Today, various communities are encouraged to conduct advocacy and capacity building based on data or some call it evidence based. Data is used to influence policy and build critical community awareness of the applicable policy. One of the communities that realize the importance of this advocacy is the Trade Union/Labor Union (TU).
For the TU, which is the front line in efforts to improve workers' welfare, it is important to use data-based advocacy to influence changes in labor policies from the national level to the factory level through Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations. Data has a big impact for TU to support their arguments when having a dialogue or negotiating with company management. This is the background for the Data Academy - Data-Based Advocacy training.
Want to know more about the importance of data and how is the learning process in data-based advocacy training? Let's look further!
What is data?
Many parties equate data as information, it turns out to be different. Here's the difference. Data is all facts that have not been processed, and can be in the form of numbers, symbols, pictures, sounds, videos, writings, objects, or other factors from an event that occurs. Meanwhile, information is a collection of data that has been processed and analyzed, and is useful for a particular need.
So, the data must be analyzed/processed first in order to produce useful information for a particular need.
Can data and information be used to improve worker welfare?
Yes. Both are useful in influencing labor policy at the National level to the factory level. The following are some of the benefits of data and information:
- As a basis for argumentation and consideration during negotiations in the workplace.
For example, the application for TU so that the company provides free parking facilities within the company in order to save transportation costs and security for workers who bring motorized vehicles. For this reason, the TU collects the following data: data on workers who bring motorized vehicles, data on workers who are victims of cases of motor vehicle theft, calculation of workers' wages that can be saved if free parking is provided, a list of nearby factories that provide free parking facilities inside factories, and other data that may support the argument for this proposal.
- Materials in conducting education, awareness, worker organization.
Data can build workers' critical awareness to achieve their welfare. The more workers who are aware of their rights, the more workers will join in organizing themselves into TU. So that the bargaining position of SP/SN in a company will be stronger.
- Help map out problems, identify and prioritize issues, seek solution options in negotiations to improve working conditions.
By mapping the problems and prioritizing the issues to be negotiated, the TU will have a clear, directed, and well-measured road map.
- Data and information as the basis for evaluation.
Every program or activity certainly needs to be evaluated to see how far it can achieve the predetermined goals. The data collected is a very important part in evaluation activities because the data can show whether the program/activity has been on target, is right in implementation, and is effective.
What is data-driven advocacy?
Data-based advocacy is an effort to influence policy change based on data (evidence) that can be justified. At the factory level, data-based advocacy can be carried out when formulating a CBA or negotiating an improvement in working conditions which will later be agreed upon in the CBA.
The data used depends on the purpose of the advocacy itself, each advocacy will require different supporting data.
Data Academy Training - Data-Based Advocacy
Who can take this Training?
Data-based advocacy training is a capacity building for Trade Union at the factory level.
How many participants can participate in each training?
In order for each participant to have more opportunities to discuss, practice, make presentations, the number of participants is limited to 18 to 20 participants. In order to complement each other, it is expected that one company can send 2 (two) representatives.
What is learned in the Training?
The materials discussed in the data-based advocacy training are as follows:
- Philosophy of Labor Law
In this session, participants will be given basic knowledge of the current labor laws and regulations, whether they are the main laws, ministerial regulations, or their derivative government regulations. Labor law philosophy and gender sensitivity materials are mandatory materials that are always provided in all training held by Data Academy.
- Industrial Relations
This session puts forward material related to work relations and industrial relations, in particular understanding the means of industrial relations, especially Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Where the opportunity to include workers' rights is more open to the CBA. Because of the concept of freedom of contract in an agreement, including CBA. This material is important to be mastered by the Trade Union, in order to take advantage of this opportunity to create labor regulations in the workplace that are better than the statutory regulations.
- Gender Sensitivity and Leadership of Women Workers
The representation of women workers in several sectors and fields is still a minority, including in the garment, textile, and footwear sectors - where the majority of workers are women. In this session, participants are invited to understand the concepts of sex and gender, the forms and causes of gender inequality, and the important role of equal access in realizing gender justice in the workplace.
It is hoped that this material can equip trade unions at the factory level and workers with knowledge about gender awareness, motivate female workers to realize their strategic position in the management of TU, especially as a CBA negotiating team in companies to formulate and develop strategies and policies that are friendly to needs. female workers.
- Knowing Data and Building a Database
In this session, explanations related to data and information are put forward. Starting from the type and classification of data, sources of data and information, how to ensure data accuracy, etc.
In addition to theory, participants are also invited to practice how to document cases based on workers' complaints to process the document as data, access and read data, including data related to the employability survey available on Gajimu.com. And learn how the data can be useful for advocacy/social dialogue conducted at the factory level.
- Data-Based Advocacy
After understanding the data, participants are invited to use the data when negotiating or having a dialogue with companies. Through this material, participants are expected to be able to formulate the expected policy changes, build arguments to support these changes using the data that has been prepared, and improve their negotiating skills. To support the atmosphere of dialogue/negotiation, participants were asked to play a role as trade union and company management.
Who are the speakers in Data Academy Training - Data-Based Advocacy?
The training resources include experts and practitioners of labor law, gender issues, and advocacy. In addition to the resource persons, the facilitators in this training are the Data Academy team, namely personnel from the Trade Union Rights Center (TURC) and Gajimu.com.
How many days does the Data Academy Training - Data Driven Advocacy last?
Given the many materials and practices that will be carried out, this data-based advocacy training will take 4 days. And we conduct data-based advocacy training twice a year.
How to take Data Academy Training - Data-Based Advocacy?
If your factory has been surveyed by Data Academy interviewers, you can communicate with interviewers or send a request to participate in data-based advocacy training to the Data Academy team at gajimu@wageindicator.org