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Trade union development

A tale of two unions: How public sector unions helped to unleash a surge of democratic reform in Egypt

15 March 2013
President of RETA during protest demanding a raise in Egypt's minimum wage, April 2010, photo by Hossam el-Hamalawy

During 2011, two independent unions in Egypt affiliated to PSI began participating in the activities of the PSI project “Campaigning for workers’ rights in Arab Countries” which took place between 2009 and 2011. Through this project, supported by affiliate IMPACT (of Ireland) in collaboration with FNV Mondiaal (a trade union solidarity support organisation from the Netherlands), PSI has been able to play a concrete role in affirming the emergence of a democratic and independent public sector labour movement in Egypt.

PSI Congress Resolutions

12 Mar 2013

Resolutions adopted at the 29th World Congress of Public Services International, held in Durban, South Africa, 27-30 November 2012. The resolutions are available in English, French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Japanese and Russian.

Public sector unions combating HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa

11 Mar 2013

Public Services International and UNISON, UK, held a three-year joint project in South Africa from 2008-2011. The project, to strengthen public sector trade union response to HIV and AIDS engaged 34 PSI affiliates in 11 countries in good practice sharing and implementation.

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Decent work for youth and nothing less! Southern Cone Youth Committees begin to mature

10 March 2013
PSI National Youth Committee of Chile, Santiago, 2012

The PSI /IMPACT-sponsored project “Young workers in southern cone: from a project to a union policy”, which took place from 2011-2013, helped to strengthen PSI Regional and National Youth Committees in numbers and representation.

Gender equality and equity: Flowing into the heart of Brazil’s unions

01 March 2013
PSI women’s coordination committee in Brazil - September 2012

The IMPACT/PSI project “Promoting pay equity in the public sector” ran from 2010-2012 covering all 27 of PSI’s affiliates in Brazil. Thanks to the project, sector-based national training workshops took place and participants developed action plans to take back to their unions. Enlarged PSI Women’s Committee meetings were held and a dedicated Facebook group set up. Gender equality became a prominent feature of many national conferences for PSI affiliates.

In the people's Interest

In the People's Interest

25 Nov 2012

A survey of achievements on IMPACT/PSI trade union development cooperation between 2008 and 2013.

IMPACT has supported PSI projects for many years through the Developing World fund, contributing to PSI trade union development and solidarity work in areas such as education, health and community development.

Recruitment and retractable syringes: SOLISCO-DRC rebuilds for its members and saves lives

25 February 2013
SOLISCO members, Kinshasa

The use of ordinary syringes carries inherent life-threatening risks of needle-stick injuries for health professionals, including exposure to hepatitis, HIV, and even Ebola. Building upon the strength of previous project successes, the IMPACT/PSI project “Sensitising and training nurses in the use of retractable syringes” which took place between 2010 and 2011 raised awareness, trained nurses and improved their OHS by introducing retractable syringes into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s health system. During the project, the union went from strength to strength with membership rising by 30% in three years.

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Unions in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa work for a new era of social dialogue on migration and health care systems

20 February 2013
Mobilisation for the launch of the South Africa "Migrant Desk" in Johannesburg, November 2012

As part of PSI’s Global Migration Programme, the IMPACT/PSI project ‘Women and International migration in the health sector’ has seeked to build Ghanaian, Kenyan and South African health and social care unions’ capacity to address members’ specific migration-related needs.

Unity of action drives social dialogue forwards in the Andes

16 February 2013
PSI affiliates in Lima, Peru mobilising on World Public Services Day, 23 June 2011

A Network of Andean Public Administration Unions was created thanks to a PSI /IMPACT-sponsored project which ran from 2008 to 2011 in the Andean region. The project led to a comparative study on national legislations and labour practices and helped to create successful joint trade union actions. In a region where human and trade union rights are constantly violated, encouraging progress was made to drive social dialogue forward and to create genuine dialogue for the transformation of public services.

Making use of the ‘new animal from the forest’: East African unions strengthen social dialogue mechanisms

15 February 2013
Trade union leaders from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar discuss energy policy and public sector restructuring in the East African Community

In order to shape the direction of public sector reform, PSI’s affiliates in Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar and Uganda have been building their lobbying and advocacy skills and successfully pushing for the creation of new public sector negotiating machineries.