The ITGLWF 10th World Congress, which ended in Frankfurt on Friday, adopted a number of major decisions to guide the work of the International over the coming period.
The Congress, held under the motto “organise = decent work = decent life”, met from 2 to 4 December 2009 and brought together 214 delegates from 97 organisations in 68 countries.
Congress paid tribute to the tremendous work carried out over the past twenty-one years by Neil Kearney, the late General Secretary who died of a heart attack in Bangladesh just two weeks before the start of Congress.
Congress confirmed the appointment of a new General Secretary, Patrick Itschert. Patrick takes over at the international level after nearly two decades as Secretary of the European regional organisation, ETUC:TCL, a post which he continues to hold.
Congress unanimously elected as President Hisanobu Shimada, General Secretary of the one million-strong UI Zensen of Japan. It also placed on record its appreciation of the work of Manfred Schallmeyer of IG Metall, who served as President for the past five years and whose organisation, IG Metall, graciously hosted the Congress at its headquarters in Frankfurt.
Congress elected fifteen Vice-Presidents, eight of whom are women, and formally approved the membership of the Executive Committee. The EC brings together representatives of countries with a combined membership of at least 3,000 paid-up members, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Heryegovina, Chad, Congo, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, India, Ivory Coast, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Leif Hakansson of IF Metall of Sweden and Erich Bach of IG Metall of Germany were appointed as auditors.
One of the major issues on the agenda of the Congress was the future of the ITGLWF, with interventions from Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of the International Metal Workers’ Federation and from Manfred Warda, General Secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions.
Congress noted that corporate restructuring has blurred the boundaries between different manufacturing sectors. It recognised the need for a powerful trade union force across manufacturing, capable of propelling the industry back to a central role within economies and providing a more powerful counterpart to transnational companies, while providing the best possible representation and services to members. It resolved that the ITGLWF should make all necessary efforts to ensure that the creation of a new global union federation for manufacturing is concluded no later than 2011. The new organisation should be structured to include democratic and representative mechanisms ensuring a voice for all trade union members in all sectors of manufacturing, including textiles, clothing, leather and footwear.
Congress adopted an Agenda for Action highlighting the priority issues for the ITGLWF in the coming period in relation to the core activities of organising, improving the representation of workers, and involving members in the democratic life of their unions. Delegates discussed and agreed a number of motions relating to these three key areas of action.
Other major issues on the agenda included the economic recession, which has put in jeopardy the future of 20 million workers in the textile, garment and shoe industries. Delegates discussed the trade union action that is needed to address the crisis and called for an end to unregulated globalisation and for a recovery strategy that puts decent work at the heart of the global economy.
Attention was also devoted to the issue of women at work and in trade unions, and motions were adopted calling for measures to ensure full gender equality and to increase and sustain women’s representation in unions.
In addition to devoting attention to the many problems facing workers in the sector, Congress heard organising success stories from different parts of the world, including Turkey, Cambodia and Cambodia, where a combination of trade union action and pressure from brands and retailers has resulted in the reinstatement of unfairly dismissed trade union leaders, the resolution of conflicts, and the introduction of mature industrial relations.
The Proceedings of Congress will be circulated in due course. For more information visit the ITLGWF website.
