The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

federation.

History

The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 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 ...

(ICFTU) and the

World Confederation of Labour The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the ...

(WCL). The Founding Congress of the ITUC was held in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

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 The Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-CSA) is the regional organization of the International Trade Union Confederation for the Americas. History The confederation was formed in March 2008 when the ICFTU Inter American Regional Organis ...

, and the African Regional Organisation. 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. The ITUC represents 207 million workers through its 331 affiliated organizations within 163 countries and territories.

Sharan Burrow Sharan Leslie Burrow (born 12 December 1954) 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 wom ...

is the current General Secretary. The ITUC traces its origins back to the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as ...

(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 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+ ...

, which ranks nations on 97 metrics pertaining to

workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

, such as freedom from violent conditions and the

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the I ...

and unionize. According to the 2020 update of the Index, there has been a significant increase in violations of workers' rights around the world.

Inaugural congress 2006

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 Somavia, the Director-General of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO). Day two included

Pascal Lamy Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2013 for 8 years. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy ...

, the Director-General of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

(WTO) responding to panel discussions on the impact of

globalisation Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

, 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 Guy Bernard Ryder (born 3 January 1956) is a British international civil servant who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations. He was previously Director-General of the International Labour Organization fro ...

, the former general secretary of the ICFTU, was elected to the same position in the new organisation.

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 Global Unions or Council of Global Unions is a website, which is jointly owned and managed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, and ten global union federations (GUFs). Formation ...

was also formed on the final day of the congress. It was established jointly with ten

global union federation A global union federation (GUF) is an international federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic tradition described as international t ...

s and the

Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD The Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) is the interface of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with organized labour. TUAC has 59 affiliated trade union centres in 31 OECD countries, representing more ...

(TUAC).

Second congress 2010

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,

(then ITUC President) was elected General Secretary, succeeding Guy Ryder (who had been elected as Deputy Director General of the

). In anticipation of her election, Burrow had resigned from her position as President of the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and la ...

effective 1 July 2010. 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

Global Financial Crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

. 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):

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.

Organisation

The

Pan-European Regional Council The Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) is a European trade union organization within the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). It includes 87 national trade union centres with a total membership of over 85 million. PERC also works clos ...

(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 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 n ...

(ETUC). The ITUC raises capital through charging dues to its member organisations.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:2006:

:2010:

:2022:

Luca Visentini Luca Visentini (born 1969) is an Italian trade unionist. Elected general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation at the organisation's 5th World Congress in Melbourne, Australia, in mid-November 2022, he stood aside on 14 Decembe ...

Presidents

:2006:

:2010:

Michael Sommer Michael Sommer (born 15 January 1952) is a German trade unionist leader. He served for 12 years as the chairman of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB). Early life and career Born in Büderich, now part of Meerbusch, North Rhine-Wes ...

:2014: João Antonio Felicio :2018:

Ayuba Wabba Ayuba Philibus Wabba (born 22 October 1968) is a Nigerian people, Nigerian trade union leader. He was returned as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress for another four years during the unions leadership elections on 6 February 2019. Earl ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Fabio Bertini (2011), ''Gilliatt e la piovra. Il sindacalismo internazionale dalle origini ad oggi (1776-2006)'', Roma, Aracne * Ed Mustill (2013), ''The Global Labour Movement: An Introduction'', a short guide to the global union federations, the ITUC, and other international bodies

External links

* *
ITUC Global Rights Index 2020
{{Authority control International organisations based in Belgium Trade unions established in 2006 2006 establishments in Austria International and regional union federations