David Cockroft explains how major changes in the structure of global trade unionism have brought new unity and potential strength to the movement

The end of 2006 and beginning of 2007 saw some historic changes in the global trade union movement, which will, we hope, cause employers who fear union strength to have a few more sleepless nights.

The first occasion was a series of congresses in Vienna in November and December. This saw the dissolution congress of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the principal international organisation grouping together national trade union confederations.

The ICFTU, which was created in 1949, always had a very close relationship with the ITF. In fact the ITF supplied its first two general secretaries: Jaap Oldenbroek and Omer Becu, who directed the construction of a strong, independent global labour movement in its early years. The ICFTU dissolved itself, however, not because things were going wrong but because a number of national confederations that had always remained outside its ranks, decided it was time to unify.

So on the same day that the ICFTU dissolved itself so did the World Confederation of Labour – a smaller but important representative of union centres, mainly from the “Christian” tradition of unionism. At this stage a number of centres outside any global family prepared to participate in a new unified grouping.

A new global body

The day after the ICFTU and WCL disappeared, a new body came into existence, called (despite many efforts to invent a more exciting brand name) the International Trade Union Confederation.

The ITF was represented at the ITUC’s founding congress in Vienna by its newly elected president Randall Howard and general secretary David Cockroft. Many ITF unions were also represented there as part of their national confederation’s delegation.

The new confederation adopted a work programme calling for changing globalisation. One of the first tasks of its newly elected general council was to ratify an agreement reached previously between the ICFTU, the Trade Union Advisory Committee to OECD (TUAC) and the Global Union Federations, including the ITF. This was to establish a new Council of Global Unions, an agreement which had already been ratified by the ITF Executive Board at its meeting in April 2006.

The establishment of the CGU, which had its first formal meeting in Brussels in January 2007, represents a second major change in global labour relations.
At the Brussels meeting, attended again by the ITF president and general secretary, the council agreed to elect as its first chair Fred Van Leeuwen of Education International and, as vice chair, Anita Normark of Building and Wood Workers International. It was further agreed that the secretary of the council would be the general secretary of the ITUC, Guy Ryder.

Priorities for action

The meeting held a general discussion about its future role and agreed that it should focus on organising and union recognition, including tackling multinational companies – all fully in line with the programme adopted by the Durban Congress.

Other priority issues identified for joint global union action included: financialisation (the increasing role of private equity); the employment effects of climate change; changing employment relationships, subcontracting and informal work; support for public services; and HIV/AIDS. It was also agreed to appoint a coordinator of the council who would be based with the ITUC but jointly responsible to all members. The third major development, and one which is directly relevant to the ITF and its members, happened in Bangkok in January.

There the ITF general secretary attended a congress of FIOST, which had – until it dissolved – been the transport workers’ structure within the WCL. Following on from detailed negotiations between FIOST and the ITF, culminating in the adoption by the ITF Congress in Durban in August 2006 of an emergency motion supporting unity, the FIOST congress adopted a motion calling for unity with the ITF.

As a result, the ITF executive board has agreed that it will give a warm welcome to unions that are currently members of FIOST and which ask for ITF affiliation between now and the next ITF Congress in 2010. Arrangements were also made, in the interim period, for someone from the FIOST tradition to attend meetings of the ITF executive board and for FIOST to be allowed to nominate one of the three ITF representatives on the Council of Global Unions.

Some European FIOST unions have already been members of the ITF’s European wing, the ETF, since 1999. Others are beginning to develop closer relations with ITF unions at national and regional level.

But the lesson for employers is clear – if you hope to benefit from division in the ranks of trade unions, forget it. Virtually every democratic and genuine transport union in the world will soon be a member of the ITF and will be working together in order to ensure that the potential power of transport unions to influence the process of globalisation is stronger than ever.

David Cockroft is general secretary of the ITF.