Countering the Productivity Argument

Union literacy is growing just as employers across Canada are becoming increasingly aggressive in cutting back and contracting out, in pushing for de-regulation and for privatization. These aren’t easy times to develop democratized learning programs, when so many workers are feeling stressed and insecure on the job.

Too often literacy is framed as a remedy for the ills of the workplace, whether we’re talking about industrial accidents or low productivity, problems that we know are caused by a multitude of factors. Unions have grave concerns when workers get blamed for these ills. Too often workplace literacy programs are defined in narrow terms. Sometimes referred to as “competency-based,” the training offered is limited to the skills needed for the job the worker is currently performing or to boost productivity. This kind of training is inferior because it is neither developmental — building a foundation for further education and training — nor portable.

Employers tend to get involved in literacy to boost the bottom line. Unions, on the other hand, get involved to enhance workers’ lives, to strengthen the union, to improve the workplace, believing that successful workplace literacy programs have to be centred around the needs and aspirations of workers.

A Cultural Revolution in the Workplace

There is clearly a double standard operating in most workplaces. People in management, technical and administrative jobs have fairly ready access to training, usually at the employer’s expense and on the employer’s time. Not only do workers at the bottom have little or no access to workplace learning, but their motives are often challenged. At the same time, both employers and unions are learning how rapidly the workplace is changing, and how much there is to be gained by investing in the workforce at every level. Promoting union-based literacy, then, means taking on these attitudes — struggling for respect — and challenging the practices that reflect and reinforce them.

Workers who have the opportunity to participate in a worker-centred literacy program generally develop increased confidence and skills. They can usually communicate better with co-workers, supervisors, the public and customers. They can understand written instructions better, deal with new material more easily and work more independently. They are more likely to participate in further training and education. They will likely feel more valued as an employee and make a more significant contribution to their organization.

At the same time, they will probably feel more confident about helping their children with their homework or participating in parent/teacher meetings. They will have a better sense of their rights as workers and citizens. They will be more likely to stand up for themselves and their co-workers, and they will probably ask more questions. They may become more involved in the union and in other aspects of their community.

Potentially, the workplace, the union and the worker all have much to gain. Nonetheless, the management and the union won’t necessarily have easier lives when previously disenfranchised workers begin to taste the newfound skills and openings of spirit that a good literacy program can provide. A more empowered worker isn’t always going to toe the line, either on the job or at the union meeting.