Research help for trade unions
REGIONAL TRADE union leaders will meet in Jamaica, starting tomorrow, for a five-day workshop designed to increase their efficiency in a changing world.
The Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute will be hosting the workshop dubbed ‘Strengthening Trade Unions’ understanding and application of Research Methodology’.
The workshop is part of a European Union-funded project that focuses on reinforcing the human and institutional capacity of Caribbean Employers Confederation, including activities with the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, and the Caribbean Congress of Labour.
It is designed to contribute to the effective implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, which was signed in 2008.
Under the Caribbean Congress of Labour component, the five-day workshop will help
Roberts building the capacity of trade union leaders to play a more effective role in regional policy development, said Danny Roberts, head of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute.
“Regional unions are very short on research capability, and this workshop should help to reduce the adversarial approach of some trade union leaders as they will be able to take into account the econometrics and social conditions they need to consider when making demands on employers,” added Roberts.
He noted that the workshop is aimed at strengthening the research and analytical capabilities of regional trade union leaders to play a meaningful role in advocating for evidence-based policymaking, as well as in contributing to the development of sound economic policy positions at the national and regional levels.
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
More than 30 leaders from trade union organisations across the region will participate in the workshop, and Roberts said they are expected to come away with a better understanding of the research process, how to conduct research using different methods and tools, a better understanding of the quantitative and qualitative data and how to include gender into their research and to ensure that gender disaggregated data are collected.
The workshop will be executed by the International Labour Organisation-Caribbean office.