The South Asian Regional Trade Union Council (SARTUC) is a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

s whose geographic scope covers South Asia. SARTUC's mission is to promote workers' rights within its member nations.

History

The South Asian Regional Trade Union Council was formed in January 1988 by some of the affiliates 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 ...

(now the

ITUC 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 federation. History The federation w ...

) in countries belonging to the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan ...

(SAARC)—

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The Indian trade union center

Indian National Trade Union Congress Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) is a national trade union in India. It was founded on 3 May 1947 and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, ...

and

Hind Mazdoor Sabha The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the Inte ...

, were the founding members of SARTUC. Nazrul Islam Khan (then-president of the Bangladesh Metal Workers' Federation) was SAR-TUC's general-secretary in 2003."Shipbreaking Guidelines Charting New Waters." ''ILO News.'' October 15, 2003.
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Leadership

General Secretaries

:1988:

Jamshedpur Gopeshwar Jamshedpur Gopeshwar (21 December 1921 – 23 May 2008), usually known simply as Gopeshwar, was an Indian trade unionist and politician. Gopeshwar was born in Rampur, in the Saharsa district, and studied at Patna University. He supported ...

:1998: Nazrul Islam Khan :Laxman Basnet

Presidents

:1988:

Savumiamoorthy Thondaman Savumiamoorthy Thondaman (30 August 1913 – 30 October 1999; also spelled ''Saumyamurthy Thondaman'' or ''Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman'') was a Sri Lankan politician who represented the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka of which he was a member. At the ...

: G. Sanjeeva Reddy

References

Labor relations Organizations established in 1988 International organizations based in Asia

Trade Union Council The Trade Union Council was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. It contested the 1950 general elections, receiving 4.8% of the vote but failing to win a seat.Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and p ...

Labour in Afghanistan Labour in Bangladesh Labour in Bhutan Labour in India Labour in the Maldives Labour in Nepal Labour in Pakistan Labour in Sri Lanka {{Asia-trade-union-stub