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25 August, 2026The value of union training comes from how it is used once participants return to their workplaces. At a recent youth workshop, participants moved beyond learning about workers’ rights and union power to developing concrete plans for organizing, collective bargaining and strengthening worker participation.
Young union activists met in Goa on 18-19 August for IndustriALL training on workers’ rights, union power, international labour standards and collective bargaining. Sessions moved beyond theory to ground these issues in workplace practice.
Turning learning into organizing
Participants explored how to translate union concepts—equality, rights and power—into workplace practice. Sessions connected these principles to broader challenges: automation and shifting employment relationships. The training emphasized collective engagement with technological change rather than individual responses born of fear or competition.
Building the next generation of union leadership
Participants were also encouraged to see themselves as organizers and leaders rather than simply recipients of knowledge.
The training prompted a broader reflection among participants: being a young union member is not only about having a voice in the union, but also about helping other young workers find theirs.
Bhanu Pratap Rana, youth participant and co-chair of IndustriALL Asia-Pacific regional youth committee reflected:
“I realized how much we overlook when we only see familiar problems. I’m going back with better questions, and that’s far more valuable than answers.”
These young unionists are now equipped to organize workers, challenge exclusion and strengthen collective power.
IndustriALL regional secretary for South Asia, Ashutosh Bhattacharya, commented:
“Young unionists are already part of the movement, not just its future. We must give them knowledge and confidence to question and reshape unions.”