A trade union or labor union, often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees and protecting and increasing the bargaining power of workers.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), literally translated as National Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions, also known as Minju-nochong, is a national trade union centre in South Korea officially established in 1995. Its predecessor was the National Council of Trade Unions (NCTU), established in 1990 as an independent, democratically operated alternative to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions.
The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions is a national trade union centre in the Netherlands. The FNV is a significant player in the field of work and income. The trade union consists of a central federation, complemented by several sectoral unions representing specific professional groups and sectors. The FNV aims to safeguard the interests of employees, promote fair labor conditions, and protect workers' rights at the national level.
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) was a pro-democracy labour and political group in the Hong Kong. It was established on 29 July 1990. It had 160,000 members in 61 affiliates and representation in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) to challenge government policies and push for legal protection of worker and trade union rights. It was one of the two most influential labour groups in Hong Kong, with the other one being the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and negotiates agreements and work programmes with European employers. It coordinates the national and sectoral policies of its affiliates on social and economic matters, particularly in the framework of the EU institutional processes, including European economic governance and the EU Semester.
Labour unions emerged in Japan in the second half of the Meiji period, after 1890, as the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization. Until 1945, however, the labour movement remained weak, impeded by a lack of legal rights, anti-union legislation, management-organized factory councils, and political divisions between “cooperative” and radical unionists.
The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) is an independent regional union federation aimed at unifying trade union centres in Africa. This organisation was founded in April, 1973 as a successor to two previously competing labour union organisations in Africa: the All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF) and the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC). The process to unify a Pan-African labour union organisation also involved international labour organisations as decision-making stakeholders like the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Finally, also with the help of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the AATUF and the ATUC merged to form the OATUU. The driving factors for this unification and the creation of the OATUU was to advance Pan-Africanism, economic justice, and social justice throughout African workplaces.
Estonian Trade Union Confederation (EAKL) is a trade union centre in Estonia. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
The Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia is the only national trade union center in Latvia. It was founded in 1990 as a reformation of the Soviet era trade unions. LBAS is the biggest non-governmental organisation in Latvia which protects the interests of professional trade union members and employees on the branch and interbranch level. LBAS coordinates the cooperation between 23 independent Latvian trade unions, represents and protects the interests of its members in the national and international institutions, implements a joint working programme.
A company or "yellow" union is a worker organization which is dominated or unduly influenced by an employer and is therefore not an independent trade union. Company unions are contrary to international labour law. They were outlawed in the United States by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act §8(a)(2), due to their use as agents for interference with independent unions. However, company unions persist in many countries.
The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) is a national trade union center in Ukraine. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation.
The European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), founded in 1971, is a federation of 68 metalworkers' unions from 31 countries, representing a combined total of 6.5 million affiliates. It is based in Brussels, Belgium, the general secretary is Ulrich Eckelman and Bart Samyn is the Deputy General Secretary. The organisation was dissolved on 15 May 2012, to become a part - together with EMCEF and ETUF-TCL - of the newly created organisation industriAll European Trade Union on 16 May 2012
Trade unions in Germany have a history reaching back to the German revolution in 1848, and still play an important role in the German economy and society.
Direct Action is an independent trade union in Ukraine that pulls together students of leftist views. The union was founded in 2008 by the students of Kyiv University. Legalized on April 15, 2009, the union has its branches in a number of Kyiv universities and also in several regional centres of Ukraine.
The Confederation of Canadian Unions is a national trade union centre, a central labour body of independent unions in Canada.
The Agricultural Industry Workers' Union is a trade union representing agricultural and food processing workers in Ukraine.
The State Employees' Union of Ukraine is a trade union representing workers in the public sector in Ukraine.
The Social Movement is a Ukrainian left-wing community organization founded in 2015, which stands on the principles of democratic socialism, opposing capitalism and xenophobia. It operates in the largest cities of Ukraine. The group is aspiring to become a grassroots political party and came to some prominence during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine when it called upon the international left to support the Ukrainian resistance to Russian imperialism and campaigned against wartime curtailing of certain labour rights by the Ukrainian government.
