 | Parts of this article (those related to Luca Visentini) need to be updated.(December 2022) |
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| Abbreviation | ITUC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1 November 2006 |
| Merger of | |
| Type | Trade union centre |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
Membership (2018) | 207 million |
President | Akiko Gono |
General secretary | Luc Triangle [1] |
| Website | www |
| Part of a series on |
| Organized labour |
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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) [lower-alpha 1] is the world's largest trade union federation.
The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). The Founding Congress of the ITUC was held in Vienna and was preceded by the dissolution congresses of both the ICFTU and the WCL. The ITUC has three main regional organizations: the Asia-Pacific Regional Organization, the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, and the African Regional Organisation. [2] The Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (TUDCN) is an initiative of the ITUC whose main objective is to bring the trade union perspective into international development policy debates and improve the coordination and effectiveness of trade union development cooperation activities. [3]
The ITUC represents 207 million workers through its 331 affiliated organizations within 163 countries and territories. [4] Luc Triangle is the current acting General Secretary. [5]
The ITUC traces its origins back to the First International (also known as the International Workingmen's Association) and in 2014 commemorated the 150th anniversary of the founding of the International Working Men's Association at its own world congress held in Berlin. Also in 2014, the ITUC debuted the Global Rights Index, which ranks nations on 97 metrics pertaining to workers' rights, such as freedom from violent conditions and the right to strike and unionize. [6] According to the 2020 update of the Index, there has been a significant increase in violations of workers' rights around the world. [7]
The founding congress of the ITUC was held from 1 to 3 November 2006 in Vienna, Austria.
The first day of the congress saw the formal creation of the ITUC followed by an address by Juan Somavía, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO). [8]
Day two included Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) responding to panel discussions on the impact of globalisation, including the topics "Cohesion and chaos - the global institutions" and "Global unions - global companies". Technical difficulties limited Lamy's satellite video link participation.
Leadership and officers were elected on the final day of the congress. Guy Ryder, the former general secretary of the ICFTU, was elected to the same position in the new organisation. [9] Sharan Burrow was elected president. A Governing Council was established, with 70 elected members, and 8 additional seats reserved for youth and women's representatives.
A council of Global Unions was also formed on the final day of the congress. It was established jointly with ten global union federations and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).
The second congress of the ITUC was held from 21 to 25 June 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
On 25 June 2010, at the conclusion of the congress, Sharan Burrow (then ITUC President) was elected General Secretary, succeeding Guy Ryder (who had been elected as Deputy Director General of the International Labour Organization). [10] In anticipation of her election, Burrow had resigned from her position as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions effective 1 July 2010. [11]
Speaking to the Congress after her election, Burrow paid tribute to her predecessor and emphasized the continuing role of organized labour in the world's emergence from the 2007–2008 financial crisis. She also made special mention of the significance of her election as the first female leader of the world's largest trade union (against a background of high workforce participation by women and a Congress 50 per cent of whose delegates were women [12] ):
I am a warrior for woman and we still have work to ensure the inclusion of women in the work place and in our unions. The struggles for women are multiple – too often within their families for independence, then in the workplace for rights and equal opportunity, in their unions for access and representation and then as union leaders. But the investment in and participation of women is not only a moral mandate it is an investment in democracy and a bulwark against fundamentalism and oppression. Organising woman is and must continue to be a priority for the ITUC. [13]
The Pan-European Regional Council (PERC), a European trade union organisation within the ITUC was formed 19 March 2007. It consists of 87 national trade union centres and a total membership of 87 million. It works closely with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The ITUC raises capital through charging dues to its member organisations. [14]
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) to form the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Fascist governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of World War II. In 2006 it became part of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), ending its existence as an independent organization.
The ITUC Regional Organisation for Asia and Pacific is a regional organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation representing trade unions from countries in Asia and Oceania. It has 40 affiliated organisations in 28 countries, claiming a membership of 30 million people.
The ITUC Regional Organisation for Africa (ITUC-Africa) is a regional organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, representing trade unions from countries in Africa. There are 56 national trade union federations affiliated to ITUC-Africa, from 45 countries, and representing a total of 15 million workers.
Sharan Leslie Burrow was the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (2010-2022) and a former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) (2000–2010). She was the first woman to become General Secretary of the ITUC since its foundation in 2006, and was the second woman to become President of the ACTU.
Decent work is employment that "respects the fundamental rights of the human person as well as the rights of workers in terms of conditions of work safety and remuneration. ... respect for the physical and mental integrity of the worker in the exercise of their employment."
The General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain(Formerly known as the General Committee for Bahrain Workers) (GFWTUB) is a national trade union federation in Bahrain. It was established in 2002, by the Workers Trade Union Law granting workers the right to organize collectively.
There are few trade unions in Oman, established following a 2006 Decree by the Sultan of Oman permitting their organization. Some of these, have done completed elections, they are members of the General Federation of Oman Trade Union (GFOTU). Oman has become the third Gulf Arab state, after Bahrain and Kuwait, to have a general federation of trade unions.
Guy Bernard Ryder is a British international civil servant who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations.
Trade unions in Benin operate in relative freedom, with approximately 75% of the formal sector being unionized. There are, however, concerns expressed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) about the discrepancies between the government's Labour Code and the labour practices outlined by ILO Conventions 87 and 98 - specifically the right of unions to form without government approval, the right of seafarers to organize or strike, and restrictions on strikes.
Trade unions in Botswana operate within a longstanding democratic system in which the government of Botswana has ratified the International Labour Organization's core conventions, including Conventions 87 and 98.
The ICFTU African Regional Organisation (AFRO) was a regional organisation of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), representing trade unions from countries in Africa.
The ICFTU Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation (APRO) was a regional organisation of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), representing trade unions from countries in Asia and Oceania.
The ICFTU Inter American Regional Organisation of Workers was the regional organization of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) for the Americas.
Ramjee Kunwar is a Nepal Trade Union Congress-Independent (NTUCI) leader, Senior Vice President of NTUCI and executive member of Nepali Congress Party. He was also the former vice president and secretary of NTUCI and is currently acting president.
Heribert Maier was an Austrian trade union leader.
José Olivio Miranda Oliveira, often known as Zé Olívio, was a Brazilian trade unionist.
The Global Rights Index is a world-wide assessment of trade union and human rights by country. Updated annually in a report issued by the International Trade Union Confederation, the index rates countries on a scale from 1 (best) through to 5+ (worst). Ratings are based on 97 indicators derived from the labour standards of the International Labour Organization. The annual index reports on violations of trade union rights, such as limitations on collective bargaining and the right to strike, inhibiting trade union membership, state surveillance, violence and killings against trade unionists and restrictions on freedom of speech.
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