From Northern Syria, Assemblies, and Unions to Deliver the Voices and Obtain the Rights
June 20, 2023 - After Baytna established the Wasl Network in Aleppo, which consists of nine effective and active organizations in its various fields, the network began to carry out numerous and remarkable tasks to support civil society to play a more influential role in advocating for the issues of its communities, and choosing its representatives to implement the programs.
Among the distinguished projects undertaken by the network is the Topia Syria project, which targets assemblies and unions that need assistance, support, and empowerment.
In its work with assemblies and trade unions, Wasl Network has carried out several awareness campaigns about the elections, their importance, and the need to participate in them to urge people to take a responsible role towards the bodies that work for their service and help them reach their votes and achieve their rights. After the success of the elections for the Assembly of Labor Unions, Wasl Network continued to work with the assembly on four axes, the first through knowledge-educational sessions on the concepts of civil work, the Syrian labor law, mechanisms for forming bodies and unions, and the second through case-study sessions by studying trade unions and coalitions in Syria and Egypt. The third axis included consulting sessions to develop an internal system and organizational files. The fourth axis supported an initiative implemented by the union by covering workers' expenses by issuing union cards for workers affiliated with the union. The union secured discounts from pharmacies, shop owners, and commercial establishments at different rates. For example, the worker can take a 25% discount on purchasing medicine, materials, and products in shops through contributions from the Syndicate of Pharmacists and Local Merchants.
As for the Union of Free Syrian Students/Union of Student Offices, after Wasl Network attended the founding meeting for the elections at Al-Nahda and Al-Sham Universities, Wasl helped monitor the electoral process and form the Students Office (General Office).
After its formation, the Students' Union Office was able to win the students' trust in several positions, including their standing with the students on the issue of raising the registration fees at Al-Nahda University, as the union objected to this decision because the students could not pay the new prices. The Board of Directors did not initially respond to the office's request. Hence, the office carried out a protest and a sit-in to stop the decision, which led to the university's acquiescence to the office's request and canceled the decision to raise the fees.
The Office of the Student's Union also pressured Al-Sham University to provide students' basic needs, including water and gas for cooking in the students' dorms. As a result of their work, the university approved the office's request and worked to supply the dorms with gas. After they resolved several outstanding issues for the students, the union gained their confidence and got people's approval as an official agent for the demands and rights of the students and a platform for conveying their voices.
Abdul Malik, a member of Wasl Network, says: "We have witnessed the most significant impact of working with the unions through activating the democratic election system and the reports that the blocks provided us with, as this process helped to form the current working committees, which contributed to the formation of a complete state of Democracy and the selection of representatives from the different groups of people in the liberated areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo.