Ramallah – On June 26th, 2010 the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center concluded a three day training course in the Rocky Hotel in Ramallah on advocacy and campaigning skills, in which 18 participants participated and were trained by Hasan Al-Bargouthi, DWRC’s general director and co-trainer Wajih Al-Ayassa. This activity forms part of an EU funded project for protecting trade union rights and uniting efforts to influence socio-economic policies.
The course addressed advocacy and campaigning skills based on practical exercises on how to launch a campaign for the implementation of a pension law for workers in the private and public sector. It also tackled the basic elements that must be available when planning for a campaign: defining the problem, preparing the campaign plan, SWOT analysis, selecting the objectives and mission of the campaign, determining opponents, beneficiaries and associates and how to use the media to expand the campaign. At the end of the course, an executive plan was prepared to identify various committees, including an advocacy and mobilizing committee, media committee, negotiations committee and financial committee; these committees will support the committee formed by DWRC in cooperation with the Federation of Independent Unions concerning the implementation of the pension law to the private and civil society sector workers.
Participants were divided into groups to perform the SWOT analysis, brainstorming and discussions on the practical example of how to launch a campaign to implement the pension law. During a collective discussion, they defined the importance of acquiring campaigning skills, saying that it will help in reducing the burden, achieving people’s rights, capacity development, advocacy and change, support and networking.
Sulafa Al-Qeisi, from Al-Zaka Hospital Employees’ Union said that she participated in order to know more about laws and regulations that concern workers, to convey to workers and colleagues what she has learnt and guide them to implement campaigns in workplaces and organizations in order to achieve the goals intended and workers’ rights.
Dr. Muhammad Al-Araj, head of the Ministry of Labor Employees’ Union indicated that he developed his skills in campaign management, stressing that this topic is important for all workers and that by knowing how to launch good campaigns in the right way, unions can achieve their goals through legal channels.
Tamam Tayeh, from Kindergarten Employees’ Union in Tulkarem, declared that she intended to participate in such a training course in order to enhance the situation of female workers in this sector by following legal procedures especially in managing pressure campaigns aiming at achieving concrete results for the workers in her sector.