The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; French: Confédération syndicale international, CSI; German: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund, IGB; Spanish: Confederación Sindical Internacional, CSI) is the world's largest trade union federation.
Contents
History
Background
The ITUC traces its origins back to the First International (also known as the International Workingmen's Association) and in 2014 commemorated the 150th anniversary of the founding of the International Working Men's Association at its own world congress held in Berlin.
Founding congress
The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). The Founding Congress of the ITUC was held in Vienna and was preceded by the dissolution congresses of both the ICFTU and the WCL. A council of Global Unions was also formed on the final day of the congress. It was established jointly with ten global union federations and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).
Global Rights Index
In 2014, the ITUC debuted the Global Rights Index, which ranks nations on 97 metrics pertaining to workers' rights, such as freedom from violent conditions and the right to strike and unionize. According to the 2020 update of the Index, there has been a significant increase in violations of workers' rights around the world.
Qatari corruption scandal
In 2022, Luca Visentini, the IUTC's General Secretary, was arrested as part of the Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament, which allegedly involved the state of Qatar paying large sums of cash for influence at the European Parliament. After two days in custody, he was conditionally released. It was revealed that Visenti's successful campaign to lead the IUTC was financed in part by a nonprofit run by Antonio Panzeri, a former lawmaker that has admitted working as an agent of Qatar. Visentini also received a free flight to Qatar, paid for by the Qatari government.
Organisation
The ITUC has three main regional organizations: the Asia-Pacific Regional Organization, the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, and the African Regional Organisation. The Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (TUDCN) is an initiative of the ITUC whose main objective is to bring the trade union perspective into international development policy debates and improve the coordination and effectiveness of trade union development cooperation activities.
The ITUC represents 207 million workers through its 331 affiliated organizations within 163 countries and territories. Luc Triangle is the current acting General Secretary.
The Pan-European Regional Council (PERC), a European trade union organisation within the ITUC was formed 19 March 2007. It consists of 87 national trade union centres and a total membership of 87 million. It works closely with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The ITUC raises capital through charging dues to its member organisations.
Leadership
General Secretaries
2006: Guy Ryder
2010: Sharan Burrow
2022: Luca Visentini
2023: Luc Triangle
Presidents
2006: Sharan Burrow
2010: Michael Sommer
2014: João Antonio Felicio
2018: Ayuba Wabba
2022: Akiko Gono
Affiliated Organisations
As of 2024 the ITUC has 339 affiliated organisations.