Manitoba Labour Education Centre
Organization profile published 1982

Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Organization
Cx Number:  CX2600

Abstract: 
Plans for the establishment of a Labour Education Centre began to develop in the mid 1970's and the CENTRE was incorporated in 1977 with the following objectives:
- to provide educational services for both organized and unorganized working people which would analyse society and the role of working people within it;
- to promote an understanding of the goals, policies, and responsibilities of the labour movement;
- to train workers to participate effectively in their unions and other social organizations; and
- to equip workers to advance their skills and capacities in the labour market.

While plagued by a shortage of adequate funding, the Centre has: carried out resech into labour history, workplace health and safety, and affirmative action programmes; assisted the Univeristy of Manitoba in the establishment of a labou rstudies program and also in co-operation with the University of Manitoba, hosted a Conference on Labour Education in November 1979.

PLans for the future include: the expansion of its library and resource centre; development of educational resources that can be utilized by unions, post-secondary institutions, and public schools; lobbying for the inclusion of Paid Educational Leave provisions in collective agreements and labour legislation; promotion of joint programmes with educational institutions; the development of its own study program with its own credit and certification systems, and expanded research into areas of concern to labour.

While the Centre has been developed from the initiative of the labour movement it is hoped that it will function at an "arms-length" from official labour bodies. It is governed by a board composed of representatives from various bodies, the Manitoba Teachers' Society, the Universities of Winnipeg, Brandon and Manitoba, and the Provincial Department of Education.

This abstract was published in the Connexions Digest in 1982.