EPSU kicks off training on organising in Romania and Poland

EPSU Recruitment and Organising meeting in Romania

(1st December 2021) In October and November this year, EPSU provided some initial training on recruitment and organising (R&O) to activists in Romania and Poland.

The courses were both run by Agnieszka Ghinararu from EPSU’s R&O team. The training in Romania brought together 20 participants (over 60% of them young trade unionists) from four affiliates of the Publisind federation, coming from the police, prison services, sport and court administration. The federation has been developing its R&O activity for some time, successfully increasing membership, particularly in the police and prison services.

After the introductory session in October, the second part of the training cycle took place on 27 November where participants shared their experiences and different approaches to mapping of their workplaces and/or regions. They also reported back on lessons learned during face-to-face conversations with non-members. 

It was possible to report some early successes with more than 20 new members recruited in four weeks, the selection of local leaders and setting up of organising teams. The participants are now working on action plans and their implementation. Evaluation of further results will take place during the third stage of the training in May 2022.

The group was very engaged and involved in all the practical activities and debates and is shaping up to make a great contribution to Publisind’s strategy to increase membership and strengthen workplace organisation.

The training course in Poland was for the NSZZ Solidarnosc trade union focusing on building membership and activism in the Fresenius healthcare multinational where it first established a presence six years ago.

The training covered one-to-one conversations, learning how to answer difficult questions from members and non-members and how to map workplaces.

The course is part of a broader, joint EPSU-NSZZ Solidarnosc organising campaign in Fresenius in Poland where the union has grown by 40% in last three months and is looking to expand further.

 

 

Poland Romania