1. ITUC Arab Region
Communicating workers’ rights
By Farah Dakhlallah, ILO Regional Communication Officer for Arab States

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.”

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Outreach tools
 Text
 Press releases, feature
stories
 Factsheets, Q&As,
Brochures
 Posters
 Opinion Editorial

17. OutreachTools
 Audiovisual
 TV spots, Video News
Release, Documentaries
 Audio podcasts
 TV/Radio interviews and
appearances

18. (e.g. BBC Arabic OAT report coverage)

19. (e.g.WDACL in Arab States)

20. (e.g.WDACL in Arab States)

21. (e.g.WDACL in Arab States)

22. (e.g.WDACL in Arab States)

23. OutreachTools
 Website
 Brings together other
media outputs (press
releases, videos, feature
articles, etc.)
 E-Newsletter

25. OutreachTools
 Social Media
 Twitter
 Facebook
 Flickr

26. (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

27. 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

28. 
Thank you
2013