Vida Viva in Mozambique

Goal of VidaViva Mozambique is:
  • To improve quality of work life through enabling and strengthening workers and their unions in their efforts for concrete workplace intervention for better working conditions
  • To strengthen and develop democratic and participative union practices (culture of involvement) and organising structures at the shop floor and pressure for change
  • To strengthen cooperation between different union federations of Mozambique and the independent unions
  • To enable a south-south exchange on organising and intervention practices between unions in Mozambique and Brazil

Both union federations OTM and CONSILMO, independent unions of teachers and independent union of journalists.

In July 2006 with support of Brazilian members of VidaViva and the international coordinator of the project a Mozambique platform was formed to organise a health project in Mozambique. The task of this platform is:

  • to plan, develop and implement a joint health and organising project;
  • to realise education at the shop floor;
  • to realise participative action research;
  • to evaluate and accompany the process.

The platform is actually involving 25 participants from the federations of OTM, CONSILMO and ‘the independent journalist and teachers union’. 21 of the participants are local union leaders, who are training workers and 4 persons are representants of the different union federations. During 2006 the platform has met several times to share and accompany the pilot phase of implementation.

During the platform meeting participants have been trained by the Brazilian activists in mapping, a tool for participative action research. The platform meeting was followed by a pilot-phase of during the second half of 2006 and early 2007. Participants were supposed to implement mapping at different work places around Maputo.

In July 2007 a second platform meeting with Brazilian participation has been organised to evaluate the pilot-phase and plan future steps. They decided to expand the project beyond Maputo. In the first half of 2007 all participating unions had organised joint meetings in the Central region of Mozambique, including union representatives of the provinces of Tete, Manica, Sofala and Zambezia. They had presented the project goals, the tool of participative action research to those union leaders. The participants of these provinces also evaluated health as a most relevant issue for the region and the target group, and also evaluated the project tools of the VIDAVIVA project as highly adequate. They decided that they want to be part of the project and formed a possible implementation structure. In each of the 4 provinces there will be chosen 8 union representative (2 of each union federation), who may in future act as local trainers to implement the project. These 32 representatives will meet regionally (4 provinces) and locally (provinces) to implement and monitor the process. The unions will look for themselves for resources to assure implementation.

To make this expansion possible and to intensify the implementation in the district of Maputo the platform developed following strategies:

  • Capacity training of 32 local trainers in the Centre region and of additional 40 trainers in the district of Maputo early 2008
  • Mapping of workplaces and the existence of union committees in the Maputo region to map strength, needs and possibilities of the unions
  • Implementation of participative action research within the union leadership of the unions to raise the understanding and support within the unions
  • Discuss and include participative action research in the ongoing official planning of union activities
  • Production of information material about the project and already achieved results in Mozambique
  • Elaboration of principles and work procedures of the platform and the nucleus
    Till July 2008 the unions further made a concrete planning to implement participative action research in 18 specific workplaces in the Maputo district (Radio, TV, Schools, Food, Public Transport, Security, Railway, Hotel, Aluminium, Cement and Bank).

After the platform meeting in July 2007, the Brazilian and German activists stayed at the national leadership meeting of the unions. Together with members of the platform they presented and informed about the project. The union leaders officially supported the project, which will help the platform to be better supported in future. Hopefully this will help to make implementation efforts in future more effective and the use of union resources easier.

Finally a first life story of workers could be realised successfully, which includes workers from the hotel and water industry.

Till now, main activities have been the training and implementation of mapping, as tool of participative action research and the realisation of a Mozambique life story of workers for expositions. For late 2007 a folder to present the project and a second bulletin about already achieved results have been planned.
In future there may be more elements of the project: sector exchanges, seminars on specific issues etc.

Vida Viva

Education & exchange in Germany

What is Vida Viva about?

Who is involved in Vida Viva?

What have we done?

What can you do?

Do you want to read more?


***

Vida Viva in Brazil


Background on Brazil’s economy

…and the labour market

Background on stress, work and illness
…and gender
…in Brazil


Background on Brazil’s labour movement
… and industrial relations
… unions and health


Conclusion: unions, work and health

Vida Viva in Mozambique

Vida Viva in Germany

Materials

Slideshow:
Expo - chemical worker


Slideshow:
Choclate factory


Slideshow:
Expo-agro workers

Leaflet December 2006

Leaflet January 2007

Leaflet February 2007

Introduction magazine
of Vida Viva


Brochure on work quality


Health & safety guide

Mapping guide English