ITUC-CSI-IGB - ITUC Founding Congress - News

The founding Congress of ITUC Africa opened in Accra

2007-11-27T14:17:48Z

A new ITUC Regional Organisation for Africa will be created this week, with the Founding Congress of ITUC Africa

Brussels, 27 November 2007: A new ITUC Regional Organisation for Africa will be created this week, with the Founding Congress of ITUC Africa (ITUC-AF) taking place in Accra, Ghana, on 27 -29 November.

The unification in Africa will create the second of the three regional organisations of the ITUC, which was founded last November in Vienna. The opening of the Founding Congress was preceded yesterday by the dissolution congresses of AFRO and the DOAWTU, the regional organisations of the former ICFTU and WCL respectively. The unification process of the regional trade union movement in the Americas is also underway and is expected to be concluded in the coming months.

The ITUC represents 168 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 304 national affiliates.

For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018

Council of Global Unions formed to promote union action on final day of ITUC Congress

2006-11-03T16:25:37Z

One of the first acts of the newly founded International Trade Union Confederation was to ratify an agreement with the Global Union Federations and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) to form a Council of Global Unions.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC)

ITUC OnLine
008/031106

Council of Global Unions formed to promote union action on final day of ITUC Congress

Vienna, November 3, 2006 (ITUC OnLine): One of the first acts of the newly founded International Trade Union Confederation was to ratify an agreement with the Global Union Federations and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) to form a Council of Global Unions.

The Council aims include promoting trade union membership and advancing common trade union interests worldwide through enhanced cooperation.

“The Council will enable us to mobilize global membership around political and strategic initiatives and actions in order to confront global forces that work against the interests of working people and families,” Guy Ryder, the newly elected General Secretary of the ITUC said today.

Global Union Federations represent workers in the different economic sectors, from education, public services, manufacturing to retail and the media.

“We will use this enhanced cooperation to tackle major questions of organising and concerted campaigning. We need to combine our strengths better, and this new Council will allow us to achieve this”, said John Evans the Secretary of TUAC.

In front of an audience composed of over 1000, the ITUC presented its Austrian affiliate, the OGB, a milestone to be installed in their new offices in order to commemorate the inaugural Congress,.

Photos of the ceremony are available on demand.

For more information contact the ITUC Press Department on: +43 (0) 664 593 6493.

Created on November 1, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in 154 countries and territories and has 306 national affiliates.

The new website of the organization is: http://www.ituc-csi.org

Leadership of new trade union international ready for business

2006-11-03T16:15:39Z

Guy Ryder has been elected General Secretary of the ITUC on the 3rd and final day of its Founding Congress.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC)

ITUC OnLine
006/021106
Leadership of new trade union international ready for business
Vienna, November 3, 2006 (ITUC OnLine): Guy Ryder has been elected General Secretary of the ITUC on the 3rd and final day of its Founding Congress.
Congress also elected a 70 person Governing Council, with an additional 8 seats being reserved for youth and women's representatives.
Commenting on his election and with the leadership team in place, Guy Ryder said today:
“I am honoured by the confidence placed in me by the delegates of the Congress in entrusting me with this position. Tomorrow we start the work of the new international with a renewed optimism and hope, knowing that we are stronger, not just in numbers but in the diversity that that we bring together”.
“In founding the ITUC we have recognized that if we are to fulfill the promise of improving people's lives, we have no choice but to change. The word solidarity has never had as much meaning and importance as now. And practical solidarity, in the form of international campaigning and organizing is what we intend to deliver.”
“The challenges are many but we will not shirk from them. We will tackle those employers who exploit workers, those governments who deny their people the right to organize and we will take action to bring about a world in which decent work is not just a distant dream, but the reality of people's lives.”

To read Guy Ryder's acceptance speech to the ITUC Founding Congress go to http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?rubrique79&lang=en.
The list of office bearers that will be put forward includes:
President Sharan Burrow, ACTU Australia
Deputy General Secretary Mamounata Cisse
Deputy General Secretary Jaap Wienen
Deputy President Michael Sommer, DGB, Germany
Deputy President Luc Cortebeeck, CSC, Belgium

For more information contact the ITUC Press Department on: +43 (0) 664 593 6190.

Guy Ryder – Biography
Born:
3 January 1956.
Education:
MA. Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge.
Work history:
1981-85: Assistant International Department - Trade Union Congress, UK.
1985-88: Secretary, Industry Trade Section - International Federation Of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees, Geneva.
1988-98: Assistant Director, then Director - ICFTU, Geneva office.
1998-99: Director Bureau for Workers' Activities - International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva.
1999-2001: Director, Office of the Director-General - International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva.
1 February 2002- October 31, 2006: General Secretary - ICFTU.
Created on November 1, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in 154 countries and territories and has 306 national affiliates.
The new website of the organization is: http://www.ituc-csi.org

Message from the youth of the ITUC : “We need the unions and the unions need us”.

2006-11-03T16:15:22Z

“We are young and all the problems just raised are common to young people all over the world. They must be taken on board and become part of the solutions”, said Yemisi Ilesanmi (NLC- Nigeria), leader of the young delegates who took the floor during the plenary session at the ITUC Congress this morning (Friday).

“Young workers are united to fight for decent jobs, quality education and to say no to child labour, no to child soldiers, and yes to peace, justice and harmony. The birth of this new, united and strong International Trade Union Confederation should be the beginning of a better representation of young workers in decision making bodies, integration of young workers in trade unions at all levels and in all structures, and participation of young workers in all trade union activities. We are calling all union leaders to support and encourage the participation and representation of young trade unionists in the ITUC structures and activities at all levels, from the international to the local”.

Daisy Walaza (NACTU-South Africa): “Unemployment is ravaging my continent. Millions of young women and men are unemployed, keeping them trapped in poverty. Those who have jobs have no decent jobs. Many young Africans die in the sea trying to migrate in search of better opportunities. And HIV/AIDS is killing our young ones.
The creation of employment and decent jobs must be high on the agenda of all stakeholders. Governments must create an enabling environment for decent jobs. Trade union leaders must support us for a better future for young people and give hope for the creation of a better future for the world”.

Pankaj Sharma (HMS- India ): “In Asia, we are losing our human resources, like nurses and teachers who migrate to look for decent jobs elsewhere. We see millions of children working as domestic workers, in mines or on the street. They produce shoes, clothes, food, tobacco, carpets, metal products and other products for sale at home and abroad. Children should go to school and not to work! Trade union leaders should give priority to stopping child labour and let us fight for access to free and quality education”.

Giancarlo Bermudez Conde (CEOSL- Ecuador): “I come from the Americas where the majority of workers are young, and are part of the contract or outsourced labour force. We don't have decent wages or subsidised health care or pension plans, or job security. If we try to organise we risk being dismissed on the spot. We want the ITUC to recognise our leading role and our intitiative as we try to organise this growing group of workers. Together, we young people, women and workers in general can work to ensure effective representation and collective barggaining to end the exploitation of contract labour and outsourced labour, and bring them into the trade union movement.”

Manar Faidi (PGFTU- Palestine): “ In the Middle East, we face a political situation which creates war, occupation and divisions. Young people do not have decent opportunities. Old men declare war, young people fight and suffer. We need peace and justice. We want peace and justice now!

Jean-Christophe Schwaab (UNIA-Szwitzerland): “ We think that it is important that trade unions be truly democratic organizations. Undemocratic practices should belong to the past, more democracy and transparency belongs to the future. If unions are undemocratic and unions do not ensure the participation and election of young people at all levels and trade union bodies, the young generation will stay away from the union movement”.

Finally, Yemisi Ilesanmi appealed to all delegates at the Congress of the new international: “We are your future now: we are the leaders of tomorrow. That is why we must be your partners today. Give us a voice”.

Humanising Globalisation - the Challenge of International Intstitutions

2006-11-02T22:21:57Z

The second day of the ITUC Founding Congress in Vienna saw trade unions turn their attention to the subject of globalization.

THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC)

ITUC OnLine:
2/021106

The second day of the ITUC Founding Congress in Vienna saw trade unions turn their attention to the subject of globalization.

Vienna, November 2, 2006: Speaking on the theme “Cohesion or Chaos –the Global Institutions”, Juan Somavia, the Director General of the International Labour Organisation, said today:

“The present form of globalisation is not inevitable. It is shaped by human choices and can therefore also be changed. Politics of financial markets, trade and labour markets can be changed if we see that they don't work in the best way”.

“So far we have been told liberalise your markets and privatise the state, and you will have economic growth and create new jobs. But everyday we see that this isn't working. With good reason we can ask, when did we vote on the Washington Consensus? When was this agenda democratically adopted? When did it get global approval? Obviously it has never gotten this,” he added.

Despite technical difficulties which prevented him from being able to participate in the panel, Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the WTO responded to the debate calling on the new trade union international to engage in the process of improving dialogue between global institutions.

“Overall trade opening creates jobs, but this is more or less true depending on the quality of our domestic policies such as education and training. In order to improve even modestly coherence, the ILO and the WTO will publish jointly a study on the impact of trade on employment. So we are trying at our level; please make sure that the new unity which the trade union movement has shown also contributes to this improved coherence,” he said.

Delegates from ITUC affiliates engaged in the debate, citing the effects of off-shoring, the lack of protection for workers in the informal economy, youth unemployment and the danger and violence faced by many trade unionists as the daily reality of their working lives.

Tomorrow, the final day of the Founding Congress will see the election of the Secretary General and the General Council. The General Council will then convene in the afternoon and elect the President and deputy presidents of the ITUC.

For more information contact the ITUC Press Department on: +43 (0) 664 593 6190.

Created on November 1, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in 154 countries and territories and has 306 national affiliates.

The new website of the organization is: http://www.ituc-csi.org

Strength in unity: a new international trade union confederation is born

2006-11-01T10:14:33Z

Today will see the dawn of a new trade union international, a stronger and more united voice of workers' worldwide set to tackle the challenge of globalisation with renewed energy and hope.

As the culmination of a process that has inspired new hope in the face of huge challenges, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) will be be officially formed at this morning's opening session of its Founding Congress in Vienna. The Founding Congress of the ITUC, which will run until 3 November, was preceded yesterday by the dissolution congresses of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). The new ITUC will comprise the affiliated organisations of the former ICFTU and WCL together with eight other national trade union organisations that will for the first time affiliate to a global body.

The international trade union movement is adapting in order to remain a key player in an economic climate that is creating more losers than winners. The imbalances of economic globalisation are having a devastating effect on millions of workers. Off-shoring, abuse of workers' rights and increasing poverty are all examples of the negative impact of these developments.

‘The creation of the ITUC will solidify the trade union movement's capacity at the national and international levels', declared Guy Ryder, the former General Secretary of the ICFTU and prospective General Secretary of the ITUC. ‘Stronger, we will exert more influence on companies, governments and the international financial and trade institutions. The founding of the ITUC is an integral part of the process of uniting the power of trade unionism,” he added.

Willy Thys, the former General Secretary of the WCL, said today: ‘There is no doubt that the ITUC will become an effective countervailing force in a society that has changed enormously, with workers' rights being flouted under the pressure created by the current trajectory of “ race to the bottom” globalisation'.

The Founding Congress, a historic event for the international union movement, will begin this morning with a formal opening ceremony. This will be followed by a plenary debate and an address by Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The programme for Thursday, 2 November, will include panel discussions on the impact of globalisation, including “Cohesion and chaos – the global institutions” and “Global unions – global companies”. Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, will address the congress in the morning via a satellite video link. The final day of the Congress, Friday 3 November, will focus on the adoption of the ITUC's programme and the establishment of regional structures. Those decisions will be followed by the election of the new organisation's General Secretary and General Council, with the Council electing the remaining office bearers following the close of the Congress.

The ITUC represents 168 million workers through its 306 affiliated organisations within 154 countries and territories. More information on the ITUC can be found at http://www.ituc-csi.org

The ITUC is also partner in Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

For more information please contact the ITUC Press Department on +43 (0) 664 593 6190.

Global Unions - Global Business

2006-11-01T00:45:35Z

FOUNDING CONGRESS OF
THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC)
Vienna, 1-3 November 2006

PLENARY PANEL II
“GLOBAL UNIONS - GLOBAL BUSINESS”
15.00 – 16.30, THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER

15.00 Introduction by Co-President of the Founding Congress
• Moderator (Mr. Aidan White, General Secretary, International Federation of Journalists) introduces the four Panellists:
• Mr. Toolsyraj Benydin, President, National Trade Union Council, Mauritius
• Mr. Larry Cohen, President, Organising Committee of AFL-CIO, USA
• Ms. Anita Normark, Vice-Chair, Conference of the Global Union Federations and General Secretary, Building Workers' International
• Mr. Brent Wilton, Deputy Secretary General, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)
15.05 Moderator begins the Debate with Congress
This is envisaged as a spontaneous debate. There will be no pre-prepared opening speeches. Instead, the moderator will seek to strike a balance between enabling as many Congress Delegates to take the floor as possible (leading him to gather a number of questions at a time, before turning to the panellists for responses) and directing one or more specific questions to one or other panellist in particular (including the possibility of questions from the moderator himself when following up on a panellist's comment), with the objective of achieving the most interactive and stimulating debate possible.
16.17 Moderator calls on each of the four Panellists to make a closing remark
16.25 Closing Remarks by Co-President of the Founding Congress
16.30 End of Plenary Panel

Key Questions for Panel II “Global Unions – Global Business”
This panel gives Congress a chance to tackle a central component of the ITUC programme and of the new trade union internationalism – Global Unions and Global Business. It brings together leaders of the Global Union Federations (GUFs) which have key responsibilities in dealing with multinational enterprises, of international employers, and of national trade union organisations. Some of the key issues will be:
• Is there need for new trade union initiatives to internationalise our organising and bargaining strategies?
• If so how can the GUFs and the ITUC work together to meet that need?
• How do we link national and international strategies?
• Is international business ready to engage with trade unions internationally?
• What is the scope for positive relations between Global Unions and Global Business, and what are the limits?

Cohesion or Chaos – the Global Institutions

2006-11-01T00:24:03Z

FOUNDING CONGRESS OF
THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC)
Vienna, 1-3 November 2006
PLENARY PANEL I
“COHESION OR CHAOS – THE GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS”
11.00 – 12.30, THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER
11.00 Introduction by the Co-Presidents of the Founding Congress
• Moderator (Ms. Eva Pfisterer, Economics Editor for TV, Austrian Broadcasting - ORF) introduces the four Panellists
Opening Remarks:
11.05 Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO)
11.10 Ms. Aruna Rao, Director, Gender at Work, and Civicus
11.15 Ms. Heidemarie Wieczcorek-Zeul, Minister for Development Co-operation of Germany
11.20 Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General, International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Key Questions for the Panel
This panel provides Congress with the chance to interact with key actors in the global economy – directors of international organisations, a Minister, and a civil society leader – and to put to them points of fundamental importance to the ITUC as it embarks on the task of building a fairer globalisation. Some of the crucial issues will be:
• Do they agree with the ITUC on the need for fundamental change in globalisation?
• If so, how can their organisations contribute to bringing it about and what are the obstacles?
• Is democratic governance of the global economy a real possibility or an illusion?
• What is their answer to those who argue that the only solution is to stop globalisation?
• How do they want to interact with trade unions in general and the ITUC in particular?

11.25 Moderator begins the Debate with Congress
This is envisaged as a spontaneous debate. The moderator will seek to strike a balance between enabling as many Congress Delegates to take the floor as possible (leading her to gather a number of questions at a time, before turning to the panellists for responses) and directing one or more specific questions to one or other panellist in particular (including the possibility of questions from the moderator herself when following up on a panellist's comment), with the objective of achieving the most interactive and stimulating debate possible.
12.17 Moderator calls on each of the four Panellists to make a closing remark
12.25 Closing Remarks by Co-President of the Founding Congress
12.30 End of Plenary Panel

ITUC against Violation of Fundamental Human Rights

2006-10-31T11:03:18Z

The ITUC defends trade unionists whenever their fundamental human rights are violated as a result of their trade union activities. It also takes action against other labour rights violations, and other violations of human rights especially where these affect working people.

Scores of trade unionists are killed each year due to their union activities.
Several thousands more are imprisoned, beaten in demonstrations, tortured by security forces or others, and often sentenced to long prison terms.
Each year, tens of thousands of workers lose their jobs merely for attempting to organise a trade union.
Throughout the world, millions of workers, often women and children, are forced to work against their will. The ITUC fights against forced labour wherever it occurs.
In many countries, workers are discriminated against for political, ethnic, religious or other reasons. The ITUC confronts governments and employers that are responsible for such situations.

The ITUC's work in this area includes research and documentation of national labour laws and practices, international trade union solidarity actions to support those whose rights are under attack, publicising violations to bring public pressure on those responsible, putting pressure on governments and employers which violate workers' rights and by taking cases to the international judicial mechanisms of the ILO and also to United Nations human rights bodies.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/index.htm United Nations link to http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/)