The Covid-19 pandemic was a game changer in the digitalisation of trade unions. In an instant, unions and shop stewards had to turn to messengers, social media and webinars to stay in touch with members and addressing their concerns However, unions felt that they should not only rely on technology provided by Western tech companies but build tools that served their specific purposes. 

In an online forum on 3 September 2024, a number of such examples were presented to a global audience of 80 trade unionists. In Argentina, FES has developed the App “Union Platform”. It primarily serves as a communication tool: workplace incidents and rights violations can be reported to the union, the union can communicate news and provide information to its members such as benefits for members or labour law provisions. This open source App is available (Android) for unions to customize to their own needs.  

Focusing on labour rights and the application of labour law, FES Botswana in cooperation with the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions has developed “Workers Assistant” an AI-based bot. Users can get instant advise when they suspect their rights are infringed such as non-payment of wages, calculation of overtime pay etc. The bot uses labour law, court cases and international conventions in its guidance to workers. Being a learning system, it can improve its advice based on filed court cases and decisions. Easily accessible via WhatsApp (just text “Hello” to +26774536188), the “Workers Assistant” can provide an immediate service that highlights the relevance of trade unions which will assist members in filing complaints and further pursuing the rights violations. 

Finally, FES and its partner CETU in Ethiopia have worked on a digital membership platform for trade unions. Here, trade union members can access a platform and gain information on trainings, events, news, and they can send legal service requests and inform about work related accidents. For the union, the platform enables it to share news, offer services, acquire data about their membes and to collect salary information for collective bargaining. 

These projects have provided valuable lessons for the trade union involved as well as for the labour movement at large. It has been shown that it is not expensive to create own apps or customized tools. However, unions need to invest into “backend” resources, i.e. to keep the tool updated, to maintain communication links and to answer requests that are being generated by users of the tools. Hence, it requires a strategic commitment by the union leadership. For staying on top of using digital technologies, unions should develop relationships with data scientists, programmers and developers. There is still a lot to learn on how to use data strategically for union communication and campaigns as well as in handling member data. In this way, such new tools are not just a technical gadget, they could be instruments that transform unions: the way it communicates internally and externally, the way it is perceived, the way decisions are being made. In today’s digital world, the future of unions is also decided by how it espouses technology – because the other side already has the upper hand.