Message of the OATUU to the Founding Congress of the ITUC

Fraternal Message of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) to the Founding Congress of the New International Trade Union Organisation :
Vienna, Austria, 1-3 November, 2006

Chairperson,
Distinguished Invitees,
Congress Delegates,

The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), which represents all the trade union tendencies in Africa and 25 million African Workers, rejoices with all of you at today’s historic occasion of the Founding Congress of the New International Trade Union Organization.

We salute the initiative taken by the leadership of the ICFTU and the WCL in the formation of this new Organization. We consider your initiative as a process in the search for the unity of the International Trade Union Movement. The OATUU supports the unity of the trade union movement, from the industry level to the National Continental and International levels, an all-inclusive unity involving trade unions of all tendencies.
The current trends of globalization and neo-liberal economic policies make trade union unity a necessity and not a luxury, and all trade unions stakeholders should be involved in the process; We should emulate our Employer counterparts, who have a single International Organization of Employers (IOE) for employer organizations of all tendencies throughout the world.

While congratulating you all, for this historic Founding Congress, please, be assured of OATUU’s cooperation and best wishes.