Six New Organizations Join ICFTU

Date: 15 December 2003

Trade union centres from six countries* (Belarus, Burundi, Honduras, Sao Tome, Ukraine and Tanzania/Zanzibar) have been accepted into membership of the ICFTU at the Confederation's annual Executive Board meeting on 8 - 10 December in Brussels.

The ICFTU now has 233 affiliated organisations in 152 countries and territories.

In a key debate on the international trade union movement's policy and strategy on globalisation, the implications of the collapse of the Cancun trade talks, and China's accession to the WTO were analysed. Main recommendations of the debate included a stronger focus on WTO democracy and transparency, and the need to strongly support a fair deal for developing countries on trade.

The meeting also reaffirmed the global trade union campaign for respect for workers' rights in international trade and mandated further international work on trade-related issues in agriculture.

The Board meeting set out the parameters for policy debates at the December 2004 ICFTU World Congress in Miyazaki, Japan, under the theme "Globalising Solidarity". The key objective of the congress will be to equip the international trade union movement for the challenges of the 21st century.

There will be a strong focus on reforming international trade union structures, further modernizing working methods and renewing campaigning strategies. The next phases in the Global Unions campaigns on HIV/AIDS and on globalisation were also discussed.

The situation in Belarus, which will be the focus of a Commission of Enquiry by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), was a main feature of the Board's discussion on trade union rights around the world, and a special Resolution highlighting trade union rights on International Human Rights Day, December 10, was adopted.

Under an agenda item on migration, key objectives for the discussion on this issue at the June 2004 ILO Conference and future ICFTU actions around migration were agreed.

The need for more effective trade union action to organise young workers and to deal with their employment, education, and related concerns was underlined, along with the next steps in ICFTU work on gender issues.

The Board also reviewed developments in the various geographical regions, including the Middle East. A special discussion on the situation in Iraq reviewed the continuing violence. Future ICFTU activities on Iraq were approved by the board, focusing on supporting the development of Iraqi trade unions, and working for social justice and democracy.

A meeting with Iraqi trade unionists in neighbouring Jordan next week will help strengthen the framework for these activities.

* The new affiliates are: Byelorussian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), Confédération De Syndicats du Burundi (COSYBU), Confederación Unitaria de Trabajadores de Honduras (CUTH), Org. National dos Trabalhadores de Sao Tomé e Principe-Central Sindical (ONTSTP-CS), Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU), Zanzibar Trade Union Congress (ZATUC)

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