Recently, the Trade Union Organization of the Pedagogical University conducted a two-day course and an outgoing meeting of the trade union committee at the University’s Aghavnadzor-based teaching and training centre.
It was the first such event which aimed to present in a peaceful environment away from the city’s hustle and bustle the structure’s activity, directions and importance in the world, in Armenia and in the university in particular, to the members of the trade union.
At the beginning of the course, President of the ASPU Trade Union Edik Gulyan, and Edgar Chakhoyan, Chairman of the Commission for Youth Affairs of the Confederation of Trade Unions, identified expectations of the participants and then reshaped the pre-developed programme according to the needs of the audience.
During the discussions, the longtime members of the trade union revealed their field of activity anew, appreciated their work and answered a number of questions, such as "What is a trade union organization?" "What functions, activities and mechanisms the ASPU trade union has?", "Social partnership and collective bargaining", etc.
Thanks to the creative approach of the instructors - Edgar Chakhoyan and Edik Gulyan, as well as use of didactic materials, and well-developed programme with modern methods, it was possible to ‘turn’ associate professors and professors with extensive teaching experience into students for two days; the experience added liveliness and freshness to their everyday routine.
Through brainstorming and different games, the members of the organization singled out the characteristics and important features for trade unions: unity, humanism, objectivity, social policy, apolitical attitude, tolerance, solidarity, empathy, self-regulation, self-financing, representativeness and volunteerism.
The participants were particularly interested in the lecture on collective bargaining, which is relevant today and is important in international relations as well.
On the second day of discussions, the participants worked in 3 groups to draft a collective agreement between the ASPU and ASPU Trade Union which will be revised and amended and submitted to the University leadership for review. Once the parties reach a mutual agreement, the document will be signed.
An outgoing meeting of the Trade Union Committee took place at the end of the course.
The survey conducted after the two-day intensive meetings showed that the organizers had achieved their goal, and people who had the least idea about the role, significance and activity of trade unions were now fully aware of their work.
The course was organized by the Republican branch union of Trade Unions of Universities of Armenia and the ASPU Trade Union.