By Jimmy Twist
Kampala
Workers MP Arinaitwe Rwakajara to open up four regional extensional Labour Colleges in Eastern, Western, Northern and the Central regions of Uganda under the Labour College of East Africa, to foster independent working-class education.
According to Rwakajara, the Labour College of East Africa will have a provisional committee controlling the new regional colleges to be set in the four regions of Uganda that will consist of representatives of Labour, Cooperative, and Socialist societies. This will follow the model of the Labour Representation League of the United Kingdom.
“Through the Labour College of East Africa, I will offer full bursaries to workers through their respective trade unions…” said Rwakajara
Rwakajara’s plan seeks to address the rapid development of class-consciousness, particularly among those who are now being labeled as perhaps disparagingly, “Working Class”. Many feel proud of belonging to that section of society and have become increasingly resentful of the grievances the working class has endured through exploitation in the new factories and their disfranchisement. Their resentment has been heightened by the president’s failure to ascent the Minimum Wage Bill 2015 into law.
The Labour College of East Africa is already an affiliate of the Global Labour University (GLU) which is a network of trade unions, universities, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
According to Rwakajara the college will be delivering high-level qualification programmers in the long run and will offer even Masters Courses in the four regional colleges of Uganda on trade unions to be set soon.
“The courses will be centered on, Sustainable Development, Social Justice, International Labour Standards, Multinational Companies, Economic Policies, and Global Institutions and promotes Research Cooperation on global labour issues…” said Rwakajara
The Labour College of East Africa through its regional extensional labour colleges in Uganda will act as a new approach to increase the intellectual and strategic capacity of workers’ organizations and to establish stronger working relationships between trade unions, the ILO, and the scientific community.
One of the lucrative programs at the Labour College of East Africa running at all the four regional labour colleges in Uganda will be the new LCC Certificate Program which is built on creating collaborative learning moments and supporting student cohorts from start to finish. This new program will offer greater flexibility by blending online and in-class learning.
Despite the lucrative LCC Certificate Program, three intensive course sessions will also be offered over one year or longer.
The sessions will include online learning and in-person, week-long sessions. Students will have the option to complete the program over 13 months or longer, with a maximum of two weeks of face-to-face, in-class learning each year.
The courses will include, Foundation of Political Economy, Theory and Practice of Unions, Strategic Thinking, Planning and Project Development, Research and Communications Skills, Truth to Reconcile-Action, Leadership for Movement Building, Education for Action/Organization for Change, Work and Workers in a Global World, Governance, Laws, and Policies.
