TUC delegation to Tunisia, July 2007

TUC delegation to Tunisia

17 - 20 July 2007

Report of the visit

A TUC delegation visited Tunisia from 17-20 July at the invitation of the UGTT, the Tunisian national trade union centre. The FCO provided funding for the travel and arranged the programme with the UGTT and TUC.

The purpose of the visit was to cement relations between the UGTT and the TUC (following on the visit made by UGTT to the UK in January) and to discuss a possible twinning arrangement between the TUC Yorkshire and the Humber Region and the Ben Arous region in Tunisia and participating in a seminar for Tunisian and British business and union figures (and Tunisian civil servants) on responses to globalisation (e.g. lifelong learning, restructuring and corporate social responsibility).

The TUC delegation was led by Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the college and university lecturers' union (UCU) and international spokesperson for the TUC General Council. Also on the delegation were Bill Adams, Regional Secretary of the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Council of the TUC; Caroline Smith, Policy Officer covering learning and skills, and education policy, in the TUC's Organisation and Services Department; and Elena Crasta, Policy Officer in the TUC Brussels Office.

UGTT

The UGTT was founded in the 1920s and was the first trade union organisation under colonial rule. After its suppression by the colonial authorities, a second attempt at creating a union was made in 1946, coupling social struggle with the fight for independence. Once Tunisia became independent in 1956, the UGTT continued to clash with the government in its endeavours to gain political independence from the ruling party. A diversity of political currents, reflecting the views in the country, is still present within the organisation.

The UGTT has around 420,000 members, representing 25% of the workforce in the formal economy, with 25 regional offices and spread across 42 sectors. Within its structures, there are committees for women and for youth.

Among the UGTT priorities are a partnership with employers and government on vocational training; the reform of the welfare state; strengthening social dialogue (still very weak at present) and the on-going fight for decent work.

The UGTT is a long-time member of the ITUC and its predecessor the ICFTU and of the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions (ICATU).

Programme

The delegation was hosted by the UGTT, which organised bilateral discussions both at their head office in Tunis as well as the regional office in Ben Arous.

There, the TUC delegation also visited two factories (manufacturing car components and women's underwear respectively) and met with shop floor stewards and management representatives. The region hosts 60% of the Tunisian industrial base, with a 20% female participation rate and 45% union membership. The main sectors of activity are the metal, textile and chemical industry. Ben Arous has well established twinning arrangements with the Italian union CGIL dating back 10 years and the UGTT regional branch was keen to replicate the experience with the TUC Yorkshire and the Humber region.

Discussions with UGTT leaders centred on the history of their movement; on the common challenges facing the workforce worldwide and their struggle to improve working conditions and a better sharing of the opportunities offered by globalisation; on the impact of privatisation on the Tunisian economy as well as trade union membership (which remains high in the public sector and lags behind in the newly privatised state-owned companies). The TUC delegation in turn outlined the work being done in the Yorkshire and the Humber region as well as centrally, especially in the field of life long learning and the role of ULRs. A short meeting was also held with the general secretaries of the teaching unions in primary, secondary and higher education.

A reception at the British Embassy for Tunisian trade unionists and British companies operating in Tunisia was hosted by Ambassador Alan Goulty CMG, who regularly convenes meetings of the British Business Group - this was the first time the group had been addressed by a trade union delegation.

The British Embassy also organised a seminar on'Promoting partnership and social dialogue: improving workforce skills in order to enhance working conditions and increase competitiveness' with British and Tunisian trade unionists, businesses and civil servants. The TUC delegation gave presentations on social dialogue and the experience of industrial restructuring in the regions, corporate social responsibility and the role of unions in delivering training in partnership with employers and government.

Key outcomes

The visit led to the following key outcomes:

• a stronger link between the TUC and the UGTT, at a personal level and also organisationally - including, formally, a twinning agreement between Yorkshire and the Humber and Ben Arous regions. The actual agreement is still to be set up, but it was agreed in principle and will focus in particular on improving the capacity of women and youth. As a first step, representatives from Ben Arous are being invited to a TUC conference for young members and women representatives in England later in the year;
• a commitment to assist the UGTT in improving the negotiating skills of its representatives by sharing training material on how to deal with restructuring (material produced by the ETUC as part of an EU funded project, in which the TUC took part, already exists in French);
• the UGTT were keen to receive assistance in the follow up of a draft multi-annual strategy on training. The UGTT would like to draw on TUC experience in this area, as they were impressed with the statutory rights for ULRs. It was agreed to seek further cooperation on this area; and
• the Embassy has tentatively agreed to fund some English language training (through the British Council ) for 4-5 key UGTT representatives so that they can get more from participation in international fora and, of course, this will benefit dialogue with the TUC.