Anti-child labor projects increase union influence
Projects to combat child labor not only benefit students, but also open doors for trade unions, it appears AObresearch. The influence and membership of education unions are increasing as a result.
statue: AOb
De AOb has through Education International (EI), the international organization of education unions, conduct research into best practices of anti-child labor projects of various education unions in Mali, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Morocco and Nicaragua. The AOb has been involved in these and other anti-child labor projects for decades.
Stay away
“It all started in Morocco,” says AObChief Driver Trudy Kerperien. “Teachers were upset about having 30 students one time, then 15 students and a week later 45 students. Where are those children, they wondered. Child labor was the answer. Then we asked together the question of how we could tackle education so that children no longer stay away. The curriculum in Morocco is very fixed, and is rather focused on the cognitive. But within those frameworks it turned out to be possible to provide education in a different way so that pupils wanted to continue to go to school themselves. When teachers in Albania encountered the same problem, together with the education unions there, we translated the training courses that Moroccan teachers received into the Albanian situation. ”
Deputy director from Erussi, Uganda: 'The projects have changed my life'
The approach developed has since evolved with support from the AOb spread over about twelve countries. Teachers and union leaders of projects launched between 2003 and now have expanded in five countries interviewed. Many of them saw themselves as 'transferors of knowledge' before they had followed the training courses. Communication with students was one-sided. After the training, teachers in different countries reported that they felt better equipped and more comfortable in the classroom because they were able to engage their students better. This makes it easier to get and keep children in school. "The training has changed my life because of the things I didn't know before - about guidance, research and assessment," said a female deputy director from Erussi, Uganda.
Performance
"Two years ago, many children did not want to come to school," said a male head teacher from Fès, Morocco. 'Children behave differently now. Teachers have adapted their way of teaching and communicating with students and we are seeing a psychological development in students as a result. Academic performance is also going up. '
In Morocco and Albania, the projects have since been stopped, yet the effects still affect the classroom where teachers use the AOb/ EI training to share their knowledge with new colleagues.
The image of the trade union has changed and as a result trade union members are allowed to participate in more consultation tables
Bycatch
There is more by-catch: union leaders report that the anti-child labor projects have literally opened the doors to government agencies. Many administrative problems, such as the facilitation of obtaining birth certificates so that children can be registered for school, have been solved by the focus in the region on child labor. The same is true of union-related problems such as non-payment of salaries or inability to collect union dues. “The playing field has been expanded. In many countries unions have no say in the content of education. But the projects have goodwill created, the image of the union has been tilted and as a result union members are allowed to participate in more consultation tables, ”says Kerperien who joined the AOb deals with international trade union work.
Union membership
The anti-child labor projects have led the trade unions to have more discussions with government agencies. Interest in the union membership of teachers has also increased as a result of the projects. In some cases by 40 percent.
It pays to talk about combating school dropout first
Kerperien: “This teaches us that if you want to talk about the working conditions of teaching staff, it pays to first talk about preventing school dropout. Kerperien also hopes to benefit from this research in contacts with Western trade unions. “Many unions think that a subject like child labor does not belong to the union. This research shows that trade unions are gaining a foothold by promoting children's rights and that these types of projects therefore belong in the trade union. ”
Read the research EGG/AOb Child Labor Projects: Transnational best practices and union impacts
