Economic change in Estonia: The importance of workers' education
By: Tiia Kask, Avatud Hariduse Liit (AHL), Estonia

Estonian society has been transformed. A market economy has been introduced and there is a process of economic integration towards becoming part of the European Union. This process has influenced all parts of the society including culture, education and health care. These vast changes have transformed the position of labour. In particular, privatisation and the reorganising and transfer of enterprises have impacted significantly on workers.

In the past few years, privatisation has been introduced in almost every important part of the economy. Most of the former state owned enterprises have been privatised. Some of them had already gone bankrupt. Expansion has become a very important strategy of those businesses which have survived for more than three years in this new competitive market. Companies geared towards exports are being promoted. Exports are seen to be key to Estonia's future survival. The capacity of the local economy is only 1,5 million people, which means that companies fight for market-share within the limited borders of the country.

The European Union has accepted Estonia as part of the first group of Eastern and Central European countries to gain entry. Many enterprises, in the private as well as public sector, are considered to have reached a high standard in terms of technology, services and working conditions. However, this is not the full picture. Many rural areas and regions outside the capital are not developing as fast. They have a number of unemployed people. Worker's legal rights and conditions at the workplace are a step behind the development of companies. These have to change because of the state policy to join the European Union as soon as possible. The big changes in the economy has meant that the status of employees has also changed. There are new contracts and laws for workers depending on their sector. The weakest part is still the social security system of the country.

The new market economy has brought two unprecedented phenomena: unemployment and competition. Workers were not ready for these changes and feel helpless and insecure. They do not understand the fast changing economic and political processes. Estonian legislation is also not known to many working people. They lack knowledge about labour and employment rights. Workers do not feel confident to protect their independent interests.

In this situation, workers' education has a very important role. The main tasks of the education organisations and trade unions should be to give people social support, encourage them to be active, and help them understand the surrounding world as well as their own life. The role of trade union education specifically should be to raise the awareness of workers in the field of workers' rights and labour legislation. This is important so that workers can understand their individual place in our market economy. It will prepare them to stand up for their rights on the basis of Estonian legislation.

Contact Tiia Kask at: AHL, Varsaallika 47, Tallinn EE0020, Estonia; +372-2-237196 (phone and fax); ahl@ngonet.ee (e-mail).

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