1. DATE: 19th March 2009 By Cde Mod Voltah Gabonthone
PRESENTATION TO THE BFTU GENERAL COUNCIL ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING DATABASES FOR TRADE UNIONS
DATE: 19th March 2009
By Cde Mod Voltah Gabonthone

2. INTRODUCTION Importance of having a database
Storing Union member details
Informs BFTU, Government & researchers about membership data: gender, age, education level etc.
Coordination & storage of info to support policy advocacy and lobbying.
Database allows you to manage and use an incredible variety of information easily.

3. Importance of having a database con’d
Allows easy tracking of info about people including volunteers, clients, potential donors, current donors, event attendees, who support or who might support Union programs and services.
All the information is stored in one source, hence easy backing up of data.

4. Project link with ILO
Information processing IT tool that can be used for research and study work, communication network and international solidarity actions to address the basic functions and services of trade unions and workers’ organizations, such as the promotion of trade union rights and collective bargaining.

5. Application Softwares to use
Two options
Microsoft office & Open Source
Merits and demerits

6. WHY OPEN SOURCE? Very cheap Virus free
OpenOffice.org licenses are free. Microsoft Office licenses are not.
Any computer capable of running Microsoft Office is also easily capable of running OpenOffice.org.

7. WHY OPEN SOURCE CON’D?
Support staff capable of supporting Office is also capable, with a similar amount of training, of supporting OpenOffice.org.
The number of critical patches required to plug security holes for OpenOffice.org is dramatically lower than that for Microsoft Office.
There are no mandatory upgrades required for OpenOffice.org.

8. IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES
BFTU Executive Council agreement on the need of developing databases by the end of the week.
Setting up date/schedule for training Unions staff on building database by 30th March 2009(two people from each affiliate, of which one must be a female).

9. ACTIVITIES
Soft ware installation
Browsing through Open Source application software
Learning Open Source database software features
Building database

10. MAIN INPUTS A lab with at least 31 networked computers.
1 laser jet network printer.
Internet access.
65 copies of Openoffice.org.

11. INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENTS
Trade Unions to have developed Databases by the end of June 2009.
Databases to be in effective use by end of June 2009.
The use of Open Source soft wares by Unions by the end of the year.