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

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 2006 it became part of the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) a ...

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

History

Founding

The WCL was founded in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

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

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), 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 ...

s associated with the

Christian Democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

parties of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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'', 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, passed to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops, which addressed the condi ...

'' and the ''

Quadragesimo anno ''Quadragesimo anno'' () (Latin for "In the 40th Year") is an encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI on 15 May 1931, 40 years after Leo XIII's encyclical '' Rerum novarum'', further developing Catholic social teaching. Unlike Leo XIII, who addre ...

''."World Confederation of Labour Archives"

International Institute of Social History International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. Retrieved on August 19, 2007. The first

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

s 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 Petrus Josephus Servatius (Jos) Serrarens (12 November 1888 – 26 August 1963) was a Dutch politician and judge. From 1920 to 1953 Serrarens was the Secretary General of the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions. He was member of ...

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 democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

, and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

banned its

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

affiliate. During

, German forces occupying

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the 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 horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

, 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 Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

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 on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

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

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

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 whe ...

(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 Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

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

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

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, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

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 is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

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, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

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 one of the firs ...

and joined the International Council of the

World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, ) 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-hegemonic globalization. The Worl ...

. 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 Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

"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, 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 is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output/ GDP ...

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 headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

, the federation sought to reform the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

."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 Taxation, taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developin ...

— 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 have often ...

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 On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...

, 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 (, or ACV; , CSC) is the largest of Belgium's three trade union federations. History The federation was founded in 1904, but can trace its origins to the "Anti-Socialist Cotton Workers' Union" founde ...

, the

Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond The Christian National Trade Union Federation (, 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 was founded in reaction to the social ...

, 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:

: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 Chr ...

:1968: Jean Brück :1976:

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

:1989: Carlos Custer :1996: Willy Thys

Presidents

:1920: Josef Scherrer :1928:

Bernhard Otte Bernhard Otte (12 July 1883 – 21 October 1933) was a German people, German trade union leader and politician. Born in Hopsten, Otte completed an apprenticeship as a weaver. In 1905, he founded a branch of the Central Association of Christia ...

:1933: Henri Pauwels 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 :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 Willy Peirens (born 19 August 1936) is a former Belgian trade union leader. Born in Deinze, Peirens was active in the Catholic Workers' Youth, becoming its national co-ordinator in 1959. In 1968, he transferred to become youth officer at the Con ...

: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