PROJECT TITLE : STRENGTHENING THESKILLS AND CAPACITY OF FFW ORGANIZERSIN THE FORMAL ECONOMY

TENTATIVE DURATION: Six (6) Months

STARTING DATE : January 2007

GEOGRAPHICAL : Nationwide

PROJECT LANGUAGE: English / Filipino

EXECUTING ORGANIZATIONUNIT : Federation of Free Workers

IMPLEMENTING UNIT: Philippine Social Institute

PREPARATION DATE: 23 March 2006

AUTHOR : Danilo A. Laserna

1. BACKGROUND / PROBLEMS:

• FFW as trade union – social movement

• Workers in the informal economy is increasing – 65.13% in 1999 to 67.47% of the total workforce in 2003

• Rules of the game in the informal economy, including certain rights and welfare of the workers, not only can be found in the Labour Code (1974) but also to other special laws, local ordinances, and regulations – “web of of labor standards”

• FFW organizers are not equipped with necessary skills to organize workers in the informal economy.

• Lacking, if not none at all, knowledge in basic issues and concerns in the informal economy

2. TARGET GROUPS AND OTHER PARTIES

Target Group

Skills and Capacity Trainings for Fifty-Five (55) FFW organizers in the national level, full-time and volunteer-organizers.

No special training of this type has been attempted before

Barely have experience in the informal economy

Implementors

This will be implemented by the Philippine Social Institute (PSI), a training and education department of FFW) with the close collaboration of the Operations Department (organizing department) particularly on curriculum-building

Decision-makers

It shall be supervised over-all by the FFW Executive Board, who generally approves the budgetary expenditures upon the recommendation of the National Treasurer.

Financiers

Forty Percent (40%) of the entire cost shall come from internalGeneral fund and Sixty Percent (60%) shall come from theExternal fund, preferably from the International Labour Organization (ILO)

3. Long-term Objectives

This workplan will contribute in achieving the following:

• To increase membership from the informal economy and integrate them fully in the FFW structure;

• To strengthen the financial position of FFW by increasing the income from these members and legally represent them in any types of social dialogue and, possibly, come up with an agreement (joint undertaking, social contract, social pact, memorandum of agreement, memorandum of understanding, etc.),

• To conceptualize and develop training and education intended for the members.

4. Immediate Objectives

The target group will be able to:

• Explain the prevailing special laws, local ordinances, rules and regulations with regards to the rights and welfare of the workers in the informal economy when asked what are specific laws and even specific provisions that will directly states that certain rights and welfare;

• Communicate with confidence with the workers in the informal economy when directly interacting with them on the prevailing issues and concerns in this particular sector;

• Identify the basic issues and concerns prevailing in the informal economy as well as to offer best solutions for organizing.

5. Key Outputs / Direct Results

• Fifty-five (55) organizers who have sufficient skills to organize workers in the informal economy, and

• New ideas, experiences and strategies on how to effectively organize the workers and how, where, and specific government agency to appropriately register their organization.

6. Activities

Within six (6) months, the following activities shall be performed:

• Draft training curriculum jointly by specialists from Philippine Social Institute and Operations Department. If possible, seek assistance from consultant on the contents of the said curriculum;

• Submission and approval of budget proposal to conduct capacity and skills training for the organizers;

• Arrangement of appropriate training venues and dates to conduct such trainings;

• Distribution of notices to the organizers of the particular training;

• Invitation of resource persons,

• Preparation of training materials and relevant references such as FFW Policy on Informal Economy, related laws, rules, regulations on the rights and welfare of the workers in the informal economy – audio-visual materials also included;

• Actual trainings tentatively to be held on 12-17 March 2007 in Manila for Luzon-based organizers and 19-24 March 2007 in Iloilo City for Visayas-Mindanao organizers;

• Follow-up activities as stated in Point No. 10 - Monitoring / reporting / Evaluation Procedure

7. Main Inputs

• Manpower, training materials and references and financial resources are necessary to implement the said activities

8. Indicators of Achievement

• Initiate a contact with an organization operating in the informal economy within a month;

• Initiate a minimum of two (2) contacts for new members to be recruited within a month;

• Provide a minimum of two (2) reliable mapping data produced by each member of the target group within a month;

• Successful counselling work on two (2) cases by each organizer to the members on their issues and concerns within six (6) months;

• Provide legal representation and process its grievances or problems as it may arise from time to time.

9. Management of Risk

POTENTIAL RISK POSSIBLE RESPONSES

Not all organizers would be Some of them will be asked whether theyinterested to organize workers should want to organize the informalin the informal economy. Most workers in full time basis.of them have organized traditionaltrade unions for their lifetime. Women organizers in the Women’s Perhaps they do not want to change Network (women’s department) will alsotheir working environment be tapped in this project.

Same thing with volunteer-organizers, including from Young Free Workers (youth

desk) will be asked if they want to changetheir working environment

Not one of target group not capable Despite of improbability rate, the of doing the task monitoring and evaluation would

play vital role to check whether theycan really capable of doing task.

Such improbability would happen,the Chief of Operations Department will meet the target group and willdetermine what went wrong alongthe line.

After making an analysis, the Chief then make some recommendations to the Executive Board will either draftan internal policy to direct the targetgroup to improve their work OR provide a financial incentive for thosetarget group who successfully organized IE workers and affiliated

with FFW.

10. Social Monitoring / Reporting / Evaluation

weekly report

Report and Recommendations

monitoring

coordination

11. Preliminary Budget Proposal

Local Currency US Dollars (PhP)

1. One Activity 100,000.00 1,825.00

2. Second Activity 135,000.00 2,599.00

Total 235,000.00 4,424.00