4TH TRADE UNION ACADEMY

4th TRADE UNION ACADEMY

SGIP, UPOZ, SIER, AGRO-Sindikat, SUTKOZ, SRSVM, SRT, with the support of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (CSM) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Skopje (FES) organized a two-day Academy of Trade Unionism for trade union representatives, trade union activists and legal representatives from the branch unions affiliated to CSM.

The union representatives of the unions affiliated to the SSM, i.e. the representatives of SGIP, UPOZ, SIER, AGRO-Sindikat, SUTKOZ, SRSVM, SRT, through presentations, group work and active participation in the union academy, discussed very important topics in the field of union association and organization, learned about the necessity of unions, the foundations of unionism, collective bargaining, the right to strike, the rights of workers and unions that arise precisely from the freedom of union association and the right to organize, further about the ways to create a much-desired balance between the work process and private family life necessary for every worker, and in particular, the union academy this year was dedicated to discussing possible future union activities that will enable union renewal or increase union membership and expansion of the union organizations of the SSM in both the public and private sectors.

At the opening of the Trade Union Academy, the President of the SSM, Slobodan Trendafilov, together with Valon Sadiki, the Program Manager of FES, gave their addresses, wishing the participants a successful work and sending a message that only strong trade unions and strong trade union representatives will mean the protection and improvement of workers' rights.

They promised that the Trade Union Academy will continue to dedicate itself to trade union education in the future as part of the annual work program of SSM and FES and will strive to achieve the goal of producing trade union representatives who will clearly understand the purpose of the trade unions, who will believe in the work they do and who will act as future promoters of the trade union as a pillar of everything that concerns workers and their rights. The Trade Union Academy was responsible for acquiring and expanding the knowledge of the participants present on all topics related to labor, trade unions and trade union association, workers' rights, collective bargaining and the right to strike, among other topics of discussion, and was chaired by Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Ristovski from the Justinian I Faculty of Law in Skopje.
Through short theoretical lectures and presentations, dynamic group work and rich discussion, the participants gained valuable knowledge about the trade union movement, had the opportunity to exchange their experiences of trade union action in the public and private sectors, make comparisons, highlight the advantages of trade unions, perspectives and future opportunities, but also highlight existing weaknesses that will represent a future basis for improving the work and work program of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Macedonia as the oldest and most numerous Macedonian trade union. On the last day of the Trade Union Academy, through questions and answers and sharing examples and existing activities of their trade union organizations in the public and private sectors, the participants present made suggestions for future trade union activities that will undoubtedly contribute to the strengthening of the trade union. Only through such trade union academies and workshops will the SSM be able to become a stronger and more open organization and thereby succeed in strengthening its role in society, and especially strengthen its position as an equally important social partner who, through social dialogue, will participate in the creation of future state policies and who will undoubtedly strive through its actions to improve the rights of workers, will enable the improvement of their salaries and working conditions, increase the standard of living, as something that will encourage Macedonian workers to join trade unions and to be convinced that this membership will undoubtedly bring them only benefits, and will in no way harm them. Only united workers will produce stronger trade unions!