The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe.

Totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 2006 it became part of the

International Trade Union Confederation 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 Am ...

(ITUC), ending its existence as an independent organization.

History

Founding

The WCL was founded at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

in 1920 under the name of the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions (IFCTU) as a confederation of

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 (s ...

s associated with the

Christian Democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

parties of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

."History."Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007. Originally catering to

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

constituencies, the IFCTU was designed to provide an alternative to the secular trade unions in Europe at the time, basing its foundation on the ''

Rerum novarum ''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pas ...

'' and the '' Quadragesimo anno''."World Confederation of Labour Archives"

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figur ...

. Retrieved on August 19, 2007. The first statutes adopted by the group proclaimed its intention to struggle not only for workers' labour rights, but also values like human dignity, democracy, and international solidarity. Jos Serrarens became the first secretary-general of the IFCTU; Joseph Scherrer was its first president.

Rise of fascism and World War II

In the late 1920s, global economic tumult compounded the growth of

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

governments in Europe, which the IFCTU opposed. In response,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

officials of the 1930s sent the group's leaders to

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

, and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

banned its Italian affiliate. During

, German forces occupying

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nether ...

destroyed the organization's

secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

, and it became inactive until 1945. The federation had difficulty renewing ties with most of its affiliates in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

after the end of the war.The World of Trade Action
- WCL newsletter archive (2004-2006).

Cold War era

When the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International ...

(WFTU) was founded in September 1945, it invited the IFCTU to join. Delegates to an October congress in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

voted to reject the invitation, on the grounds that the WFTU's global unity was "too artificial". The matter of affiliation with 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) is in dispute. The website of the WCL reports that it "preferred to remain independent," particularly in order to criticize both capitalist and communist abuses. However, according to the

, member unions of the ICFTU were opposed to affiliating with the Christian organization.

WCL reformation

In the late 1950s, the IFCTU found itself working more frequently with Muslim and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

workers in Asia and Africa. In 1959, the IFCTU convened a seminar in

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to determine the possibilities for points of unity among world religions in matters of social behaviour. In 1968, delegates to the organization's 16th congress in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

voted to transform it into the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). Breaking with the federation's strictly Christian ideology of the past, the newly adopted Declaration of Principles stated it would henceforth be guided by "either a spiritual concept based on the conviction that man and universe are created by God, or other concepts that lead together with it to a common effort to build a human community united in freedom, dignity, justice and brotherhood."

Globalization and ITUC merger

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...

became more of a threat to union membership throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the WCL increased its efforts to carry out a similar global unification of labour leadership. Its 1993 congress in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

attempted to lay out a concrete strategy for responding to business attacks on organized labour around the world. The WCL soon obtained consultative status within 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 ...

and joined the International Council of the

World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, pt, Fórum Social Mundial ) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemoni ...

. The WCL was formally dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the

(ICFTU) to form the

(ITUC).

Areas of activity

The WCL had nine areas of labour activity where it focused work.

Human rights and international labour standards

The WCL worked to enforce respect for international law, especially as codified by the ILO. The organization also sought to introduce labour standards into international trade policies."Human Rights & International Labour Standards"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Women workers

The World Women's Committee of the WCL convened "representatives from the continents" annually to advocate for women workers and address problems specific to female labourers."Women Workers"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Child labour

The WCL worked in support of the Global March Against Child Labour"ICFTU and Global March strategy meeting outcomes on combating child labour"

Global March Against Child Labour
Retrieved on August 19, 2007. and advocated for

ILO Convention 182 The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1 ...

, which addressed serious forms of child labour. The organization also assisted with the First World Congress of Child Workers."Child labour"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Migrant workers

The rights of migrants — as humans and as workers — was a particular focus of the WCL's work, especially given its increased presence in a globalized economy."Migration: one of the faces of globalisation"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Economics and society

Pursuant to the rise of globalization and interest in taking a larger view of

macroeconomic Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy An economy is an area of the production, distributio ...

policy, the WCL set up a socio-economic programme to address issues of such a scope. In addition to advocacy around matters at 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 ...

, the federation sought to reform the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

and

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster gl ...

."WCL relations with IMF and World Bank Group: Evaluation and Recommendations". Online i
PDF format

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Informal economy

Workers in a society's

informal economy An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countrie ...

— 60 to 90% of the active work population of Africa, according to the ILO"Informal Economy"Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007. — function outside of regulatory and government oversight. The WCL worked to help train local advocates and provide relief to workers in need, including a recycling program for informal economy workers in Brazil."Brazil: trade union launches recycling project for informal economy workers"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Training

The WCL worked to provide

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...

among its various member organizations, training local unionists in areas of recruitment, dues systems, and communications."Capacity Building"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Trade action

The information clearinghouse of the WCL, Trade Action served to promote training; facilitate exchange of knowledge and advice; and support members' participation at meetings of international institutions. It also produced a newsletter, ''The World of Trade Action''.

International solidarity foundation

The WCL created the International Solidarity Foundation (ISF) to promote cross-country worker unity and provide emergency assistance (from a Solidarity Fund, established in 1958) to organizations in need. After the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Su ...

, the ISF launched a solidarity campaign to assist workers and organizers in the region."Jointly with the WCL, the ISF launches a solidarity campaign in Asia"

Conféderation Mondiale du Travail/World Confederation of Labour
. Retrieved on August 19, 2007. The foundation worked in partnership with a variety of other groups, including the

Confederation of Christian Trade Unions The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions ( nl, Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, or ACV; french: Confédération des syndicats chrétiens, CSC) is the largest of Belgium's three trade union federations. History The federation was founded in ...

, the

Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond The Christian National Trade Union Federation ( nl, Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV) is a federation of trade unions of the Netherlands. History The CNV was founded on 13 May 1909, in Arnhem as a federation of several Christian unions. It w ...

, and the

National Trade Union Confederation (Romania) The National Trade Union Confederation (Cartel ALFA) is a national trade union center in Romania. It was founded June, 1990 and has a membership of 325,000. Cartel ALFA is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation, and the Europ ...

Affiliated secretariats

The federation had numerous affiliated trade secretariats, which changed over time. They were smaller than those affiliated to the

(ICFTU), and some unions affiliated to the WCL chose instead to affiliate to an ICFTU secretariat.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1920: Jos Serrarens :1952:

August Vanistendael August Vanistendael (9 January 1917 – 8 September 2003) was a Belgian trade union leader and Catholic social activist. Born in Birtley, Tyne and Wear, in England, Vanistendael grew up in Belgium, and began working as a clerk at BAC, the Chri ...

:1968: Jean Brück :1976:

Jan Kułakowski Jan Jerzy Kułakowski (25 August 1930 – 25 June 2011) was a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Greater Poland Voivodship (2004–2009) with the Freedom Union, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...

:1989: Carlos Custer :1996: Willy Thys

Presidents

:1920:

Josef Scherrer Josef Scherrer (22 March 1891 – 17 June 1965) was a Swiss trade union leader and politician. Born in Wittenbach, Scherrer completed an apprenticeship, then worked in the textile industry. In 1910, he became secretary of the Swiss Christian T ...

:1928: Bernhard Otte :1933:

Henri Pauwels Henri Pauwels (19 January 1890 – 18 September 1946) was a Belgian trade unionist and politician. Born in Nivelles, Pauwels became a mechanic, and joined Christian Union of Belgian Metalworkers (CCMB), becoming a technical adviser in 1912. ...

and Jules Zirnheld :1937: Jules Zirnheld :1946: Gaston Tessier :1961:

Maurice Bouladoux Maurice Bouladoux (16 July 1907, Parthenay – 8 November 1977) was a French trade union leader. Born in , Bouladoux left school when he was 15, and became an accounting assistant in a textile mill. He joined a trade union in 1922, and was s ...

:1973:

Marcel Pepin Marcel Pepin (February 28, 1926 – March 6, 2000) was a trade unionist in Quebec, Canada. He was the president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux from 1965 until 1976. Biography Pepin graduated with a master's degree in industrial re ...

:1981:

Johnny Tan Juan Cañizares Tan (October 10, 1922–September 8, 2005), known as Johnny Tan, was a Filipino trade union leader. Tan grew up in Manila, and attended the Ateneo de Manila High School. He began working closely with the Catholic priest Walter ...

:1989: Willy Peirens :1997:

Fernand Kikongi Fernand Kikongi di Mwisa (1 September 1935 – 1 April 2009) was a Congolese trade union leader. Born in Kinshasa, Kikongi was educated at the School of Social Studies in Leuven, before returning to Zaire, where he became the general secretar ...

:2001: Basile Mahan Gahé

External links

Archives of the European Organisation of the World Confederation of Labour
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of the International Organisation of the World Confederation of Labour
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Notes

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1920 Trade unions disestablished in 2006 Christian trade unions International and regional union federations