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Union members at TV3 in Malaysia are on the verge of signing their 8^th collective agreement – a remarkable achievement having only been set established in 1989. Not content with winning union recognition, increased benefits for members and building membership and organisation they are in the process of establishing a union presence at new stations being set up by their employer.



The success of the TV3 union set the scene for the key debate on organising – but it wasn't the only example of unions prospering amid a tough economic climate or in the face of hostile anti-union employers.



“Organising is the lifeblood of all our unions and integral to everything we do,” said Matt Loeb of IATSE launching the debate.



Hanna Harvima explained how health and safety demands had been used to help organise among film workers in India – where most workers are informal and labour laws either do not apply or are not enforced. Workers had no sanitary facilities, no separate changing rooms for women, no safety or fire safety equipment. As part of a UNI sponsored project a health and safety handbook was published alongside a series of seminars and legal experts were brought in to help educate workers on their rights and to help campaign for changes in the law.



Anna Paola Martins from SINDCINE in Brazil stressed the need to put resources in the training union reps and officials so they become organisers – a point reinforced by Jim Joyce from NABET-CWA in the US who said his union had shifted resources to organising. One key project was among Spanish language media in the US – a campaign which had already established over 1000 contacts for the union. But he stressed it had to be planned, financed, co-ordinated with consistent follow up.



Social dialogue is an organising tool said Magdelene Kong from UNI APRO. Securing social dialogue with the ABU allowed the unions to help debate and shape policies initially in areas such as media safety, gender portrayal, governance and copyright but opened the door to discussions about industrial relations issues later.



Other campaigns – from the work of Indonesian unions organising among thousands of workers in 12 national TV stations to the success of ACL in Colombia in securing an agreement with Carrefour, 1200 new members and an announcement that outsourcing is to be stopped – all show the power of organising campaigns to help make a difference.



“We have secured more than 20 billion francs for the improvement of working conditions and our stations. People have better access to TV and radio due to our negotiations. We have made things better,” said Aboubakar Kissira of SYNTRAB in Benin – a point that showed why organising is so central to UNI-MEI's work. Strong unions are the only way to protect the professional well-being and livelihood of entertainment and media workers.



Delegates unanimously passed a comprehensive resolution committing UNI-MEI to:



· Continue to develop organising campaigns in key and new areas of the digital economy

· Build affiliates' and staff capacity to develop organising skills and campaigns

· Promote social dialogue as a tool for union organising

· Enhance union access, recruitment and services.



Click here to see photos from the conference.