A two-day conference, aimed at establishing a road map for trade unions to ensure its relevance and sustainability and to develop a process for identifying and developing the next generation of trade union leaders, is scheduled for Kingston next week.

The conference, organised by the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute, in partnership with the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies' 50/50 project, is part of the movement's Workers Week activities.

The conference, dubbed 'A Road Map for Trade Unions: Relevance and Sustainability', is scheduled to take place on May 26 and 27 at the Mona Visitors' Lodge and Conference Centre, and expected to have participants from trade unions, the Jamaica Employers' Federation, Government and academia participating in workshop discussions.

Head of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute, Danny Roberts, said that the focus of the workshops will be on three broad themes — Building Strategic Alliances - Gender, Youth and Leadership; Workplace Challenges - Trade Unions in the 21st Century Workplace; and National, Regional and Global Challenges in the 21st Century.

"There will be a number of cross-cutting themes which will seek to establish priority issues that should inform trade union policies and operational agendam," Roberts said.