ISCOS (Trade Union Institute for Development Co-operation) is an Italian NGO, promoted by CISL (Italian confederation of trade unions) in 1983 with the aim of promoting solidarity amongst Italian workers and the workers from Developing countries, in order to achieve peace, democracy, and respect for Human Rights. CISL, founded in 1950, is an organization of 4.2 million members, representing, through professional unions structures, the employees from different sectors (agriculture, industry, civil servant, services) and the pensioners, irrespective of their political or religious affiliations. ISCOS – CISL has been founded to support the trade unions in playing their role of emancipating workers from the operation of employers and defending their rights and dignity. The international co-operation is an essential element of this emancipation. ISCOS started its activities immediately after its birth and was formally recognized by Italian ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985.

ISCOS – CISL has its national headquarter in Rome with 10 regional offices. This structure addresses the issues of development through the cooperation of international solidarity for education and awareness of its members. The national headquarter promotes a co-ordinates the initiatives of raising awareness and educational development, and it is the interlocutor of public funding and international organizations. ISCOS – CISL is currently working in more than 30 countries of 4 continents; Asia, Africa, Europe, & South America. ISCOS – CISL started its activities in Pakistan in 1998 through bilateral cooperation with Former All Pakistan Federation of Lab our (now Pakistan workers federation) and since then it is involved in different development activities in Pakistan.

SHARP being one of the proud partners of this esteemed organization has been conducting trainings throughout Pakistan for the promotion of workers rights under the project entitled, “Strengthening Civil Society Participation to Promote and Defend Workers rights”. Under this head SHARP is conducting various activities to achieve the following aims:

* Elimination of child labor and abolition of bonded labor in Pakistan

* Rehabilitation activities for Afghan refugees, health care project for Afghan refugees in different camps of district

* Peshawar and district Mansehra, NWFP, and support to the orphan children.

* Training of the NGOs’ / CSO's (Civil Society Organizations) to create a network of local NGOs that can implement activities of mobilization and information on workers rights

* Training of trade unions to improve their knowledge on workers rights, with a sound gender approach, under existing labor laws

* Legal assistance to the workers organizations and imparting legal education to workers with a view to create paralegal among them, which will lessen their reliance on commercial lawyers. Skills of paralegal in terms of legal matters, social dialogue, improvement of working conditions and positive relations with employers will enable trade unions capability to shun off negative impression of these organizations in society

* Awareness of women rights given under UN Charter and national laws

* Building and maintaining a tent village in Balakot, disaster management training to teachers and providing primary school education to children in quake it areas of NWFP

ISCOS with the collaboration of SHARP has conducted the following trainings in the year 2005:

i. Training on “Strengthening Civil Society Participation to Promote Workers Rights” held at Islamabad in February 2005.

ii. Training on “Strengthening Civil Society Participation to Promote Workers Rights” held at Mianwali in May2005.

iii. Training on “Strengthening Civil Society Participation to Promote Workers Rights” held at Islamabad in December 2005.