Ei-iE

North America-Caribbean

CUT Young teachers’ training workshop

The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT)/EI youth leadership training workshop, held in Grenada from 21-23 June, and hosted by the Grenada Union of Teachers, gathered together enthusiastic young leaders, representing nine EI member organisations from the Southern Caribbean: Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Participants learned about advocacy for human and trade union rights, SDGs, ILO decent work agenda (ILO), and the role and functioning of the CUT, among others.

The workshop aimed to continue the development of second-level union leaders by enhancing their leadership capabilities through education and integration, thus enabling sustainable and strong education unions to promote quality education in the region.

CUT capacity-building workshop

Fourteen participants from four islands (Montserrat, Antigua, Saint Kitts, Nevis) attended a three-day workshop funded by EI and organised by the CUT.

Topics tackled by the workshop included: the role and management of teacher trade unions, project management, public relations and communication within the union, social dialogue, strategic partnerships, achieving the SDGs, trade union leadership, trade union capacity building, human and trade union rights, and health and safety.

Research on the private education sector in Haiti

Research funded by EI has shown that teachers’ conditions of work in the private sector are worse than in the public sector. In Haiti, the private sector represents 85 per cent of the education sector. This research will contribute to a draft law on the status of teachers in the private sector, to be presented to the Parliament of Haiti.

As a result of the research, a project has been developed in Haiti to improve teachers’ conditions and unionise teachers in the private sector.

EI’s four national in Haiti have planned regional meetings to mobilise teachers, with activities aiming to: improve the quality of education and the teaching profession, with the creation of a legal framework for private sector teachers; establish social dialogue; and set up vocational training programmes.

Solidarity with affiliates from countries affected by natural disasters

Following the hurricanes that severely affected the Caribbean, EI’s solidarity fund helped several countries (Dominica, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda) to provide psychological support to teachers who suffered damage after the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria.