Description
The project aimed at raising awareness about trade unions and labour rights to young people in cooperation with Norwegian partner
Against the background of decreasing trade union density in Latvia, as in Europe, the objective of the project was to promote trade unions and encourage more young people to be involved. At the same time, to inform young people, but also the rest of society, about their rights in the labour market. Through research and new methods, the project raised young people''s awareness and trust of the importance of trade unions and decent work, and also built further on the results of the first project “Be informed on rights and obligations”.
The following activities were carried out:
- an analysis of the working conditions of youth
- a conference to look at the survey results and share examples of good practices in youth engagement in Latvia (from LBAS affiliates and other organisations) and Norway (from LO), and broadcasted on LBAS Youtube channel and Facebook account.
- a one-day training course on methods for trade union promotion
-develop and promote content concerning decent work on social media with the help of PR specialist, including six podcasts
- communicate through radio and TV (six interviews, 5 TV shows) and published on LBAS'' website and social media accounts-
- discuss and promote decent work at the Labour Law Forum organised by LBAS and reaching a variety of stakeholders
- a two-day youth summer camp - an educational event to engage trade union youth members in discussions on trade union issues.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to promote the recognition of trade unions and encourage more young people to become involved in trade unions. At the same time, it informed young people and the rest of society about their rights in the labour market. The background for the project was the decreasing trade union density in Latvia, as in Europe. Through research and new methods, the project raised young people''s awareness and trust of the importance of trade unions and decent work, and also built further on the results of the first project “Be informed on rights and obligations”.
The project realised the following activities and outputs:
- Online steering committee meetings were held to discuss the implementation of the project;
- Survey on quality of working life and youth motivation – a questionnaire for the survey was created, involving LBAS and LO experts; for more information;
- Development of a sales course programme with a focus on youth involvement;
- PR activities to raise awareness of employees'' rights in the labour market:
- Six radio interviews on Radio SWH with the participation of LBAS representatives to discuss trade unions’ agenda in Latvia;
- Five TV shows on TV24 with the participation of LBAS representatives to discuss trade unions’ agenda in Latvia;
- Social media influencer’s work to develop the LBAS Youth Instagram account;
- Labor Law Forum – divided into two parts: the first part for the labour law professionals in November 2023 to discuss trade unions’ agenda in the field of labour law in Latvia, and the second part for LBAS affiliates in December 2023 to meet with the leaders (including youth leaders) of LBAS affiliates to discuss the agenda on engaging youth in trade unions
- Youth summer camp – was held on 25-27 August 2023 in Riga.
The expected outcomes and outputs of the Project were achieved—radio interviews, TV shows, and campaigns on LBAS social media accounts allowed to attract a planned audience (at least 10,000 people; for example, only Radio SWH releases where LBAS interviews will be included usually have 37,000 unique listeners) and to promote the recognition of trade unions, especially among young people.
The project allowed LBAS to carry out several activities to promote trade unions'' role in ensuring quality and fair employment conditions, focusing on the younger generation. The initiative to develop the LBAS Instagram account, which started during the project, is currently ongoing and will be implemented permanently – LBAS has hired a dedicated specialist who is responsible for youth affairs and developing the Instagram account. Additionally, in May-June this year, the first training session from a series of ongoing training programs for leaders and activists of LBAS affiliates will be held – similar training will be conducted regularly, at least once a year, and the main topics are sales skills development and negotiation skills. The presence of a dedicated staff member responsible for youth affairs will also allow for the survey, a questionnaire for which was developed during the project, to be conducted by the end of this year, with its results to be used in further activities aimed at engaging youth in trade unions.
Summary of bilateral results
The Norwegian partner was Landsorganisasjonen in Norway (LO). During implementation, several online meetings were held to plan project activities, and a representative of LO also participated in creating the questionnaire for the survey on the quality of working life and youth motivation.