Why? Trade unionists throughout the world are organising and fighting hard to defend workers\u2019 livelihoods and rights against an unprecedented attack from financial markets, corporations and governments, in the context of economic, ecological and political crisis. There are some causes for optimism \u2013 a new international agenda for strong industrial organisation, evidence of increasing corporate vulnerability to well-organised and targeted campaigns, and a new generation of activists emerging from movements for democracy and climate justice.<\/p>\n
Yet there is a political vacuum. Union members want an international political alternative to neo-liberalism and corporate capitalism, but little emerges beyond rhetoric. Many of the formal institutions of the international labour movement have retreated into a bland lowest common denominator of politics, shy of even basic principles of social democracy, let alone any mention of democratic socialism. Yet this is the time when radical political solutions are required, a new sense of political direction for the international trade union movement.<\/p>\n
Hence the idea of a political summer school \u2013 an opportunity to debate and question what are, and what should be, the politics of the international trade union movement.<\/p>\n
Aim: To stimulate discussion on democratic socialism, radical democracy, and the political agenda of the international trade union movement, in the context of the global economy, of the general attack on the labour movement, financial crises and environmental destruction.<\/p>\n
Venue: <\/strong>Northern College, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK (one hour by road from Manchester airport).<\/p>\n Participants:<\/strong> Trade union activists, labour movement researchers and educators. Perhaps 50-80 people in total, including 15-25 from the UK unions, the remainder from overseas \u2013 all dependent on funding, of course. Strong emphasis on attracting younger participants. Strict gender balance (as near as possible to 50:50)<\/p>\n Approach and Methodology<\/strong>: The school will be delivered through a mixture of participatory debates and discussions, interspersed with high quality stimulating and provocative interventions from speakers and presenters from a wide range of labour movement political perspectives.<\/p>\n Regrettably, the school will be in English only, unless substantial funds are raised to enable some simultaneous interpretation.<\/p>\n Programme:<\/strong> The summer school will include a rich and varied programme of discussion over four days (Monday lunchtime to Friday lunchtime).<\/p>\n Main themes will include:<\/p>\n The Big Picture<\/em> Global Unions \u2013 Global Politics<\/em> Unions, Freedom & Democracy<\/em> Emergency Exit<\/em> Conclusions and Next Steps<\/em> GLI International Summer School 9-13 July 2012<\/em> Why? Trade unionists throughout the world are organising and fighting hard to defend workers\u2019 livelihoods and rights against an unprecedented attack from financial markets, corporations and governments, in the context of economic, ecological and political crisis. There are some causes for optimism \u2013 a new international agenda for strong industrial organisation, evidence of increasing corporate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[94],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":961,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-labour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHow did we arrive here? 100 years of democratic socialism in the trade union movement, and now this\u2026
\nThe new capitalism \u2013 financialisation, the banks and the state
\nThe Fall and Rise of Labour: What will the international labour movement look like in 2020?<\/p>\n
\nThe political challenge for global unions
\nPrecarious and informal work \u2013 the politics of the \u201cprecariat\u201d
\nInternational democracy and rank & file participation<\/p>\n
\nChina \u2013 Has the international democratic trade union movement lost the plot?
\nUnions in the Arab Spring
\nRecapturing labour democracy? Unions in Eastern Europe
\nUnions & social movements for political and economic democracy<\/p>\n
\nWhat do we do with the global corporations?
\nPublic Services \u2013 Public Ownership
\nFacing finance capital
\nGoing Green \u2013 unions, climate change, green jobs and a post-carbon economy
\nPolitical education in trade unions \u2013 time for a new wave?
\nProspects for a new political agenda for the international trade union movement<\/p>\n
\nOpportunities for political refreshment
\nReflections conclusions and proposals<\/p>\n
\n
\nParticipating Global Union Federations:<\/em>
\nInternational Union of Foodworkers
\nInternational Transport workers Federation
\nBuilding & Woodworkers\u2019 International<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"