DRC: online union training full of promise
The Fédération nationale des enseignants du Congo/Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Congo (FENECO/UNTC) has closed the end of its online Trade Union Academy on the fundamentals of trade unionism.
This training began on February 15 and ended on March 13. The closing ceremony in Kinshasa-Gombe was chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education (EPST), Jean-Marie Mangobe.
"Awaken the conscience" of teacher unionists
Before the presentation of the certificates to 200 participants on March 19, the General Secretary of FENECO/UNTC, Augustin Tumba Nzuji, said:
“I sincerely thank the guests and other personalities who came to take part in this activity. We are extremely happy that our initiative has been well followed across the country. We will not stop training and awakening the consciences of our fellow teachers and others who practice unionism with many limitations. "
Regarding the activities undertaken during this online academy, Tumba Nzuji said that the latter focused on "the fundamentals of trade unionism".
The training module includes three chapters: notions about the union, union practices and the fundamentals of unionism.
According to Tumba Nzuji, "it is normal to start with this first point, because it is the very basis of trade unionism, a trade union must know what fight must be carried on".
Face-to-face teacher-student interaction remains fundamental
Regarding distance education linked to the pandemic, he stressed: "What is ideal is to find yourself in the context of a classroom, in the context of school, where there is interaction between the students and the teacher. For us at FENECO-UNTC, we say to ourselves ‘Eurêka’, we still found something instead of leaving people in the dark. "
A welcomed initiative during COVID-19
Welcoming this initiative, the Secretary General of EPST, Jean-Marie Mangobe, also encouraged the union to continue with such initiatives and recognized that since he was in this ministry, he had never been aware of this kind of union activities.
“I would like to congratulate FENECO/UNTC for this good initiative implemented during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also invite other unions to follow these steps" he said.
FENECO-UNTC will soon announce the next session of this online academy.
Video presenting the closing ceremony of the training (in French):
