The USW’s Health, Safety and Environment efforts often reach across international borders, and this month, the union coordinated with workers in the Middle Eastern nation of Oman on developing safety standards there, as well as building international solidarity.
District 2 USW-TMC Training Coordinator Steve Doherty worked with the General Federation of Oman Trade Unions (GFOTU), leading workshops in the cities of Muscat on April 5-6 and Sohar on April 8-9. The workshop was organized by the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center.
Doherty also met with union leaders and the Omani Ministry of Labor to promote the GFOTU’s Health, Safety and Environment effort and the union’s role in developing labor standards.
“It is an exciting opportunity to witness the birth of a union movement and to take a look back at the history of the beginning of the USW and labor movement in the United States,” Doherty said.
The USW Systems of Safety approach was well received by the workshop participants. Omani labor unionists were eager to learn about how to raise awareness and eliminate workplace hazards, build solidarity and improve the working conditions and engage the membership.
The first day of the workshop consisted of Body Mapping and Hazard Mapping, small group activities using the Systems of Safety Approach, comparing Omani labor standards to the U.S. and other international standards, and a discussion among the sector leaders on strategic planning for the future.
The second day focused on building effective union safety committees and developing a structure to strengthen the union voice at the table with the labor ministry and the companies in the future.
The Omani union leadership is now exploring how they can develop their own worker trainers.
