In 2010, IUF affiliate Kommunal will celebrate the union’s 100th anniversary. Kommunal represents municipal workers and agricultural workers, among others, in Sweden and in conjunction with the union’s national centre, LO-TCO, supports the IUF Asia/Pacific Regional Agricultural Workers’ Project.
As part of activities leading up to Kommunal’s 100th anniversary, the union sent a delegation of young trade unionists to visit India (delegations are also visiting Africa and Latin America) to gain a better understanding of Kommunal’s international cooperation activities and see first hand the conditions of workers in India.
The delegation which visited India included representatives from different parts of Sweden and from the different sectors Kommunal represents. From April 11 to 14 the delegation was hosted by IUF India in the northern part of West Bengal, one of the main tea producing areas of the country. The delegation visited a tea garden and spoke with tea workers discussing the impact of the tea crisis and the problems faced by tea workers and trade unions. In addition, the delegation attended a workshop for women tea workers on maternity rights.
During the visit the delegation kept a record of their trip through a weblog and also posted videos on YouTube. The trip was an important contribution to building greater understanding of the struggle for justice and good working conditions for tea workers. As Emil Jalonen, an assistant nurse and member of the delegation, noted, “we see our trip as a continuation of the struggle our union began 100 years ago for justice, it is a tradition we want to keep alive, not just in Sweden, but in all countries.”
Participants in the Kommunal youth delegation: Fredrik Ardeheim (assistant nurse), Lotte Benson (child day-care assistant), Malin Bokstrand (assistant nurse), Emil Jalonen (assistant nurse), Pontus Kindenäs (bus technician/mechanic), Jenny Larsson (assistant nurse), Kristina Olsson (International Secretary, Kommunal).
Kommunal youth delegation to India blog (in Swedish).
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