Global Labour University - Wits University

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The Global Labour University (GLU) GLU is a network of universities, trade unions and support organisations offering postgraduate programmes and courses in labour studies to trade unionists, labour activists and labour experts. Contact Us

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The GLU network has successfully established academic study opportunities for labour activists from all over the world. In so doing it has:

Strengthened the intellectual and strategic abilities of workers and organisations
Fostered stronger working relationships among trade unions

Call for Applications 2026 – Postgraduate Degree Programme

The Global Labour University (GLU) is an exciting and innovative postgraduate programme designed to equip and engage trade unionists more effectively to tackle the challenges of globalisation. It offers unionists and labour activists formal post-graduate Honours and Masters degree qualifications through the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a full-time coursework and research study programme located in the School of Social Sciences.

Download here: Call for Applications 2026 – GLU Honours and Masters Degree Programme.

Call for Applications 2026 – Engage South Africa Short Course

ENGAGE helps labour activists and trade unionists to acquire additional knowledge and tools enabling them to take an active part in public debate and the process of policy formulation and implementation. The Certificate Course, made up of six modules, constitutes the core of the activities of ENGAGE. The cause of the decade-long decline in the wage share and the requirements for a wage-led recovery path will be discussed and analysed during the training. The participants will jointly develop strategies to enforce decent work conditions along cross-national chains of production and to regulate financial markets in a way that promotes fair globalisation and inclusive societies.

The topics covered in the course may include, inter alia: Global Governance, Global Wage Policy and Finance, Labour and Development, Society and Development, Trade Union Capacity Building, and Power Resources Mapping Research Project.

For detailed information see GLU Engage South Africa 2026 | Engage South Africa Short Course Application Form - 2026

The School of Social Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) is the home to GLU South Africa.

Since 2007, it has offered postgraduate degrees and short courses to trade unionists, labour activists and labour researchers. 足球竞彩app排名s come from all over the world. Many are drawn from Africa.

GLU is the only programme of its kind in Africa and is open to all unionists and labour activists regardless of their affiliations.

Organisational Structure

GLU is run by a committee of Wits academics and administered by the Committee Chairperson, the Administrative Coordinator and the Programme Coordinator.

Degree Programmes

Honours in the field of Labour Policy and Globalisation by coursework
Master (MA) in the field of Labour Policy and Globalisation by coursework and research report.

Short Courses

Since 2013, GLU has offered the very popular Engage short course �C a certificate course for international trade unionists and activists �C to provide University-level academic training to activists.
In 2017, GLU created the Social Theory for South African Trade Unionists short course designed for South African based trade unionists and labour activists (this course came out of requests for such a course from trade unions in South Africa).

Course Objectives

To equip workers and organised labour with the tools to actively engage in internal trade union rebuilding and revitalisation and national and international socio-economic policy debate and formulation.

Short Courses

Honours - Labour Policy and Globalisation

Masters - Labour Policy and Globalisation

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