Top Danish unionists here for labor meet

A four-member delegation from two top unions in Denmark will be in town today to discuss with Filipino counterparts the future of trade unionism in the public sector.

"Our visit is proof of our commitment to help our Filipino partners strengthen trade unionism in the Philippines," said Anker Christoffersen, president of the Confederation of Civil Servants and Salaried Employees of Denmark (FTF).

Accompanying him in the two-day visit are Soren Kargaard, FTF international secretary; Kristen Stallknecht, president of the International Council of Nurses (ICN); and Mads Bugge Madsen, executive consultant of the Asian desk of the FTF Council.

The FTF and the ICN are partner-organizations of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLink), one of country’s largest alliances of independent unions in government.

The three organizations have earlier firmed up a P65-million project which aims to organize into a mother network some 50,000 teachers and 10,000 national government workers.

The mother organization will bring under one umbrella three federations of employees working in national government agencies, local government units and government-owned-and-controlled corporations. PSLink hopes to register with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 30 unions and accredit 15 other unions, under the project, which has three components, namely, education, information and organizing.

"The project," according to Madsen, executive consultant of the Asian Desk of the FTF Council, "aims to address systemic problems and critical policy gaps that prevent workers in the public sector from actively participating in policy and decision-making."

Until now, many workers in the government sector have no voice in the decision-making processes that affect them. PSLink officials say.

And with the government’s privatization program, thousands of government workers face the prospects of being laid off. "They have no real power to negotiate terms and conditions of employment, nor are they given full trade union rights by the government," they say.

During the visit, the Danish union leaders will hold dialogues with public school teachers and health workers who are members of the PSLink network.

Today, Christoffersen will give a talk on "Organizing and Teachers." His colleague, Kargaard, will lecture on "Organizing Teachers: Key Competencies and Structures." Stallknecht will handle the issue, "The Enabling Environment for Organizing in the Public Sector."

Tomorrow, the delegation will meet with Filipino health workers. Corazon de la Pena, who heads the Board of Nursing in the Philippines, will outline the working conditions of health workers in the country while her counterpart from Denmark, Stallknecht, will talk on the topic. "The Public Sector. Its Role in the Future and Challenges Ahead."

PSLink will host a dinner at 8 p.m. in honor of the visiting union officials. Dignitaries from the DOLE, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the House of Representative have been invited to the affair.