- Labour Code
- Collective bargaining
- Collective disputes settlement
- Communication. Dealing with mass media
- The process of privatization in Bulgaria
- The role of the leader
- The Trade Unions and the political parties
- Health and Safety. Ecology
- Enterprise economy for trade unionists
- ILO standards and workers rights
- Social protection in Bulgaria
- Employment problems
- The women in the trade union movement
In the structure of Podkrepa CL there is a special unit dealing with the Trade union education, namely the Confederative Department “Trade Union Development”. The main task of the a/m Department is to accomplish the education policy of the Confederation. The basic functions of “Trade Union Development” Department are to organize and carry out the training of the members and leaders from all levels, to elaborate programs, training materials and equipment, to coordinate and to control the training process etc.
A Confederative Secretary, two experts and twenty trainers compose the Department. Ten of the trainers carry out training on the territory of all the country and the remaining ten are attached to the decentralized departments for trade union education and carry out seminars only in the frame of determinated units.
PODKREPA CL Trade Union Education deals with the following issues:
This issue contains the most important topics of the Labour Code, presenting the interrelations and the dependence between the different chapters, articles and points. There is detailed examination of the Labour Code texts, related to the Trade Unions and the rights of the trade union members and organizations.
Workers, Employees, Trade Union leaders from different levels and Employers are trained on this issue.
The labour grounds for collective bargaining, the process of negotiation, the techniques and methods for achieving good results are analyzed, in conformity with the Labour Code.
There is a possibility to enlarge and analyze the collective bargaining on European level. This theme is foreseen mainly for trade union organizations leaders and negotiations teams.
Collective disputes settlement during the training process the Law for settlement of collective labour disputes is analyzed in details as well as the types of protest actions, the strike as a mean of trade union pressure and the legal grounds and requirements for strike legitimity. Sheets and models necessary for documentation and legalization of the strike activities are shown. All specificity before, during and after the strike is analyzed. This theme is mainly for trade union leaders from all levels.
This theme is quite large and could be presented in different ways according with the participants. It is divided logically in two major parts. The first is related with the main principles and forms of communication and targets to prepare the trade union organization leaders for a better organization of its main activity – organizing a new members and keeping the existing membership. During the second part normally we stress on the skills and behavior face to the camera and auditory. The specificity of the message is analyzed in order to achieve maximal effect from the intervention. Attention is drawn on the behavior face to the auditory – the gesture, the mimics, the intonation etc.
This theme concern all which deal with people and frequently are faced to the auditory – trade union leaders, politicians, local and national level leaders etc.
This issue is extremely topical for the country at the present moment due to the dynamism of the privatisation processes in Bulgaria, to the frequent amendments in the legislation and regulations, which require constant actualisation of the content. Many seminars on the mass and cash privatisation are organised as well as on the main requirements for employees-management buy-outs societies.
The seminars on this issue are very popular and concerns all the people intrested by the privatisation processes in Bulgaria – trade unionists and employers, union and non-union members, entrepreneurs, etc…
The training on this issue develop organisation skills in the participants stressing on the basic qualities which the leader have to acquire. The principles and the mechanisms of management are studied in developing in details the democratic style of administration.
This seminar is extremely useful for leaders from different domains: trade union, political, economic, etc…
During the seminar which has mainly practical orientation are analysed and discussed topical and very frequently discussion questions as: do the trade unions have to participate in the politics and if yes how they have to organise their participation. Some methods and forms of participation in the political life are exanimate (how to make an adequate choice who support, utlisation of questionnaires, organising of forums for the candidates, etc…). The forms for mobilising of the trade union members and activists are discussed as well as the lobbying as a organisational influence on the candidates.
This education is useful for trade union leaders, for activists as well during the electoral campaigns and for all people dealing with public activities.
This is a basic seminar, which aims to give an information to the participants with the main health and safety and labour protection standards existing in the regulations. The dangers and risks in the labour process are discussed as well as the harmful elements as noise, dust, radiation, evaporations, etc…
Normally the seminar continues 3 days and is presented in different ways according to the respective professions. It concerns trade union leaders and members of the Health & Safety Committees. The acquire acknowledge on health and safety are obviously useful for every single worker or employee nevertheless of its occupation.
This seminar is foreseen as a participant’s introduction in the basic market economy, some legal knowledge in the domain of the accountancy and the Commerce Law. Main target of the education in this issue is to develop in the participant’s skills to read economic information, which is presented to the trade unionists and which represents a basis in the collective bargaining.
The seminar is directly related to the other economic themes and second level education is foreseen.
The seminar targets to inform the participants with the international standards /mainly ILO/ on workers rights. Conventions, agreements and other acts are discussed apart of which are ratified by our country. During the education are analyzed the main international trade agreements as well. The participants are trained to determine in which cases there is a violation of the international standards and in which to the national, they acquire practical skills to describe the cases of violation and to address them to the respective authorities. For this purpose there is a standard sheets to be filled.
This topic concerns the laws and regulations of the Social insurance Code. Depending on the requirements for the seminars are presented different options, stressing on pension insurance, health insurance or there is general scope seminars all insurances. An information is given on the types of insurance funds - public and private, their advantages and disadvantages.
This theme is developed for workers and employees who in shortly will leave their job due to liquidation or partial compressions etc. Usually the seminar is organised at enterprise level where redundancy is foreseen. The theme composition is workers preparation for actions after their firing. Laws and regulations are discussed – Law for protection in case of unemployment and its regulation for application; the documents and sheets, necessary for Labour offices registration are filled in practice; prescriptions are given how to use all the possibilities and services, offered by the local Labour offices.
This is a one-day seminar that is organised at enterprise level with the cooperation and the active participation of the Labour offices. The seminar form is mainly practical with a short expose on the basic regulations.
This seminar targets to inform the women trade unionists with their role and their main rights in the frame of the trade union movement and the working place as well. The Bulgarian laws are debated in the part where they deal with women rights as well as international conventions that guarantee equal treatment.