LATVIAN COMMERCIAL WORKERS TRADE UNION(LTDA) ORGANISING Maira Muceniece Chair woman of LTDA Gdansk, 15 June 2011

Trade union (TU) density

New membership and the number of those members who lost their jobs 1 January 2008 3071 + 604 - 866 1January 2009 2809 + 412 - 511 1January 2010 2710 + 337 - 545 1January 2011 2502 + 499 1 June 2011 ?

Organising – the main activity of LTDA Political decision TU activities nominated by Congress Plan of organising decided by Council Timetable of organising decided by Board

2 ACTION WAYS Introduction meetings with employers Work with employees: - directly, - with mediation of shop stewards or/ and contact persons in shops

H O W ? Existing of target companies list: - companies with largest number of employees in retail and wholesale sector, - multinational companies, - socially responsible companies, - companies where even one individual TU member works, - others Find of suitable contact persons – shop assistants

H O W ? Distribution of advertisement materials ( info sheets, pocket calendars, pens etc.) : - with mediation of existing members, - during different events ( town festivals, fairs etc.) Publicity (web page, in newspapers,radio, TV etc.) Organising meetings with potential members during lunch pauses in shops if employers alow it Recruitment of individual members (outside the companies)

LTDA/ RIMI members in Vermane’s park ( Riga) during 1May campaign organised by LBAS

W H O ? LTDA staff Shop stewards and/or other active local TU committees’ members Contact persons in shops as individual members Leaders of regional TU centres of national confederation LBAS

Individual members – the first step to building of new organisation Increase of number of individual members from the same company (minimum – 3) Legal consultations and aid for them (popular way by e-mail) Invitation of individual members to TU seminars on theme: “ What is TU?Know your TU members’ rights!” Etablishment meetings after seminars

New members in existing organisations – TU capacity and social dialogue strengthening at company Shop stewards and/or other active local TU committees’ members - invitators of colleagues to join TU Availability of advertisement materials and application forms at workplace Concluded collective agreement with extra social guarantees – one of the main motivators Training and free-time activities only for members (seminars,excursions, sport and other events)

YOUNG MEMBERS FOR YOUNG WORKERS Involvment of young members in all TU activities Action of Youth counsil in LBAS and negotiations about establishment of the same counsil in LTDA/RIMI

THE MAJOR OBSTACLES TO ORGANISING A small chance to meet and speak with potential members at their workplaces ( intra-company ) Prohibition to distribute advertisement materials in shops Negative covert attitude from many employers and employees’ fear to join TU Concluded collective agreement relates to all company’ s employees not only to members Difficulties to find suitable organizers Lack of finansial and human resources

Success stories of organising in LTDA Establishment of new TU organisations in multinational companies : In RIMI (Sweden) in 2004, density – 22% In MAXIMA (Lithuania) in 2010, density – 1% In RAUTAKESKO ( Finland) in May 2011, density -8% In IKI ( Belgium) in May 2011, density – 1,4 % Existing more than 500 individual members in 200 companies, included STOCKMANN ( Finland), LINDEX (Finland), PRISMA (Finland), DROGAS (Honkong), JYSK (Denmark, franchise)

Growth of membership in RIMI/ICA ( Sweden)

Growth of involved shops in RIMI/ICA ( Sweden)

First RIMI TU conference delegates in November, 2005

RIMI TU seminar on labour relations in 2006

Annual RIMI TU excursion in 2009

LTDA / RIMI TU team in Sport event of LBAS in 2010

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! GOOD SUCCESS IN ORGANISING TO ALL COLLEAGUES! Maira Muceniece T.+371 67211523, T.+371 29432529 E-mail:LTDA@INBOX.LV Web page: WWW.RIAO.LV