A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s in a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such as the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

, different centers exist on a sectoral basis, for example for blue collar workers and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

s. Among the larger national centers in the world are the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Change to Win Federation in the USA; the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (french: Congrès du travail du Canada, link=no or ) is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian trade union, labour unions are affiliated. History Formation ...

; the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

(TUC) in Britain; the

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centr ...

; the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...

(ACTU); the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled ...

; the Dutch FNV; the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish LO; the German

DGB DGB may stand for: *German Trade Union Confederation The German Trade Union Confederation (german: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, ...

; the French CGT and

CFDT The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (french: link=no, Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT) is a national trade union center, one of the five major French confederations of trade unions, led since 2012 by Laurent Be ...

; the Indian BMS,

INTUC Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) is a national trade union in India. It was founded on 3 May 1947 and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, ...

AITUC The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India. It is associated with the Communist Party of India. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AITUC had a membership of 14.2 milli ...

and HMS; the Italian CISL,

CGIL The Italian General Confederation of Labour (; CGIL) is a national trade union based in Italy. It was formed by agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and Christi ...

and UIL; the Spanish

CCOO The Workers' Commissions ( es, Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de ...

, CNT, CGT and USO; the Czech ČMKOS; the Japan Trade Union Confederation RENGO; the Argentinian CGT and CTA; the Brazilian CUT; the Armenian CTUA, and so on. Many national trade union centers are now members of the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

, although some belong to the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation o ...

References

{{trade-union-stub

See also

References