNATIONAL |
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Democratic Societies: Living and Learning Together II planned for November 2000 Member unions are invited to take part in an EI international conference on racism, antisemitism and xenophobia to be held from 12 to 15 in November 2000 in Tel Aviv (Israel). The 3 ½-day program will focus on educational issues with presentations by keynote speakers, a variety of panels, group discussions and workshops moderated by EI members reporting on their experiences as teachers and trade unionists. The agenda comprises a walking tour of religious and historical sites in Jerusalem. English, French and Spanish will be the working languages. Some 150 to 200 participants (including students) are expected to attend this event sponsored in part by the National Education Association (NEA, USA) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES, Germany). A first conference on ‘Democratic Societies: Living and Learning Together’ organised for Central and Eastern Europe affiliates was held in Slovenia in 1997 (see Monitor Vol 5 No 2). Don’t forget to send your registration to the secretariat in due time. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva is preparing a World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to be held in 2001. |
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| BITS AND BYTES |