Unity Assistant Gen. Secretary
on International Study Visit to Brazil.
Current President of the General Federation of Trade
Unions Educational Trust, Unity Assistant General Secretary Garry Oakes joined a
delegation and guests on an International Study visit to Brazil during October
last year.
This is a short report on the visit - a full report is available on the GFTU
website.
Garry's term as President of the GFTU ends at their annual conference which will
be
held during May 2007 in Belfast.
General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust -
International Study Visit - Brazil
October 22-30 2006.
Delegates:
Visitors:
Mike Bradley
(General Secretary)
Jan Bradley
Garry Oakes
(President)
Karen Bailey
Doug Nicholls
(Vice-President)
Tony Tuck
Judy McKnight
Diane Mann
Rosie Eagleson
Pat McCarthy
Joe Mann
Jan Pye
Tony McCarthy
Terry Pye
Alan Irwin
(Ruskin College)
Monday 23rd October 2006 - Meeting with the Workers' Party:
The Political Education Officer Francisco Franca da Silva addressed the group
and informed them that the party was facing an election for the first time as
incumbent
polls were looking good and there is a good relationship with grass roots.
- The Trade Union movement played a key role in defeating dictatorship in
Brazil.
- The party has strong links with religious groups - Catholic, Lutherans,
Baptists and Pentecostal.
- Women are regarded highly in the party, and three women ministers have been
appointed.
- Luiz Inacio da Silva (President of Brazil) is supported by the five National
Labour Organisations: CUT, FS, CGTB, MR8 and CGT.
- Mass media, Banks and Industry associations support his opponent.
Monday 23rd October 2006 - Paulo Freire Institute:
Paulo Freire (1922-1997) was a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University
of Sao Paulo and dedicated himself to the study of education oriented to the
world's oppressed
classes.
His education theories were linked to political action and viewed education as
being integral to the struggle for social change and justice.
He was a founder member of the Worker's Party from which President Lula comes,
and was also a founder member of CUT (Trade Union Confederation).
Tuesday 24th October 2006 - Instituto Observatorio Social:
President of OS Kjeld Jakobsen explained that this was a research institute,
dealing with multinational companies. Labour standards were examined to
report how companies behave in terms of ILO standards. It started in
1947 and 40 to 50 reports have been produced.
Tuesday 24th October 2006 - Forca Sindicol (Commercial workers):
President Rubens Romano explained that there were about 18,000 trade unions in
Brazil. There were 430,000 members in Sao Paulo. Problems consist mainly
of an unskilled workforce with a high turnover.
In respect of young workers, the commercial union has made agreements with
universities. New legislation on union legitimacy requires a 20%
threshold.
The union organises workers in retail, wholesale, and auto dealers. The
union is not affiliated to a political party but supports Lula as President.
Benefits of membership involve a legal department which supports workers who
have lost their jobs.
Average wage for the commercial workers is 380 US Dollars (193 Pounds Sterling)
per month.
Wednesday 25th October 2006 - Central Unica Dos Trabalhadores (CUT):
It was explained that the union was actively involved in the election campaign.
CUT is a new national centre, it has a National Congress. Resolutions are
adopted for a three year period, they agree to support the re-election of
President Lula. Lula was one of the founders of CUT.
After the December elections there would be a vote on a national minimum wage
for 2007. CUT has 3000 trade unions affiliated, 2600 delegates, and is the
fifth largest trade union centre in the world.
CUT has seven education schools. The challenges it see are:
- Education network - Understanding the transformation workers rights - Train
the leadership.
- Vocational training - opening up of the economy
- Education for citizens - Social movements - Literacy to create jobs and income
- Labour law reform - Youth unemployment - Public policies for youth.
Wednesday 25th October 2006 - DIEESE:
DIEESE was founded in 1955 under a military dictatorship. In addition to
CUT, other unions - FS, GCT and CGTB are affiliated. It as three major
areas of work: Research, employment, and bargaining.
DIEESE has 150 staff and compiles a price index to measure unemployment and
makes minimum wage calculations. Unions pay for research work.
Thursday 26th October 2006 - Sindicato dos Atletas de Futebol do Estado do
Rio de Janerio (The Trade Union for the footballers in the State of Rio de
Janerio):
SAFERJ was formed in the late 1970s by some of the great names of Brazilian
football. These players organised to fight for the rights of Brazilian
football players under the umbrella organisation of the newly formed SAFERJ -
"The House of Athletes".
The House of Athletes began as a dream for SAFERJ President Alfredo Sampaio.
His vision was that this new trade union would provide more than a framework
which defended the legal rights of football players.
Sampaio also wanted a place where professional football players could obtain
medical, orthodontic, and physiotherapy assistance.
Today that dream has come to fruition with state of the art gymnasiums, weight
training rooms, a swimming pool, and fully equipped classrooms for education
training. The main vision is on health and instruction to enable all level
of players to reach their full potential. All registered players
have access to the full range of facilities on offer.
Delegates and guests took the opportunity to visit the famous Maracana Stadium
to watch a local derby between Vasco da Gama and Flamengo.
Footnote from Unity:
A great number of Brazils most destitute people live in the slums of the big
cities where infrastructure, especially the drinking water and drainage systems
is deficient.
Slum dwellers squat on land to which they have no legal title, but since this is
mostly unused and unusable public land - hillsides, swamps, lagoons, rubbish
dumps, and so on - they are not likely to be evicted.
Where these impoverished people live within sight of the pleasant living
conditions enjoyed by the privileged elite, social tensions and the potential
for conflict grow. The streets of large cities such as Rio de Janerio are
increasingly the scenes of confrontation between rich and poor.
Those who are unable to make a living as vendors of newspapers or lottery
tickets, shoeshine boys, guards for parked cars, or the like are forced to earn
a living illegally.
Even in the slums there is no place for solidarity: When someone else's
existence is a threat to one's own, self-interest comes first.
Extreme population density and crowded living conditions in the slums, combined
with struggle to survive, generally lead not only to social disintegration but
also to violence within the family. This makes the situation even more
difficult for children and young people and at least partly accounts for their
increasing presence on the streets.
The growing number of children who work on the streets, or even live on them
permanently, is one of the most pressing development problems world-wide.
But of
Latin American countries known to have "street children" first and foremost is
Brazil.
Along with suffering hunger, being undernourished, and being exposed to disease,
probably nothing contributes more to the loss of human development potential
than a Childhood spent outside the institutional framework of family and school.