ITUC Arab RegionCommunicating workers’ rights

By Farah Dakhlallah, ILO Regional Communication Officer for Arab States

Thinking strategically

A communication strategy presents your trade unions’ values and ideas, actions, goals and aspirations to the outside world.

5 Golden Rules

Leadership – who will lead on communication decisions

Clear messaging – clear agenda and supporting messages

Regular planning – gather information and use it strategically

Effective coordination – have processes to enforce consistency

Good posture – proactive stance towards media & public

Assess your capacity

List your organization’s strengths and weaknesses

List opportunities to communicate (events, deadlines, etc.)

Assess your environment

How different stakeholders perceive you

Goals

What does your communication strategy aim to achieve?

Clear, bold, attainable and time-bound

Encapsulates the aim of your communication strategy and sends a message about the purpose of your work to others

“To better serve our members, our organization should in the next 5 years be recognized as an authoritative voice by news mediums of all types on workplace-related issues, especially those pertaining to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.”

Objectives

What activities will you engage in and with whom?

What outcome do you expect from this activity? When do you expect it will be achieved?

What tools/methods will the programme use to measure the outcome?

What degree or level of the desired outcome do you want to achieve to indicate success Over what period of time?

How many people will directly benefit from this activity? Who will they be?

Target Audience

What is my organization’s long term goal? “to increase the number of members protected under CB

agreements by 10% in next 3-5 years.”

What is the specific objective? “Labour relations act amended to provide migrant workers the

same union recognition and bargaining rights as other sectors”

Prioritize your audiences How much do they agree with your position? How much influence do they have on your outcome?

Target Audience

Who are the relevant groups?

What is their relationship to the issue?

Why do you consider them important?

How would they be involved?

How close are they to your position?

How much influence do they have?

What is their attitude to the problem?

Who has influence over them?

What is important to them?

Key messages

Concise and persuasive statement about the larger, more complicated, conceptual point you are trying to convey

State the problem & prescribe a solution

Purpose is to generate action

Clear, tailored to target audience, acceptable, engaging, persuasive

Key messages on FACB(adapt to local contexts)

Improves economic competitiveness and foreign investment

Adds to economic stability

Provides for dispute resolution and reduces conflict

Improves productivity

Enhances skills development and training

Helps manage change

Improves health and safety

Voice for workers and employers in the informal economy

Improves access to social protection

Strategic messaging

Key dates, events and national/local development

Select opportunity consistent with your media strategy

Check what others are doing

Establish a connection between event and FACB

Synchronize your message

Localize your message

Develop processes

Communications grid

Database of media contacts

Information collection and packaging system Generic information package List of in-house experts Media materials on key issues (Q&As, policy briefs, etc.) Media focal points

Contact management system Identify media outreach opportunities Determine form of outreach Schedule outreach

Media requests

What to do if a journalist calls you Identity, news organization Topics Background material Best person to answer questions Log of all media requests

Interviews

Interviews Decide what you want to talk about (talking points) Express your ideas effectively (clear, concise, factual, and

engaging) If you don’t know the answer, be honest and say you’ll check No such thing as “off the record” State your most important message first, talk about what you

have heard or seen yourself, relate how the situation is affecting others with compassion

Tips for dealing with media

Be trustworthy

Be accessible

Be open

Be a resource

Know your facts

Respect deadlines

Always be pleasant, respectful and more reasonable than your opponents

Outreach tools

Text Press releases, feature

stories Factsheets, Q&As,

Brochures Posters Opinion Editorial

Outreach Tools

Audiovisual TV spots, Video News

Release, Documentaries Audio podcasts TV/Radio interviews and

appearances

(e.g. BBC Arabic OAT report coverage)

(e.g. WDACL in Arab States)

(e.g. WDACL in Arab States)

(e.g. WDACL in Arab States)

(e.g. WDACL in Arab States)

Outreach Tools

Website Brings together other

media outputs (press releases, videos, feature articles, etc.)

E-Newsletter

Outreach Tools

Social Media Twitter Facebook Flickr

(e.g. Event)

Media Advisory

Press Release

Press Kit A basic package of materials (press release/

backgrounder/ Factsheet/ brochure about organization/ speeches/ other relevant documents)

Identify key messages

Identify key resource persons/ media focal point

Some basics

Identify media focal points

Identify spokespersons

Identify resources

Identify messages

Press pack

Develop a communication strategy and workplan with clear, time-bound and attainable objectives with measurable outcomes

Thank you2013