Globalisation and Trade Union Education

Andrew Harvey, education officer of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) in Britain, discusses the integration of global issues into trade union education.

No concept has exercised the minds of politicians and academics more than globalisation. This is as true amongst trade unionists as amongst others. Indeed it might be said that the response of trade unionists has been lagging behind more swift of foot organisations, which have made use of the Internet and mobile technology to organise activities against corporate globalisation as witnessed at Seattle and elsewhere.

In a recent speech in Britain, Professor Andy Green made three observations about globalisation: “Firstly globalisation is a reality – albeit a complex one – and it is here to stay.

Secondly, its effects are varied – neither all good nor all bad; and thirdly, its forms are neither unitary nor pre-determined. How globalisation transforms our world depends on us. History takes many twists and turns and it would be a fool who says that the path of globalisation is set.”  (The Learning Society and the Knowledge Economy, NACETT, 2001)

Perhaps the most encouraging of these points is that the course of globalisation is not necessarily set but can be influenced and guided by us all. It goes without saying that the forces of corporate globalisation, the so-called, MacWorld are strong and powerful. They bring in their wake huge benefits in terms of increased wealth and consumption, especially in the Western world, but also provide employment opportunities in developing countries. As has often been pointed out, there is only one thing worse than being exploited by a multinational and that is not being exploited by one! 

This last point may appear slightly cynical and many readers of this journal may feel that the forces of corporate globalisation can be tamed and that local actors can reap a greater reward from its effects than intimated here. However, it is worth pointing out that in development terms the poorest countries are overwhelmingly where corporate globalisation has barely made any impact.

The downside of this corporate globalisation has also been well documented. Environmental damage. Worker exploitation. Cultural hegemony. The ability of multinationals to move capital and plants at short notice, often decimating the communities they leave in their wake. These negative consequences are driven primarily by the engine of capitalism – shareholder value. The consequence has been a growing and glaring inequality of distribution of the huge wealth that has been created, exacerbated by speculative currency transactions that leave national banks and governments as bit players in the global market. The great danger here is that belief in the ability of democratic institutions to protect citizens and to direct these forces to the benefit of ordinary people is undermined and weakened.

So, what role can trade union educators play to help shape these powerful global forces?

The GFTU has recently started a process of integrating issues of globalisation into its core trade union education programme. For instance, in a course “Dealing with Redundancy” the causes of job loss are examined. It helps workers to understand that often a decision to make a thousand British textile workers redundant, as happened recently at Coats Viyella, is due to retail price competition and the ability of manufacturers to outsource production to another country where wage costs are much lower. It also raises questions about the ability of large international retailers to squeeze manufacturing prices in this way. From that understanding can arise the beginnings of strategies to combat these problems at national, regional and global levels.

The GFTU recognises that if trade unions are to have an ability to influence the future direction of globalisation. then trade union education needs to address the issues. The GFTU proposes to host a major IFWEA international conference of trade union affiliates in the summer of 2002. IFWEA is unique in its ability to be able to draw together actors in the field of trade union education on a truly international scale. This conference will seek to harness that ability in a practical way.

The focus of the conference is not to discuss what we mean by globalisation as that has been documented many times elsewhere, not least at the IFWEA General Conference in Helsinki last August. It is to examine issues of trade union education and to share best practice in the teaching and learning of globalisation in a trade union education context. We look forward to welcoming you to the conference next year.

Contact Andrew Harvey at: GFTU, Central House, Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0HY, Britain; +44-20-73872578 (phone); +44-20-73830820 (fax); andrew@gftu.org.uk (email).

email to IFWEA Journal: alana.dave@mcr1.poptel.org.uk