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Pragmatism is the key to GLF’s style of
functioning. Keeping in view the varied
composition and background of participants,
the educational and training programmes
designed by GLF is flexible enough to
accommodate workers’ interest and knowledge
base. To facilitate and strengthen its
advocacy for workers rights, GLF’s modus
operandi exhibits a multipronged approach
that addresses workers at various levels –
industry/local area, regional and national
level
The innovative
techniques/methods employed to reach out to
the workers may include specialised
programmes leading to enhancement of
specific skills, whether they are on
unionism, negotiation techniques, wage
determination, productivity improvement,
cordial industrial relations, occupational
safety & health and environment or women
empowerment.
An important
arena is the introduction of Women’s
Development Center (WDCs) which engages in
functional literacy, family welfare
programmes, civic education and in such
skills and craft training as handlooms,
species grinding, envelop-making and
handicrafts. The WDCs target, apart from the
women workers, other women in the workers’
family.
Prior to GLF
becoming operational in April, 2001, all
educational and training programmes were
conducted under the banner of IMME, the
forerunner of GLF. A quantitative review is
not necessarily indicative of qualitative
outputs; nevertheless, a quick glance at the
following figures reflect the increasing
trend in the number of programmes as well as
participants.
The momentum generated
by IMME has been continued by GLF with equal
vigour.
The study kit
generally highly appreciated enables the
participants to engage in discussions and
deliberations with a sense of direction and
purpose. It also leaves participants well
grounded with the theoretical aspects of
trade unionism. As one of the workers at a
workshop organised by GLF said, “Here we
learn not only what we can do but also what
we ought to do to make trade unions play a
positive role keeping in mind both the
workers’, managements’ and society’s
interests.”
The teaching
methods range from class room teachings and
lectures by Institute staff, resource
persons with expertise in various fields of
trade union activity, panel discussions,
plenary sessions to the participatory
techniques such as group discussions, ,
organizing debates, enacting role-plays,
situation analysis followed by
brain-storming sessions, games, etc. The
conscious efforts are always on
communicating and sharing of experiences
rather than relying solely on a lecture.
Also it may be of interest to note that
participants at the end of any programme are
asked to evaluate it. Feedback from such an
evaluation allows us to innovate our
programmes and also highlight the positive
sides of the programme.
It
is not surprising to us when workers
sometimes question during a course the
efficacy of a small number of people
gathering together in a classroom teaching
on trade unionism. Many have doubted as to
how far the gainful insights at GLF will be
actually followed in reality. As they say,
participants are not the only ones outside;
they have to work in consonance with their
surroundings, often corrupted. True, but it
is only when the realisation dawns that each
worker is important whatever may be the
surroundings, the first battle is won. To
change oneself from within – one’s attitude
and orientation is one of the most difficult
task, pointing fingers at others the
easiest. When a worker leaves GLF’s training
programmes with a cheerful face, confidence
and the eagerness to get to work with a word
to us that henceforth they are the
messengers of GLF – to many, this may be a
very general way to measure success but for
us – IT IS A NEW BEGINNING.
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