ITUC General Council Sets Agenda for Global Action in 2012
Brussels, 21 October 2011 (ITUC OnLine): The ITUC General Council, meeting at Elewijt near Brussels this week, has set out priorities for global trade union action through to the end of 2012, with a determination to fight back against the attacks on labour rights and the loss of jobs driven by the deepening world economic crisis. Major areas of action include:
. the launching of a programme of political organising, focusing on countries where new attacks on union rights are emerging;
. an alternate job-centred growth model with guaranteed social protection and a minimum wage;
. stepping up campaigns against multinational companies which violate worker’s rights to union representation and collective bargaining;
. an intense schedule of activities on climate change and the green economy from the Durban Climate Change Conference through to next June’s Rio+20 sustainable development summit; and,
. concerted international campaigning to ensure respect for ILO standards in nine “countries at risk”: Bahrain, Burma, Colombia, Egypt, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
The Council also adopted an updated policy “Labour Migration: A Decent Work Issue”, and agreed measures to support trade union development in the Middle-East and North Africa where the establishment of a new Arab Democratic Trade Union Forum was welcomed. Thirteen thematic action plans were presented to the Council to carry forward implementation of the resolutions of the 2nd ITUC World Congress http://www.ituc-csi.org/congress.html , including initiatives to support union organising by women workers and to extend social protection. New guidelines on development aid effectiveness were agreed, for the upcoming Busan conferencehttp://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=1412
It was also decided that the 3rd ITUC World Congress will be held in the week of 19 May 2014, in Berlin.
Four national trade union centres were accepted into ITUC affiliation (CTSP and CSH Haiti, TNTUC Tonga and VCTU Vanuatu), while the CLAC Canada was suspended from ITUC membership. The status of ITUC Associated Organisation was granted to the EFITU Egypt, while this status was withdrawn from the UGPJAL Libya.
The Council meeting was hosted by the CSC Belgium, on its 125th anniversary.
The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 305 affiliated national organisations from 151 countries and territories.
Website: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI