Workers education in Brazil: the case of Central Única dos Trabalhadores

Transcription

1 Workers education in Brazil: the case of Central Única dos Trabalhadores Introduction Objective and research question Definition of terms: Workers Education and Political Consciousness Methodology Outline case study Background information on Brazil Political and socio economic context Trade union situation Workers Education of CUT Historical overview: the roots of CUT s workers education Definition and aims of workers education 3.3 Organizational structure Analysis Background, objectives and target group Content, format and methodology Evaluation Motivations and expectations The impact of the training course on political consciousness Summary of findings Conclusion References Annex Interview questions Introduction

2 1.1 Objective and research question According to ACTRAV Unions' education has always been at the core of union action (ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities 2007: 1). However, so far international studies on workers education are in short supply. Therefore the GLU Research Group on Workers Education decided to contribute to filling this gap in literature, by conducting a range of case studies on workers education in different countries and different continents. The objective of the GLU Research Group on Workers education is to document and analyse workers education activities (trade unions, labour associations, NGOs and such) and to assess its impact on the critical political consciousness of the workers who participate in those education activities. A second objective is to share experiences and lessons learned from different trade unions in different places of the world, in order to improve future education activities. The research question is: What is the meaning, content and aim of workers education and (how) does it impact on workers critical political consciousness?. This specific case study on Brazil aims to answer this question for the education activities of Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT). 1.2 Definition of terms: Workers Education and Political Consciousness The research question focuses on the relationship between workers education on the one hand, and political consciousnesses on the other hand. Both terms lack a uniform definition in literature, hence, it was necessary for the research group to conduct literature reviews on both concepts in order to discuss and agree upon definitions for the case studies. Workers education Workers education is defined as that sector of adult education which caters for adult in their capacity as workers and especially as members of workers organisations (Hopkins 1985: 2) and is associated with and controlled by trade unions, co operative movements, political parties associated with organised labour or social movements (Spooner 2001) or workers' educational associations (WEAs), rural workers' associations and churches (Hopkins 1985: 2 ff). Besides a definition, the literature review also provides an overview of possible purposes, contents and formats of workers education. The purposes of workers education can be individual or personal development, strengthening the organization and capacities of trade unions, improving social

3 economic contributions of workers, raising (class) consciousness, and finally the purpose can be action oriented. In terms of content, the majority of training courses delivered by trade unions focus on topics like: grievance handling, health and safety issues, sexual harassment, human resource management and labour studies. Besides that, unions are involved in the training of full time officers, union representatives or specific target groups such as women, youth and migrants. Recent trends in trade union education focus on: basic educational skills (numeracy and literacy) and vocational purposes (Spencer 2007: 13 15), employability (Ryklief 2009, Holford 2009), organising (Spencer 2007: 15, Alexander and Peetz 2010), and international unionism and globalization (Spencer 2007: 16 17). With regard to the pedagogical format the literature review concludes that workers education usually differs from other forms of education (schools, universities). On the one hand, because of its participatory component in which adults learn collectively (sharing, working groups), and on the other hand because it respects or takes as its starting point the experiences of the participants. Political consciousness The research group defined political consciousness by distinguishing between three different dimensions, each with a specific set of indicators: counter hegemony to capitalism, class consciousness, and general political engagement. Political consciousness as counter hegemony refers to the fact that workers are aware that they live in a capitalist world, where workers are deprived of the possession of the means of production, are alienated from their work and lives, where surplus value is generated by exploiting the working class, and such. This dimension can be measures by indicators such as: involvement in parties and groups that challenge capitalism, involvement in actions for free goods and services, or the rejection of private property. Political consciousness as class consciousness refers to the awareness of workers to be part of the working class and of the necessity of a collective struggle, in order to advance their place in society. This dimension of political consciousness can be measured by indicators such as: engagement in a workers organization, trying to influence policy agenda s for the better sake of the working class as a whole (e.g. accessible public services of high quality), participating in workers solidarity actions for higher wages, better working conditions, and such.

4 Finally, the third dimension of political consciousness, general political engagement, refers to the awareness of workers that political activities can change society. Possible indicators to measure the level of political consciousness in this dimension are for instance: engagement in the local community, electoral campaigns, or political parties. 1.3 Methodology This case study provides an analysis of CUT s workers education in general, and the course International Policies and Trade Unionism particularly. CUT is the biggest national trade union center in Brazil and workers education has always been one of its main strategies, since its foundation in The course International Policies and Trade Unionism was first of all chosen for practical reasons. During the first meeting with the coordinator of the Secretariat for Education of CUT, it became clear that the third module of the chosen course would take place a week after this meeting. This offered an excellent chance for participatory observation. Secondly, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, courses focusing on international policies and trade unionism are one of the latest trends in trade union education, hence, the course is an interesting unit of analysis. Finally, in the guidelines for the case study provided by the coordinator of the research group, Luciole Sauviat, one of the secondary research questions is: how the type of workers education analysed could contribute to an understanding of (global) political forces and capacities to deal with them. This question reflects exactly the main objective of the analysed course. For this case study predominantly primary sources are used, particularly interviews and participatory observation. Besides that, primary sources such as magazines, brochures and training modules of CUT, and its training department, were used. For the more general sections of this case study a few secondary resources were used; empirical scholarly articles. In line with the guidelines provided by the coordinator of the research group, Luciole Sauviat, seven interviews were conducted. One with the current coordinator of the analysed course, two with trade union officials (one elected leader, one advisor) that have been involved in the development of the course, and four with former participants of the course. More specifically: A: secretary of the Secretariat for International Relations. B: coordinator of the Secretariat for International Relations.

5 C: the coordinator of the analysed course from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). D: press advisor of the Secretariat for International Relations; concluded the course in April E: secretary of the Secretariat for International Relations of CONTRACS, a national confederation for workers in commerce and services; concluded the course in April F: secretary of the Secretariat for Education of CUT São Paulo; concluded the course in April G: secretary of Working Women of CUT São Paulo and coordinator of CUT s trade union school in São Paulo; concluded the course in The questions provided by the coordinator of the research group were translated into Portuguese and used for conducting the interviews. Most of the interviews were conducted at CUT s headquarters in São Paulo; C was interviewed during the one week of participatory observation in Cajamar (São Paulo state), and E at the office of CONTRACS. The interviews were recorded and transcribed in English, as to be able to write this case study. Finally, the author of this case study participated in the third module of the course International Policies and Trade Unionism, delivered from September 30 until October 4, 2013, in Cajamar, São Paulo State, Brazil. Together with information material on the course and the interviews, these participatory observations were used to conduct the analysis on the unit of analysis in section Outline case study Section 2 describes the political and socio economic context of Brazil, as well as the trade union situation. With regard to the political and socio economic context, special attention will be given to the last decade, which was characterized by rather labour friendly policies of the subsequent PTadministrations (Partido dos Trabalhadores, Workers Party). Since PT and CUT are closely related, as best expressed by the two subsequent administrations of former trade union leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, one might expect an impact on the political consciousness of the Cutistas (trade unionists affiliated to CUT). Section three gives a general overview of CUT s workers education, in terms of historical background, definition and aims, theoretical and methodological foundations, and organizational structure. Section four provides an analysis of the course International Policies and Trade Unionism, in terms of: background, objectives and target group, content, format and methodology, system of evaluation, motivations and expectations, and the impact of the course on

6 the political consciousness of the participants. A summary of finding concludes this section. Finally, in the last section conclusions will be drawn with regard to whether or not workers education has an impact on the political consciousness of participants, and under which conditions. 2. Background information on Brazil 2.1 Political and socio economic context Although politically the 1980s were the decade of re democratization in Brazil, after two decades of military dictatorship, economically this decade has been referred to as Brazil s lost decade, due to the debt crisis in peripheral countries. In Brazil, this lost decade was characterized by a drastic reduction of economic growth, declining productivity and investments and an outflow of capital (Carneiro 2002: 140, in Secretaria Nacional de Formação da CUT n.d.: 53). The 1990s can be referred to as the neoliberal era in Brazil, marked by the incorporation of Brazil in the global economy through the opening of the Brazilian economy. In line with what happened in the United States of America and Europe a decade earlier, trade unions in Brazil saw their traditional backbone weakened by a process of industrial restructuring. The impact on the Brazilian working class was characterized by rising unemployment, due to new forms of work organization and technology in traditional sectors such as banking services, metal industries and garments, and an increasing informalisation and precarisation of the labour market as a consequence of flexibilization and deregulation. For the Brazilian trade union movement a backset compared to the 1980s, the decade in which trade unions conquered social and workers rights, consolidated in the 1988 Constitution (Secretaria Nacional de Formação da CUT n.d.: 55). With the former trade unionist Lula winning the elections in 2002, a dream came true for CUT. However, from the perspective of the Brazilian trade union movement and other social movements, the experiences with the two subsequent Lula governments were a mixture of conquests and disappointments. Lula was able to seize government power by establishing coalitions not only with left wing parties, but also with more traditional, conservative parties. Moreover, in tackling the crisis, inherited from the previous government, Lula was forced to make compromises. Not even the reform of the prevailing corporatist trade union structure, a hindrance for freedom of association and autonomous trade unions (see section 3), was achieved (Secretaria Nacional de Formação da CUT n.d.: 56).

7 Nevertheless, during his two administrations Lula was able to establish an innovative income led strategy to spur economic growth in Brazil (International Labour Organization, International Institute for Labour Studies 2011). Although Brazil, especially the industrial sector, was initially hit hard by the 2008/2009 crisis (e.g. a decline in exports, imports and investments, a credit crunch and a contraction of the economy), this only lasted for two quarters. As soon as 2010 the economic growth rate surpassed the growth rate in the pre crisis years (International Labour Organization, International Institute for Labour Studies 2011: 1 2) According to the elaborate case study of the International Labour Organization and the International Institute for Labour Studies (2011), this was on the one hand due to social policies that were already in place at the onset of the crisis, and on the other hand due to a quick labour friendly and job centered policy response. Domestic demand was, inter alia, boosted by increasing benefit levels and coverage of the conditional cash transfer programme Bolsa Família, and by extending the duration of the unemployment insurance for workers in sectors that were hit hard by the crisis. Moreover, the government maintained the already scheduled increasements of the minimum wage, which spurred real wage growth, because it sets a minimum wage level in the private and public sector, and is used as a benchmark in the informal economy and for several social security schemes (e.g. unemployment, pension). The estimations are that 1,3 million people benefited from the extended Bolsa Família Program, 310,000 workers received extra support in the form of unemployment benefits, and that no less than 20 percent of the population benefited from the minimum wage increases (International Labour Organization, International Institute for Labour Studies 2011: 3 4). The authors of the case study therefore conclude that Brazil s income led strategy shows that social policies and economic growth can go hand in hand (International Labour Organization, International Institute for Labour Studies 2011: 1). A publication of the Brazilian government, containing facts and figures about the development indicators for Brazil, appears to confirm this conclusion (Governo Federal Brasil 2013). The report shows the progress Brazil has made with regard to development indicators, between 2001 and From 2001 to 2011 GDP per capita grew from R$ 16,482 to R$ 21,252 (29 percent increase), whereas the GINI index decreased from 0,553 to 0,500 (Governo Federal Brasil 2013: 9). In the same period real household income grew from R$ 785 in 2001 to R$ 932 in 2011 (it is assumed per month, however, the publication does not mention a time cycle; Governo Federal Brasil 2013: 12). Moreover, the income of the lowest income groups grew more than the income of the highest income groups. Between 2001 and 2011 the income of the poorest quintile grew by 5,1 percent and the income of

8 the richest quintile by 0,7 percent (Governo Federal Brasil 2013: 14). Finally, the number of people living in extreme poverty decreased. In between 2001 and 2011, the population with a household income per capita until 1,25 US dollars a day, decreased from 14 percent to 4.2 percent (Governo Federal Brasil 2013: 16). Indeed, as mentioned by the elaborate study of the International Labour Organization and the International Institute for Labour Studies (2012), the innovative income led strategy boosted employment. Between 2002 and 2011, 19,1 million formal jobs were created (Governno Federal Brasil 2013: 20). Besides that, the unemployment rate decreased from 9,3 percent in 2001 to 6,8 percent in 2011 (Governno Federal Brasil 2013: 21). Finally, the instance of child labour was reduced (Governo Federal Brasil 2013: 24). However, economic growth in Brazil significantly slowed down in 2011 (from 7,5 percent to 2,7 percent) and 2012 (0,9 percent). Particularly the industrial sector and investments were affected (World Bank 2013). Whereas the World Bank keeps confidence in the strength of the Brazilian economy: Brazil s overall macroeconomic framework is solid and sustainable in the medium term (World Bank 2013), the Economist, in a special on Brazil in September 2013, assumes policy changes have to be made in order to resume economic growth at a faster pace. The magazine, inter alia, discusses the problems of high prices, a relatively high tax burden compared to other developing countries, unit labour costs that have doubled since 2003, and especially stresses lacking productivity growth (The Economist 2013). As mentioned previously, it is important to keep the decade of PT administrations and its income led growth strategy in mind, while reading the analysis in section 4. Since CUT and PT are closely related, one might expect an impact of this decade on the political consciousness of Cutistas (trade unionists affiliated to CUT). 2.2 Trade union situation A quick look at ILO s Normlex shows that Brazil ratified 96 ILO Conventions, of which 82 in force and 14 denounced. Brazil ratified 7 out of the 8 Fundamental Conventions, and 3 out of 4 of the Governance Conventions. Finally, it ratified 86 out of a total of 177 Technical Conventions (International Labour Organization 2013a). No comments have been made by the CEACR (Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations) on Convention 87 (freedom of association) (International Labour Organization 2013 b), because Brazil didn t ratify this fundamental

9 ILO convention (International Labour Organization 2013a). The reason that Brazil has not ratified Convention 87 is the formal corporatist trade union structure in Brazil, which has been in place since the 1930s (Instituto Observatório Social 2013). Understanding this formal structure is fundamental for understanding the trade union situation in Brazil. Four Brazilian national trade union centers are affiliated to the ITUC (ITUC 2013a): Central Única dos Trabalhadores (7,824,215 members), Confederação Nacional das Profissões Liberais (280,000 members), Força Sindical (2,100,000 members) and União Geral dos Trabalhadores Brasil (1,350,200 members). Because of the fact that CUT is by far the biggest national trade union center in Brazil, and the unit of analysis of this case study, this report will primarily focus on CUT. In their latest report on the violation of trade union rights (ITUC 2013b: 46 47), the ITUC addresses three violations of trade union rights in Brazil in the covered period: arrest of striking police officers and fire fighters (not allowed to form unions or engage in industrial action), restriction of pickets (striking public health workers) and violence against trade unionists (a leader of the landless workers movement was ambushed and killed). As mentioned before, the fact that Brazil so far has not ratified ILO Convention 87 is a consequence of the formal corporatist trade union structure that has been in place since the 1930s. This corporatist trade union structure has three main institutional features: Unicidade (literally: one city), a compulsory trade union tax and substantial normative power for the Labour Justice Department (Instituto Observatório Social 2013). The one city principle means that only a single union, registered and recognized by the state, holds the monopoly to act on behalf of and represent a specific professional category in a specific municipality or region. During one of the interviews a trade union official of CUT explained to me that elections are held to determine which trade union will hold the monopoly in certain professional category and/or region. The compulsory trade union tax means that all workers, unionized or not, have to pay an annual tax corresponding to one day of work, with the aim to finance and maintain trade unions. The substantial normative power of the Labour Justice Department entails that it mediates in labour conflicts and, thus, minimizes the possibility of a free negotiation between the parties involved. The aim is to promote reconciliation between classes (Instituto Observatório Social 2013). This corporatist trade union structure was brought about by the elites that assumed power in Brazil in 1930, and aimed to include the working class in the nation state. Trade unions were meant as a

10 space for the participation of the working class in the construction of the nation state, by means of incorporating trade unions into the state. By doing this, they pretended to avoid that the Brazilian working class would follow the pathway of the working class in Europe, which created their own socialist or communist parties, as an alternative to bourgeois parties (Instituto Observatório Social 2013). The prevailing trade union structure has outlived different époques in contemporary Brazilian history. It was consolidated during the period of the political dictatorship ( ), remained during the period of re democratization ( ), survived the period of the military dictatorship ( ) and was maintained during the latest period of democratization (1982 until today). As such, it substantially influenced the Brazilian political culture (Instituto Observatório Social 2013). Given the fact that this corporatist trade union structure is not in line with the provisions of ILO Convention 87, Brazil so far has not ratified this fundamental convention. For this, substantial changes have to be made in the prevailing trade union laws and regulations, for which apparently the political will has been lacking. According to one of the interviewed trade union officials, CUT is the only national trade union center that actually opposes the compulsory trade union tax. According to this official, other national trade union centers are content with the current system and do therefore not push for a ratification of ILO Convention 87. Although the compulsory trade union tax secured the financing of trade unions, it also brought about so called yellow trade unions that are not truly interested in representing the interests of the working class, but have as purpose the collection of part of the trade union tax (Instituto Observatório Social 2013). The one city principle, according to one of the interviewees, has substantially fragmented the Brazilian trade union movement. For this reason CUT has been struggling against the prevailing corporatist trade union structure since its foundation in The Constitution of 1988 maintained the main institutional features of the corporatist trade union structure: the one city principle, the compulsory trade union tax and the normative power of the Labour Justice Department. Moreover, it also did not recognize national trade union centers, another institutional feature of the corporatist system. However, the 1988 Constitution did bring about some important changes for the Brazilian trade union movement: the Ministry of Labour and Employment was no longer allowed to intervene in trade unions, the right to strike was expanded, and public employees gained the right to unionize. In 2008, the government enacted a law that judicially recognized national trade union centers (Instituto Observatório Social 2013).

11 The current trade union structure in Brazil can therefore be referred to as hybrid, since it still has a corporatist foundation (one city principle, trade union tax, power of the Labour Justice Department), but with plurality at the top (various national trade union centers; Instituto Observatório Social 2013). 3. Workers Education of CUT 3.1 Historical overview: the roots of CUT s workers education The roots of CUT s workers education are intertwined with the roots of CUT itself. In the 1970s, in an époque you would not expect it given the harsh military dictatorship in place, so called new social movements emerged in Brazil. According to Sader (1995, in Secretaria Nacional de Formação da CUT n.d.: 8) social movements of three different origins emerged. Social movements linked to the Catholic Church, with strong roots in popular culture and local communities, influenced by the liberation theology. Social movements linked to left wing, Marxist groups, which were not so much rooted in local communities and popular culture, but did possess a consistent theoretical framework. Finally, within the already existing trade union movement started a revitalization process, referred to as new trade unionism. The trade union movement did not have popular traditions or a systematized theoretical framework as its main power base, but its place in the institutional framework for settling labour disputes. Just as these new social movements in general, the numerous popular and workers movements that together brought about the so called new trade unionism were fragmented, and consisted of militants of left wing organizations, so called independent or authentic (trade union) militants and militants linked to the Catholic Church (Secretaria Nacional de Formação da CUT n.d.: 28; Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 19). What united all these different groups was, among other things, a firm criticism about the practice of trade unions being linked to the state, the dependency of trade unions on the trade union tax, the interventions of the military regime in trade unions, and the lack of combativeness among trade union leaders. The struggle for a trade union structure based on the principle of free and independent trade unions, culminated in the foundation of CUT, on the 28 th of August in 1983 (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 19). Since its foundation CUT has been struggling to transform the Brazilian society, to defend the actual and historical interests of the working class, to better working and living conditions and to establish free and independent trade unions, based on the concept of a democratic, mass and class based

12 national trade union center (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 19). Moreover, CUT has always perceived the training of trade union leaders as a vital strategy for organizing workers and strengthening their representation, in the context of the dispute between capital, labour and the state (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 19). As soon as 1984, one year after CUT s foundation, the National Secretary for Workers Education was founded, as a result of a series of discussions about the necessity to streamline workers education at the national level by adopting a national policy (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 20). These different groups of trade union activists and militants that merged into CUT, all brought their experiences with regard to workers education, which profoundly shaped the theoretical and methodological framework of CUT s workers education. As described in a magazine of the Secretariat for Education (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 21): Such a process brought important contributions to the formulation of the theoreticalmethodological references of the national education policy of CUT to empower the political trade union project that was emerging. An accumulation of experiences regarding political education from the Marxist matrix, from the experiences of trade union training and from experiences of popular education practiced by the church linked to the liberation theology and by centers of advice and education that built the discursive matrices within the working class. Therefore, The methodology applied by CUT regarding its workers education was strongly influenced by diverse experiences developed by NGOs and centers of advice, in the field of popular education. The call pedagogy of the oppressed of the educator Paulo Freire, his critical vision on formal education being disconnected from the reality of the students and the proposal of a liberating and transformative education, also derived from Marxist matrices of analysis, always has been a strong reference for the development of the methodology practiced by CUT. 3.2 Definition and aims of workers education In their article on trade union training and labour education in Latin America, Benítez and Calderón (2007) give a description of the history and aims of trade union training on this continent. The authors mention that often trade union training was preceded by popular education in grass roots communities, based on the ideas of Paulo Freire. This means that the social movements that carried out the popular education, used the methodological concept of practice theory practice, which takes the experiences of the participants as starting point and then systematizes these experiences by

13 offering concepts that help to interpret one s own reality. The aim is to reconstruct the identity and history of the participants, so that they will start to perceive themselves as a person and subsequently as a social actor. Starting from these general Freirian principles, trade unions seek to construct and reinforce its own collective identity as a historical subject and socio political actor (Benítez and Calderón 2007: 77). As such, trade union education is both political and strategic in nature, since it aims to empower workers to construct emancipatory, democratic processes that will bring about societal transformation (Benítez and Calderón 2007: 78). Indeed, this general description of Benítez and Calderón (2007) matches with the historical roots of CUT s workers education, as described in the previous sub section. In the magazine of CUT s Education Secretariat (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012), Freire is frequently referred to as a major source of inspiration in terms of methodology. However, quickly after the magazine refers to Freire, it refers to Gramsci as well as a major source of inspiration. The methodology of CUT s workers education places the experiences and realities of participants in an anti capitalistic perspective and opposes hegemonic educational processes of an ideological nature, because elites seek to maintain the dominance of its class through these hegemonic educational processes. In other words, through formal education elites try construct an historical block, by means of consensus and coercion (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 21). According to CUT it is important to confront the logic of these formal educational processes, because (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 21): The overcoming of the mechanism requires analyses of the ideological forms through which the dominant class seeks conformism, or in other words, seeks to transform its conception of the world in a common sense conception, making it penetrate the masses and seeking by doing so, to secure the consensus of this established order. With these historical roots and theoretical foundations as starting point, CUT s national education policy is based on eight guiding principles that reflect the transformative horizons of CUT s vision in general (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22). First of all, CUT s workers education is classist and mass based, meaning that it seeks to empower workers, in order to bring about the trade union organization and trade union action necessary for achieving its class objectives. It aims to awaken class consciousness given the importance of united struggle. Moreover, it aims to have a broad reach by focusing on workers in different sectors. Finally, CUT s workers education seeks to address both the daily struggles in the workplace and the wider demands of the working class (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22).

14 Secondly, CUT s workers education is non delegable (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22), meaning that the formulation and execution of education policies, and its financial sustainability, are the responsibility of CUT as the national trade union center. Thirdly, CUT s workers education needs to be democratic, plural and united. The education activities seek to stimulate debate between workers with different opinions and seek to nurse distinct perceptions, while at the same time trying to establish unifying elements, as to bring about united action based on class identity. Fourthly, CUT s workers education is both unified and decentralized, meaning that its education activities have unified national policies and strategies as its starting point, which are implemented decentralized, considering the different characteristics of each region, state and sector (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22). A fifth principle for CUT s workers education is that it should be an instrument of critical and liberating reflection. It wants to contribute to bringing about workers that perceive themselves as historical subjects, capable to analyse their reality and to develop proposals to transform this reality. Sixthly, the education activities are based on the concept of the wholeness of the human being (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22), meaning that it opposes the alienated concept of a human being as merely a commodity and, as opposed to the latter, addresses the multiple dimensions (e.g. politics, culture, history) that constitutes a human being. A seventh underpinning principle for CUT s education activities is that it opposes discrimination. Only if the working class themselves incorporates values such as solidarity, social integration, equality, equity of rights, and respect for all without distinction, can it truly be the bearer of a new kind of ethics (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22). Finally, the last principle of CUT s workers education takes into account the political, ideological and technical dimensions of knowledge, as to realize the objective of qualifying workers (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 22). The interviewed secretary of the Secretariat for International Relations, who has been involved in the development of the analysed course, mentions these three dimensions when asked what workers education means for CUT. According to him, CUT s definition of workers education is based on three dimensions: professional, political and trade union education. He mentions that these three dimensions, ideally, should not be separated, since workers have to able to exercise a profession as well as defend their rights as a citizen: For sure that a citizen that has a good professional and technical education, but has a precarious political education and trade union education, for sure he would have more difficulties to defend

15 himself in life. At the same time, it is not enough to only have a political and union education, while having difficulties to exercise a profession. 3.3 Organizational structure A coordinator of CUT s Secretariat for Education mentioned to me that the organizational structure of CUT s education network is based on a horizontal and vertical axis. The horizontal axis, composed of the National Secretariat for Education, the education secretariats of CUT s offices in the various states and the trade union schools, offer general courses that are of interest to all trade union leaders, regardless of their respective sectors. The vertical axis, composed of the education secretariats of trade unions and branches, provides courses that are based on the experiences and struggles of these specific sectors and branches. The National Secretariat for Education is responsible for the coordination, development and implementation of CUT s national education policies. The trade union schools (with locations in various states) have a strategic role in the already mentioned decentralization of trade union training. They are responsible for training the trainers and trade union cadres, and for monitoring the education activities within the different states. Besides that, they also monitor collective negotiations, act as consultants for CUT s state offices, systematize training activities, and construct and maintain a database regarding workers education. The State Secretaries of Education of CUT are responsible for developing and implementing the education strategy for all professional categories within their respective states. As already mentioned, the Education Secretaries of affiliated trade unions and branches, are responsible for catering the educational needs of trade union leaders based on the specificities of sectors, branches and professional categories (Secretaria Nacional de Formação da CUT n.d. b; Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 28 29). Between 2009 and 2011 CUT s National Education Network trained trade union leaders, made possible by 480 trade union leaders that also act as trade union trainers (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 16). In general, as explained by one of the interviewees, the main target group of CUT s education activities are so called liberated trade union leaders, meaning elected and remunerated trade union officials who are released from working in their respective sectors, as to totally devote themselves to their trade union activities. During the one week of participatory observation, one of the participants mentioned to the author that the courses focus too much on the same group of leaders and that CUT should start training youth, or in other words, future trade union leaders. An interviewee mentioned that she regrets that CUT s trade union activities predominantly

16 focus on elected trade union officials, since it is also important for non elected trade union officials to have sound knowledge of CUT s policies and strategies. Finally, the national training programs are based on the two axes of the wider political and trade union project of CUT: relations between the society, the state and trade unionism (axis one) and relations between capital and labour and the organizing project of CUT (axis two). The first axis comprises topics such as the role of the state, development, democratization of the state and the management of public policies. The second axis comprises topics such as CUT s trade unionism, collective bargaining, freedom of association, new forms of management and organization of labour, and the conventions, recommendations and Decent Work Agenda of the ILO (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 33). Based on these two axes, and the priority given to training trainers and trade union leaders, the following five national training courses are currently offered: train the trainers, basic course in trade union organization and representation, collective negotiation and contracting, development of public policies and regional action, international policies and trade unionism (Central Única dos Trabalhadores 2012: 36 53). As mentioned in section 1, the course International Policies and Trade Unionism has been chosen as the specific unit of analysis for this case study, hence, this specific course will be analyzed in section Analysis 4.1 Background, objectives and target group Background The secretary of the Secretariat for International Relations mentions that his personal experiences, initially, where the reason for setting up the course. When he took office he had problems understanding all the acronyms related to especially international organizations, either intergovernmental organizations or international trade union organizations. That is why he started to speak with the secretary of the Secretariat for Education, to see if it would be possible to set up a course about international organizations and policies, with the aim to democratize this knowledge:

17 Because the knowledge was in the heads of a few people and it would be nice to democratise the knowledge. However, a course solely on international organizations and their policies would not have been very ambitious, therefore the International Relations Secretariat and the Secretariat for Education jointly started to speak with the Centre for Studies in Trade Unionism and Labour Economics (CESIT) of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). The result of this meeting(s) was that they decided to set up a broader course about international politics, international economics and international trade unionism. The coordinator of the International Relations Secretariat adds that another reason for setting up the course in partnership with CESIT was that it would offer the possibility of granting the participants a certificate at the end of the course. This would make it more interesting for participants to sign up for the course. Thus, the course started as cooperation between the Secretariats for International Relations and Education of CUT, with a focus on international policies. However, with the participation of CESIT international economics also became part of the curriculum of the course. The secretary for international relations mentions that the aim of the course now was: ( ) to understand the history of the union movement, to understand all the different thinkers, lines of arguments of the left wing, about economy, globalization, economic theories, the role of each country, the economic policies of these big developed countries. Besides the democratisation of knowledge about international policies, the secretary mentions another aim at that time, empowerment of trade union leaders: The more education you have, the more qualified you will be to debate and you will have more arguments. You have more arguments to justify the charter of demands you are presenting. Currently, the course is being organised for the third time and every time that the course has been organized, there were changes and improvements with regard to content and methodology. What especially has been a challenge for the organisers of the course, is to integrate the classes on politics given by CUT and the classes on economics given by CESIT. Initially, CESIT gave its economic classes during the first few months of the course and CUT their political classes during the last few months of the course. As a consequence, the common thread running through the entire course was not clear to the participants or, in other words, lacking. Although the participants appreciated both types of classes, they were not able to link the economic content offered by CESIT to the political content

18 offered by CUT. The coordinator of the course since the third (ongoing) edition mentions that she was preoccupied with this, when she accepted to coordinate the third edition of the course: Because the course is great, excellent, but the students said that they did not manage to weave the line, the common thread, between the classes. Based on a thorough evaluation, that involved the participants, the International Relations Secretariat, the Secretariat for Education and CESIT, the methodology was changed for the ongoing third edition of the course. These changes will be explained in more detail in the next sub section on content, methodology and format. Objectives The secretary for international relations mentions that by democratizing the knowledge about international policies he aims to bring about a multiplier effect: Then in a few years the objective is to have five to ten persons in each state that have a very clear idea about what the international policies of CUT are. (.) At the moment we have around 120 people that already did the course, currently the third edition is going on. We want hundreds of students in the next years to become multipliers. This idea of becoming multipliers means that there is a more or less implicit agreement with the participants that they will reproduce, share, the knowledge they have gained in the course with comrades in their region and sector. However, how to bring about this multiplier effect is still something the organisers of the course are working on. The coordinator of the Secretariat for International Relations: So, basically it s working, but there are challenges as well, because people when they do this course expect that they can do something after it, so we have still to think about it, what to do after, how can they contribute more, to CUT and to their regions. A second objective of the course, as mentioned by the secretary for international relations, refers to what he calls the international working class. According to the secretary, labour issues can only partly be solved at the national level, only the immediate problems. Capital and governments are globalized, so the trade union movement should do the same:

19 One of the great challenges for the international trade union movement is to organize to act as one, with the majority of the working class in the entire world. In other words, the course International Policies and Globalization tries to make the participants aware that the struggle of the working class is an international struggle, and that the problems workers are suffering from in different parts of the world are very similar, and that the solutions for these problems should also be sought, at least partly, at the international level. In practice this means that the participants have to read about the trade union and workers rights situation in various countries, as to make them realize the common causes for the problems workers are suffering from in different parts of the world. Based on the already mentioned more ideological objectives, a more practical objective of the course is, according to the coordinator of the ongoing third edition, to enable the participants to conduct an analysis of the reality of the workers and the world of work from an international perspective, and to empower trade union leaders to act in this international sphere, from their local level. Target group and selection process In line with the already mentioned general target group of CUT s workers education, the main target group for this course are elected trade union leaders. A few advisors have been allowed to do the course, and are currently allowed to do the course, but not more than a handful. In principle the course is aimed at elected trade union leaders. The Secretariat for International Relations is responsible for the selection process and uses strict criteria for selecting participants. As a principle the group of participants has to be representative for the Brazilian society, in terms of: state, sector, gender, age and race. For example, the group that is currently doing the course consists of: participants from twenty different Brazilian states, of young participants that fairly recently joined the trade union movement and of older participants that have been part of CUT since its foundation, of trade union leaders in São Paulo s metal industry to trade union leaders for family farmers in the Amazon region. According to the coordinator of the course, this variety of backgrounds has a substantial impact on the course, in terms of discussions and widening horizons, for instance: ( ) the participant that comes from the Amazon comes from a maroon and riverside reality, that now has to transform itself into employees, because of the agribusiness. ( ) There is another trade unionist from Gerdau, a multinational, he listens to this and agrees that this is happening. Then he

20 adds his reality, regarding productive restructuring that happened in all big companies. ( ) Also you have people from the countryside of São Paulo, you can feel that they have more trouble to connect their realities to what is being said. ( ) But this question of her has also to do with all and we can broaden knowledge with this. Even though her reality is different from the others. The application process for the course has been changed from an open application process, trade unions from all over Brazil could send a candidate, to an application process in which participants can only apply with a letter of recommendation from a confederation or a state office of CUT. This has been done, because the Secretariat for International Relations received about three hundred applications for only forty places, when they organized the first edition of the course. With the requirement of having to have a letter of recommendation, the application process is now more streamlined. The coordinator of the Secretariat for International Relations: But the criterion now is like this. If you want to do the course, your State CUT or your confederation has to write a letter. It is also a kind of making an agreement, because if the person goes and stops, this organization, State CUT or the confederation, has to pay a kind of a fee. In the end we actually do not practice it, but it is a way of showing like, look, do not go there if you are not really interested, because if people do this they take the place of somebody else, who maybe would be more interested. Although applying for the course is voluntary, participating is obligatory once the trade union leader has been selected for the course. The secretary for international relations: The person spontaneously applies for it through his state or his confederation. When he is selected by his state or his confederation, his presence in the course is mandatory. Nobody is obliged to do the course, but once you applied for it and are selected, then it is. Starting from the ongoing third edition of the course changes have been made with regard to financing the course. Whereas CUT paid all the costs (flying tickets, accommodation, food) during the first two editions, now the richest confederations and state offices of CUT also have to contribute. The coordinator of the Secretariat for International Relations: ( ) this year we decided that the State CUTs and the richest confederations, sectoral federations, they should also contribute. ( ) So now they are paying, we are still paying the flight tickets for everybody, but some of them are also helping to pay accommodation and food. Also because