worker education conference

1. Worker Education
Summary of Research Findings
Presentation to Worker Education Conference
22-24 August 2018
1

2. Worker Education Research Objectives
• NALEDI was commissioned by the Worker Education
Committee to conduct research on Worker Education with the
following key objectives:
• To conduct an audit of current worker education programmes
• To analyse skills needs for developing worker education
• To develop tools for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of worker
education
• To develop a vision and proposals for integrated and sustainable
worker education
• To develop policy and funding proposals to support our vision of
worker education
2

3. Data Provision
Unions (21)
• BCAWU
• CEPPWAWU
• DENOSA
• FAWU
• Hospersa
• NEHAWU
• Nulaw
• NUM
• POPCRU
• PSA
• SACCAWU
• SACTWU
3
• SACWU
• SADTU
• SAMWU
• SASBO
• SATAWU
• SOLIDARITY
• UASA
• UNTU
• NUMSA
Federations
COSATU
FEDUSA
NACTU
Government
DHET x3
DOL
SKILLS
SAQA
SETAs
ETDP SETA (also interviewed)
HWSETA (also interviewed)
CHIETA
Food and Bev SETA
Merseta
Membership Data: 21 unions
Shopsteward Data: 20 unions
Provision Data: 14 unions

4. contextual
Worker
controlled WE&
Skills
Development Primary
Barriers are broad
Conclusions/ problems
based on data
Needs are more specific
issues emerging from
the barriers
Target Groups are specific actors whose
actions and behaviours can be monitored
as indicators of outcomes of recommended
actions – it also suggests a hierarchy of spending
Recommendations/Strategies are specific
and generalised actions targeted at one
or across a range of needs but are usually
more specific to different target groups
Recommendations/
strategies
Extension of
provision
Institution
building
Operational
Policy
Secondary
Tertiary
Objectives are based on the data
consultation and conceptualisation
Describing the purpose or rationale
against which needs are prioritised
and strategies focused
Pilots
Pilots are specific projects that are
used to test methodologies and
create building blocks towards
integrating strategies – pilots have
budgets and indicators
Objectives
Definition criteria
based
conceptualisation
definition
4

5. Context: “Structural Unemployment”
Thousands Jul-Sep
2008
Jul-Sep
2017
Difference %
Change
Discouraged work-seekers 1,093 2,436 1,343 122.9
Long-term unemployment (1
year and more)
2,552 4,181 1,629 63.8
Total 3,645 6,616 2,972 81.5
Combined data on discouraged workers & those unemployed for more than 1 year
5
2008 2017 Difference % Change
Official 4,299 6,210 1,911 44.4
Expanded 6,094 9,422 3,328 54.6
Employed 14,549 16,192 1,643 11.3
Changes in employed and unemployed (2008, 2017)

6. High Unemployment – High Inequality

7. 0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
14,000,000
16,000,000
Limited
duration
Unspecified
duration
Permanent
nature
Total formal
employment
Union membership in formal
employment comparing permanent
and precarious work contract forms
2017
Union Members Formal Employment
0.00
2,000,000.00
4,000,000.00
6,000,000.00
8,000,000.00
10,000,000.00
12,000,000.00
14,000,000.00
16,000,000.00
Formal
Employment
Union
Membership
Formal
Employment
Union
Membership
Formal
Employment
Union
Membership
1990 2000 2017
Employment and union membership
Union Density
47%
43%
28%
28%
Between 2000 and 2017 permanent employment
dropped from 73% to 61% of formal employment.
Non permanent work increased by 371% in this period
The Impact of labour market flexibility on union density
8%
3%
30%
7

8. Membership has become relatively better educated
largely as a result of job losses and informalisation in
traditional membership sectors and the growth of public
sector membership. There is a critical need for WE to
extend trade union representation into more precarious
work areas. Union members are becoming older and as
in the labour market is still skewed towards male
membership
Concentration of union membership
Number of
Members
Proportion of
national union
members
20 Unions 2 935 000 74%
15 unions 2 672 000 68%
10 unions 2 178 000 55%
5 unions 1 320 000 33%
Federated
Membership 3 535 000 90%
National
membership 3 941 903 100%

9. Relevance of Worker Education
• Current contextual challenges facing trade unions, including of
casualisation, precarious work, declining union density all point to the need
to build organising and organisational capacity
• The link between education, organising and organisation building is critical
• Basic organising, representation and organisational skills for shop stewards
and organisers are essential for trade unions, must be controlled and
delivered by trade unions, and need funding support
• A broader approach to worker education that brings together workers of
different status in workplaces could contribute to building workplace
organising strategies and worker unity
9

10. Working Definition of Worker Education
• Worker Education is education in the interest of workers by workers, workers’
organisations and their institutions, for purposes that they themselves determine.
• Worker education is worker-controlled and working-class oriented with a core
objective of building working class unity, collective organisation and solidarity.
• Worker education is democratic in practice, using participatory, active methods
that recognise and value workers’ knowledge and experience.
• It is aimed at building working class consciousness for the purpose of advancing
working class struggles against all forms of oppression and capitalist exploitation
and for social justice & progressive alternatives.
• The scope of worker education covers a range of content areas ranging from
organisational skills, political education, vocational education and adult literacy
• Workers include employed and unemployed, vulnerable and precarious workers
10

11. 11
• 14 unions that provided data on SS education had trained a total of
15 061 shopstewards
• The total number of shop stewards for the sample was 26 636
• This represents 56,5% coverage of shopstewards within these 14
unions
• Total union membership for the sample was 1 819 657, which
represents 46% of union membership nationally
• At least half the unions trained 42% and less
• The sample was skewed since it targeted better organised, larger
trade unions who were able to provide data
• The research estimates a lower coverage of 35% taking into account
smaller unions
Trade Union Provision – Key Findings

12. 12
WE Provision overview
Providers Coverage Funding
Trade unions and federations 21 000-24 000
35%
Union budget and
SETAs
5 LSOs 3727 over 4 years 6.2%
1,6% per year
950 per year
Range 900-1100 /year
NSF, DOL, Donors
Universities
Union linked and unlinked
programmes
Trade union linked programmes
between 150-300
Non union linked 1000
Unions, SETAs, NSF,
DOL
CCMA union 2128
Advice Offices 1329
Unions, SETAs, Govt.
Private providers 1000 and upward SETA

13. Providers Main Focus Accreditation Focus Group
Trade Unions and
Federations
Basic Shop Stewards, Trade Union skills, Political
education
Mixed with better resourced unions covering most
representatives but fairly limited in depth training
Mostly Non mostly shop stewards
there is no general
membership education
estimated data
5 LSOs Labour Studies, Political and TU Skills
Much Lower proportional numerical coverage but
more in depth curriculum than union provision –
supplemental to unions either from a content,
resource or non traditional union strong holds
728 (4 years)
19.5% accredited
L4 and L5 to L7
Longer programmes 3 days
to 5 weeks
Shop stewards, more
senior leadership and
officials and officials
Universities
Union-linked and
unlinked
programmes
Labour Studies and Labour Law Mostly Accredited
Mostly L5-L7
Short and long
programmes 4-5 days to 5
years
officials and senior union
leadership
CCMA Labour law and Dispute, bargaining and SS best
practice
short programmes 1-3 days full time shop stewards,
senior shop stewards and
officials
Private Providers Generic Skills Mostly Accredited
Mostly short programmes 2
days to 2 weeks
Shop stewards and more
senior leadership 13
Programmatic Areas

14. Educator Profile LSO only TU only
male 68% 62% 80%
female 32% 38% 20%
Average age 46 45 48
% above 40 84% 81% 90%
average time in current
position 6 8 2.5
Union experience 48% 24% 100%
WE experience outside
current LSO 42% 48% 30%
Adult education experience 58% 76% 20%
AET/ABET experience 10% 5% 20%
Tertiary education teaching 19% 19% 0%
Highest qualification
degree 32% 38% 20%
post grad 26% 38% 0%
certif/diploma 32% 14% 40%
matric 10% 10% 10%
Qualified
assessors/moderators 29% 33% 10%
There exists a strong skills set
amongst current provision but it is
ageing, dominated by men and
could have much stronger
multiplier impact were there to
be stronger provision budgets and
the issues of time off for
education resolved.
14

15. Identified Knowledge and Skills Needs
15

16. Learner identified
education and information
needs
16
0 20 40 60 80 100
skills development
Health and safety
Info on further study/Curriculum
Computers and online union Info
Research and Information
other
gender
Politics and activism
Organising and servicing
Labour Economics and bargaining
Labour Law and case Handling
LSO Learner Percieved Information and knowledge
needs
LSO Learner Survey n=135
skills development
This related to workplace processes and facilitation skills
Health and safety
Health and safety, this didi not include the HIV/AIDS subset. There
were no respondents from a Health and safety related programme
and this would tend to provide a lower number in responses
Info on further study/Curriculum
A number of learners explained they would like further education
opportunities but did not have information about what that LSO
would or could offer.
Computers and online union Info
This included responses related IT skills, information available
online and social media use. Membership info related to
organising overlapped with this response category.
Research and Information
This category included straight forward research skills, being able
to find and access information, and using database systems to
develop information processing. There is some overlap between
this category and the IT and organising sets.
other
Other included a range of skills focus areas such as, writing
minutes, project management, problem solving and
communication
gender
Gender related to areas of gender in leadership, collective
bargaining and organisation
Politics and activism
Politics and activism broadly included responses around political
economy and broader civil society engagement. The nature of
learners and course focus would likely see this category increasing
in focus.
Organising and servicing
This included issues of servicing, strategy and tactics, information
on members to plan organising. Another common focus was
organising in difficult or changing economic circumstances.
Labour Economics and bargaining
The responses to the two largest categories are broken down in
the graphs that follow
Labour Law and case Handling
The responses to the two largest categories are broken down in
the graphs that follow

17. Needs Analysis
• Rebuild and strengthen worker controlled education to confront predominant
human capital approach to education
• Strengthen trade union representation and role in vocational education
• Extend provision of Worker Education
• Extend provision of WE to all provinces beyond metro areas
• Expand provision of basic shop steward education
• Extend the reach of worker education to vulnerable workers
• Consolidate WE for organisation building & institutional capacity
• Consolidate and rebuild capacity of TU educators and LSOs
• Improve information management, and internal research and monitoring
• Build up repositories of quality worker education materials and skills
• Improved coordination of WE between different levels and forms of provision
and providers
• Establish a pathway for worker education that builds organisation and workers
17

18. Barriers to achieving these objectives
The three principal barriers are:
• The lack of sufficient and sustainable financial resources and the consequent
lack of many other resources such as infrastructure.
• The lack of time off for WE
• The problem of coordination and collaboration/Inter Institutional Boundaries
The three most significant gaps identified:
• The low level of provision of WE education by trade unions and LSOs to
organised workers and shop stewards, changes in the culture/nature of WE,
and the centralised nature of this delivery
• The large number of vulnerable unorganised workers who receive little to no
WE, including formal sector workers in flexible or precarious work forms, the
unemployed, refugee workers, youth, women and those engaged in the
informal economy
• Coordinated and articulated learning in worker education.
18

19. Level 1: Primary targets
19
Key target groups include
• Shop Stewards
• Union organisers, full time shop stewards and
NOBs/POBs
• Trade union and LSO paralegals
• Union Administration
• Paralegals for Vulnerable Workers
• Women
• Young workers
• General membership
Employed workers (formal including
Agri)
16 192 000
Non-Unionised Workers (formal) 12 250 000
Unemployed Workers (formal) 6 616 000
Unionised workers (members)
(formal including Agriculture)
3 942 000
Vulnerable workers (casualised)
(formal)
5 230 541
Vulnerable workers Unionised 255 715
Vulnerable workers non-Unionised 4 974 826
Informal workers excluding
Agriculture)
2 689 000
Women Workers formal 7 145 465
Women workers informal 1 075 461
Women workers vulnerable 2 514 477
Women workers vulnerable
Unionised
104 198
women workers vulnerable non-
unionised
2 410 278
Within these groupings there are specific key subgroupings
that represent the most immediate and strategically important
recipients based on developing and satisfying the needs
generated by the objectives of WE or they represent a
particularly large gap that significantly undermines the
objectives of WE
For example for shop stewards Estimate of current provision
between LSOs and Trade unions is 21 000, the gap to cover all
shop stewards 39 000

20. Estimating
the
shop steward
and union
official
population
Estimation of the Shop Stewards
population
Ratios Estimated
National
population
Number of
union
members
covered by
the sample
sample
proportion
National union membership 2017 3 941 903
National union membership 2012 3 633 802
Ratio shop steward to members (current
research sample 19 unions)
53,8 73 338 2 583 657 65,5%
Estimated Ratio Adjusted for most
impactful outliers ( 17 unions)
62,0 63 579 2 257 657 57,3%
50th percentile ratio (Current Sample of
17 unions)
77,0 51 194
2013 Cosatu SS research ratio 68,7 57 378 2 063 085 56,8%
Average ratio 65,3 60 366
ratio of officials to members 1124.9 3 504 1 888 657 47,9%
Estimate rounded off for calculations 60 000
Current national union provision Estimate 35% 21 000
LSO provision 3727 6,2%
LSO annual estimated Provision 960 1,6% 20

21. Estimating the Vulnerable worker population and sub-groups
Vulnerable workers by lower income level main occupation in formal sector employment
Main occupation group Unionised Non-Unionised non-unionised
women
Women %
Domestic workers 410 705 885 677 087 95,9%
Elementary Occupation 32 311 1 342 051 510 885 38,1%
Plant and machine operators
and assemblers
34 112 398 915 42 939 10,8%
Service workers and shop and
market sales workers
31 524 645 796 378 416 58,6%
Clerks 20 284 289 744 204 467 70,6%
Total 11 8641 3 382 391 1 813 794 53,6%
Unionised percentage 3,4%
Women unionised % 1,2%
21

22. Level 2 (secondary targets) Institutional capacity development
22
Number Direct Constituency
Trade Unions 189 3 941 902members
Large Trade unions 16 2 672 000 (68% of all union members)
Medium trade unions 5 263 000 mebers (7% of all members)
Small trade unions 169 1 006 930 members
(25% of all union members)
Nedlac participating federations 3 2 745 000 (70% of all union membership)
All Trade Union Federations 5 3 530 500 (89% of all union membership)
Independent unions 94 406 902 members (11% of all union members)
LSO 7-10 In theory collectively LSOs provide to all workers and all
members in particular but some have more specifically defined
populations
LSO other and labour focused
CAOs
12-20 Focus on community based and often vulnerable workers,
women, casualised workers etc. This includes labour focused
advice centres
Community advice offices 312 Advice centres generally deal with a lot of labour related
matters. In theory they provide to society without the means as
a whole.

23. Recommendations
• Coordination of WE initiatives
• Extension of provision and building LSO
support to the working class
• Extension of provision by Trade Unions and their federations
• Extension of provision by LSOs
• Educator development Programme
• Educator skills development
• Building resources - organisation Capacity development and
network -materials and methodologies
• shop stewards target group
• general membership and workers target group
• Collaborative Curriculum development and accreditation
processes
• Organisational capacity development
• Worker controlled degree - pilot project
• QCTO Occupational certificate trade unionist- materials
development and Industrial policy pilot
• Information management Programme
• Organisational capacity development
23
• Online materials repository
• SS basic, intermediate and
advanced collection pilot
• LSO and university materials
repository
• Labour Law Extension Project
• L6 advanced certificate LL pilot
• Gender education network
• Community development and
activism pilot project
• Skills Development engagement
programme
• Worker Education Research
extension and M&E
• Sustainable funding models and the
Coordination of WE

24. Coordination
• Need to establish a more permanent forum with organisational capacity
and independence
• Propose the WEC Committee mandate is extended with expanded
representation to play an interim role
• Work towards the formation of a National Council on Worker Education
(proposed by Worker Education Summit 2009)
• Expanded representation of current WEC to include:
• Federations
• LSOs
• Organisations representing vulnerable workers
• National coordinating body for Community Advice Offices (ACCAOSA/NACADO)
• Government institutions (DHET, NSF, DoL, SAQA, QCTO, ETDP SETA)
• Universities with labour focused programmes that have MOUs with LSOs and/or
federations
24

25. Extension of current provision 1-5 years
• A minimum standard of 1 weeks education
per year for all shop stewards is
recommended and has been used as a base
for calculation of the gap between current
provision and a minimum standard.
• Proportion of delivery 5-10 Years
• Existing trade union provision 35%
• Existing LSO provision 1.6%
• Projected LSO and other providers
(accredited) 4.4%
• Projected LSO provision
(unaccredited) 14%
• Projected trade union and federation
Provision (unaccredited) 45% 25
• Campaign for legislated minimum
requirements and funded time-off for
worker education
• TUs train a target of 27 000 SS
• LSOs reach 12 000 more SS
Proportion 5-10 years
• LSO and other providers accredited 10%
• LSO non accredited (specialised)
(provides bridging and RPL) 15%
• Trade union/Federation provision
(non Accredited) 70%
• Trade union (accredited) 5%

26. Education Capacity Development
Programme
26
• This programme aims at developing organisational and educator capacity in order
to upscale delivery. It is based on the principle of collective development and
capacity building between LSOs, Trade unions and organisations representing
vulnerable/informal workers. It addresses capacity gaps and curriculum gaps.
• It attempts to develop a number of educational resources/materials in an
integrated way so as to facilitate articulated learning pathways from AET through
to degree level. It is also key in developing additional methodologies that will
extend the provision in order to reach general membership and workers.
• From a capacity perspective it is intended to develop skills for approximately 100
union based educators over a five year period. The following focus areas:
• facilitation skills,
• materials development skills,
• competency in ACET and bridging programme delivery, and
• electronic and print delivery of informal education directed at a mass base

27. • A network of practitioners are brought together to develop specific areas of
curriculum and themselves also develop further capacity through peer learning.
• Annual conferences are used to extend learning to the general educator
population in the labour movement.
• Development of the following will be included in the outputs
• Developing Trade union Occupational Qualification materials
• Developing AET format of QCTO curriculum areas
• E-learning materials
• Degree curriculum
• degree materials
• General membership and worker education materials and media
• WE materials and approach for inclusion in school curriculum
• Non accredited course development in support of quality and RPL (see SAQA
policy on same)
• WE and RPL policy
27
Education Capacity Development
Programme

28. Organisational Capacity Building
• Education and Skills support for Trade Union Organisers and
Administrators
• Gender Education Network
• Labour Law Extension Programme
• Worker Education Research Capacity, Monitoring and Evaluation
• Trade Union, Worker Organisation, LSO and university networks for
materials development and course development
28

29. Information management pilot
• Research existing information management systems in place in unions, and
analyse their strengths and weaknesses, utilising ‘good practice’ case
studies
• Identify the information needs of unions and Federations at various
organisational levels (linking this to organisation building, bargaining,
education/capacity building and social dialogue)
• Develop proposals for uniform systems for information collection and
maintenance that take account of specific conditions in unions, combining
the use of technology with methods that complement organising practices,
and maintain and build on relationships and communication at local levels
• Develop learner data management systems with linked online database
covering education materials
• Support a cluster of pilot unions to implement and maintain information
systems, assess the implementation, and identify areas for improvement
• Create platforms for sharing of experiences and approaches to information
management across unions and federations
29

30. Collective Building of WE resources –
open repository
• The rationale is to develop a collective repository of WE
materials and resources
• The principle of copy left or open source from the IT world is
recommended as an approach
• Outputs include:
• Collection of materials developed and contributed by a WE
community
• Improved materials access and development
• Ever growing information sources
• Monitoring the use of the repository and scanning for commercial
infringements of the open source policy
• Would become a reference materials library for learners and also
an e-learning site for WE generally (phased in) 30

31. Community development and activism
Programme
• This programme has 2 core components covering community development
and reaching vulnerable hard to organise workers through the provision of
advice.
• It develops materials for community development and activism and
paralegal support through an integrated learning pathway from AET level
through to occupational certificates.
• Recommendations include participatory action research involving workers
and community members together while developing skills and knowledge
of targeted learners.
• The programme also covers recommendations around the piloting of
mobile workers advice clinic approach for reaching vulnerable workers
where they live work and commute.
31

32. WE and vocational skills engagement
• The WE and vocational skills engagement suggest the need for unions to better coordinate the engagement with
skills structures and institutions from workplace to state level.
• It also recommends the space for the direct provision of vocational skills requires serious consideration and what
steps would be needed to establish this.
• More specific recommendations relate to the establishment of a research agenda focused on current skills
structures representatives from workplace to national institutions.
• A development programme and orientation for union representatives sitting on SETA boards.
• A skills programme for workers participating on skills and equity committees at workplace level.
• Extended research into the feasibility and current practices nationally and internationally of Unions engaging
directly in vocational training.
• Outputs include;
• Educational materials for workplace representation in skills and equity structures (As these workplace structures are often
combined)
• Education materials directed at supporting negotiated vocational skills development for sectors which are often more
project focussed such as construction are developed.
• Educational materials focused on organising and skills amongst vulnerable and unorganised workers which have crossover
skills for self representation are developed.
• 80 Nationally based skills representatives are upskilled and engage in strategic deliberation from a labour perspective.
• 1750 Shop stewards/workplace representatives sitting on workplace skills structures are up-skilled and engage effectively
on equity and skills issues.
• Labour representative at national and workplace level have access to focused research data on skills provision and
orientated to consider and argue in terms of polemic and labour market implications of skills development planning.
32

33. Sustainable Funding and coordination
models and options
• Increasing Income streams
• Endowment Fund
• Ring fencing WE as a proportion of the SDL
• Unions allocate a greater proportion of funds to WE
• Some funds currently spent on private providers and universities are redirected into
worker controlled WE
• State budget absorbs some cost through a community college approach
• Reducing costs
• Building infrastructure
• State Loan Linked to community college or other centralised worker body
• Save to build approach
• Contingencies for a resource poor environment
• Using existing resources
• Increasing usage of technology to deliver worker education
• Using open source models
• Open union culture
33

34. The South African post school
environment
34
Public
University,
960000, 19%
Private
University,
68000, 1%
Public
College,
702000, 14%
Private
College,
79000, 2%
Public Adult
Education,
283000, 5%
Private Adult
Education,
8000, 0%
Not in
Education
Employment
or training,
3001000,
59%
South African Post School System :2014
Primary and
secondary
education
84%
Adult
education
1%
TVET
Colleges
4%
Universities
11%
Education expenditure Estimates 2015/16

35. 2016/17 Values
Expenditure/
Estimate learners
Cost/
learner
Community Colleges/PULCs R1,7 billion 280 000 R6 185
Tvets R9,1 billion 781 000 R11 652
University R55,6 billion 1 037 000 R53 616
Total Skills Development Levy (SDL) (current) R15,7 billion
National Skills Fund (NSF) Component 20% R3,2 billion
SETA Mandatory Grants 20% R3,2 billion
SETA Discretionary Grants 49,5% R7,8 billion
Admin 10% R1,6 billion
QCTO 0,5% R78 million
Worker Education Committee Proposed– Theoretical 5% of Skills
Development Levy for WE R788 million
Theoretical cost to train all SS including current WE activities -5%
accredited 1 week per year non accredited (residential) R482 million 60 000 R8 027
Estimate of total expenditure on WE R160-230 million 22 000-24 000 R8 086
Theoretical cost to build and operate 13 WE Centres for one year
(2016/17 cost overnight) R737 million
Some Contextual Figures: Post School Education and
Training

36. Options for coordination and funding Integrated
WE system – (worker controlled)
• Use a community of practice college system for sustainable funding purposes or
develop
• Use community of practice College system or committee/council for Coordination
of curriculum, quality and delivery – minimum is to have a list of providers
circulated to SETAs for provision of WE components of funding.
• Coordinate curriculum through accredited and non accredited forms including
AET efforts to streamline RPL
• House the accredited components within Community College System Or LSO/s
(with collaborative delivery) or within identified university programmes. (could
also be a combination of these options)
• Build integrated system up to post degree level – towards establishing a worker
controlled education system with higher education/vocational
education/Informal and non accredited components.
36

37. 37