SESSION ONE: NOTES FOR THE FACILITATOR

Points to bear in mind:

Session One aims to put the study circle members at ease with each other, familiarise them with the course and how an international study circle works, and reflect on what they hope will be achieved. The handbook for study circle facilitators will give you sufficient information to introduce the International Study Circle project. It is important that you give participants a sense of the course as a whole by going through the outline for each session.

This session also aims to look at workplace changes. This is a useful starting point as it gives participants the opportunity to consider their own experiences. Whilst many participants might be able to describe the changes which they have experienced, they might not feel confident to explain why these changes have taken place. Try and encourage participants to give any ideas which they might have. These will then be considered in more detail in Session Two.

Try and notes any recurring points in the discussion about workplace changes. You can arrange the changes which workers have experienced into several categories such as:

• new technology
• ownership of the company
• composition of the workforce
• management policy and attitudes
• work methods
• sourcing of inputs: equipment, raw materials and components

The additional reading for Session One is for those participants who express an interest in receiving more information on the topic of workplace changes. The additional reading is not part of the core material, and therefore should be used selectively.

Activities before Session Two:

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 SESSION TWO: NOTES FOR THE FACILITATOR

Points to bear in mind:

This session is intended to give participants a general introduction to globalisation by linking their experiences of workplace changes to global processes. Many participants would have heard of globalisation. It is important that you get participants to share what they already know, so that they can make the link between their daily experiences and global economic changes.

Given the limited period of time available, it is not possible to explore all the features of globalisation in each country. It would be useful though for you to encourage participants to think concretely about their own situations and recognise that:

• The movement of capital, technology and products across borders is increasing

• Production is becoming more and more globalised, with the manufacturing of components and their assembly taking place in many different countries

• The dominance of TNCs is evidence of the increasing globalisation of the world economy

• Through GATT, the power of governments to protect their industries is being stripped away

• Increasing power and control is concentrated in the hands of the IMF and World Bank. These institutions have imposed neo-liberal economic policies on many countries in Asia, including those which are in crisis.

• Workplace changes are often linked to the restructuring of the production process which has led to an increase in part-time, temporary work. Management has tried to increase the productivity and flexibility of workers.

• The crisis in the South-East Asian economies is linked to the process of globalisation

The reading on What is Globalisation also suggests that national governments have become less and less able to control their own economies. Try and encourage discussion on this point. Other people would argue that national governments themselves have become agents of neo-liberal globalisation, and have willingly conceded control of their own economies.

The additional reading for Session Two is for those participants who express an interest in receiving more information on the topic of globalisation. The additional reading is not part of the core material, and therefore should be used selectively.

Activities before Session Three:

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 SESSION THREE: NOTES FOR THE FACILITATOR

Points to bear in mind:

Although not much time has been allocated, it is very important to deal with the reports from other study circles. This will help participants see and understand the features of globalisation which are common to most countries. The reports should be treated as education materials from which the participants can learn.

This session shifts from a general focus on globalisation to a more specific look at the institutions which are the main representatives of global capital. It is not possible to deal with all the issues concerning TNCs and the IMF and World Bank. Participants should not be overloaded with too much information. Therefore the main intention is to highlight the main features of Structural Adjustment Programmes in each country and to demonstrate how increasingly TNCs and the international financial institutions (IMF/World Bank) are dictating national economic policies rather than elected governments. It would useful for you as a facilitator to have information about the foreign investment policies of your government, so that participants are aware of how governments attempt to attract TNC’s with incentives.

The additional reading for Session Three is for those participants who express an interest in receiving more information on the topic of TNCs. The additional reading is not part of the core material, and therefore should be used selectively.

Activities before Session Four:

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SESSION FOUR: NOTES FOR FACILITATOR

Points to bear in mind:

This session enables participants to discuss in more detail the effects of neo-liberal globalisation on workers and trade unions. It is important to establish that neo-liberal economic policies promote the interests of capital, whilst workers and the poor are its victims. Therefore globalisation is not politically neutral in the way that it is sometimes presented.

By looking at the effects of globalisation on workers, the participants in different countries will see the many problems which they have in common. Given their global dimension, these problems cannot simply be overcome at a local level. This provides the basis for building international links and solidarity.

The additional reading for Session Four is for those participants who express an interest in receiving more information on the effects of Structural Adjustment. The additional reading is not part of the core material, and therefore should be used selectively.

Activities before Session Five:

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 SESSION FIVE: NOTES FOR THE FACILITATOR

Points to bear in mind:

This session introduces case-studies of positive action in TNCs. It is extremely important the participants are not left with feelings of helplessness as a result of our stress on the power of TNCs and other institutions. We need to emphasise that workers are able to respond and effect change at different levels - local, national, regional and international. The course readings give examples of some of the different strategies which trade unions have adopted. Participants might want to mention other examples which they know of. This session can also be used to develop concrete ideas concerning links and solidarity between workers in Asia. Our main aim should be to build the confidence of workers to struggle and take action in the context of globalisation.

This session also attempts to develop a collective activity between the different study circles by asking what they would include in a list of guidelines for trade unions on how to strengthen organisation and recruit members in TNCs. This is a very concrete product which could emerge from this session, and proposals that participants could take back into their respective organisations.

The additional reading for Session Five is for those participants who express an interest in receiving more information on how trade unions are responding to globalisation. The additional reading is not part of the core material, and therefore should be used selectively.

Activities before Session Six:

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SESSION SIX: NOTES FOR THE FACILITATOR

Points to bear in mind:

This session should be used to help consolidate the main issues which have emerged in the course. The Action Plan provides the basis from which you can stimulate discussion on how trade unions should respond to globalisation, and alternatives to neo-liberal policies. It also provides the basis from which the participants can assess the responses of international labour organisations like the ICFTU in the region, and evaluate whether they go far enough in articulating workers’ interests.

It is important the you give participants sufficient time to evaluate the course. We need to know their views, and what was and was not useful. In particular, sufficient discussion should be held on how participants can take back what they have learnt into their trade unions. Emphasise that the learning process needs to continue with other workers in their workplaces and unions. It is also important to hear their proposals regarding how the links built between countries in the ISC can be continued, around what issues, with what resources etc.

The additional reading for Session Six is for those participants who express an interest in receiving more information on the Social Action Plan. The additional reading is not part of the core material, and therefore should be used selectively.

Final activities:

Email a national evaluation report of your study circle to TSL in Finland by end of May 1999. This report should include any proposals for further activities which might have emerged in Session Six.

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