The impact of trade union education; a study of three countries in Eastern Europe

Education is often viewed as a key instrument for effecting change in trade unions. This article examines the experience of a programme conducted by the International Union of Food, Agricultural and Allied Workers’ Associations within agricultural unions in Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus. The analysis develops a typology of different educational approaches related to gender and to varying strategies in relation to union reform, which may have wider application. Results of the educational activities include the development of an international network of activists dedicated to union reform, reallocation of subscription income, and direct effects on industrial relations in a multinational company. The pace and direction of change in these former ‘official’ unions are sensitive issues because of increasingly hostile state regimes and dependence on external resources. These unions may be seen in future as less fruitful fields for global donor investment and may attract fewer resources than those in other regions of the world.