From 25 to 28 of May, FIA, UNI MEI and UNI Americas carried out a joint workshop in Bogota to provide targeted capacity building training for leaders of Colombian audiovisual trade unions.
The training was organised in the framework of a joint FIA and UNI MEI project co-funded with the support of Union to Union, the Swedish International Trade Union Development Co-operation, and Teaterförbundet the Swedish member of FIA and UNI MEI. The two-year project aims to build the capacity of trade union leaders representing workers in the audiovisual sector in Latin America with a strong focus on Colombia where the audiovisual sector is growing constantly and attracts many international co-productions.
Following previous workshops which FIA and UNI MEI organised in Colombia in 2015 and 2018, the focus of this years’ capacity building training was to consolidate the achievements made so far by the young trade union movement in the audiovisual sector.
Four Colombian trade unions for actors and film technicians (ACA, CICA CINE and ACTV) and radio and cinema theatre workers (SINPRISA) were invited to participate in an in-depth exchange with Argentinean union leaders (AAA, SATSAID, SUTEP and SICA) which shared their rich experience of building a strong and sustainable trade union network in Argentina.
The training focused on a variety of issues, including sustainable internal trade union governance, systems for membership fees, organizing workers and collective bargaining. Individual planning sessions with each of the four Colombian unions allowed to devise tailor-made targets in terms of organizing workers and collective bargaining.
On Sunday 26, FIA met with ACA (Asociación Colombiana de Actores) for a training with Argentinean expert Alejandra Rincon from AAA (Asociación Argentina de Actores). The activity coincided with the 5 year anniversary of this young and dynamic union which has succeeded in organizing an impressive number for performers in Colombia, and negotiate agreements with several TV networks (Caracol and RCN). Since our last visit in 2018, the union has been actively participating in FIA’s regional activities, and expressing high interest in getting further involved at international level.
A joint session with all Colombian and Argentinean unions on how to address sexual harassment on Monday 27th also allowed for mutual learning on a sensitive issue on which unions continue to increase their capacity.
The capacity building of Colombian unions will continue in the coming weeks and months. During the regional seminar in Mexico City in November this year, members of UNI MEI-Panartes and FIA-LA will have the opportunity to further exchange with their Colombian colleagues on the progress they have achieved and any further targeted support they would need in the coming years.
