The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the

International Federation of Trade Unions The International Federation of Trade Unions (also known as the Amsterdam International) was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war International Secretariat of National Tr ...

as a single structure for trade unions world-wide, following the World Trade Union Conference in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. With the emergence of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

in the late 1940s, the WFTU splintered, with most trade unions from the Western-aligned countries leaving and creating the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 whe ...

(ICFTU) in 1949. Throughout the Cold War, membership of the WFTU was made up predominantly of trade unions from the Soviet-aligned and non-aligned countries. However, there were notable exceptions to this, such as the Yugoslav and Chinese unions, which departed following the Tito-Stalin and Sino-Soviet splits, respectively, or the French CGT and Italian CGIL unions, who were members. With the

end of the Cold War End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

and the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the WFTU lost the largest portion of its membership and financial support. Since the start of the 2000s, the organization shifted headquarters to Athens and recruited new members, claiming to have grown from representing 48 million workers in 2005 to 105 million in 2022.

History

Rise

The British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) organized a World Trade Union Conference at County Hall, London from February 6-17, 1945. It was attended by 204 delegates from 53 national and international worker organizations, the majority of which with were trade union centers in the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Discussions in the conference, which was chaired jointly by the TUC, American Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and Soviet All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (AUCCTU), revolved around the future of the international labor movement, especially regarding what to do with the

(IFTU) after World War II. A resolution was adopted to convene another global conference in Paris to create an international labor federation to be called the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Notably, the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

(AFL) boycotted both conferences. The AFL, led by vehemently anticommunist individuals, did not want to associate with Soviet trade unions. It was also not willing to join forces with the CIO, which broke away from the AFL in 1935 and was accused of weakening the labor movement in the US. The WFTU's mission was to bring together

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s across the world in a single international organization. When created, the WFTU represented the first time since 1919 that the division at international level between communist and non-communist labor movements had formally been bridged. After a number of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

trade unions left it in 1949, as a result of disputes over support for the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

, to form the

(ICFTU), the WFTU was made up primarily of unions affiliated with or allegedly sympathetic to communist parties. In the context of the

, the WFTU was often portrayed in the West as a Soviet front organization.Richard Felix Staar,
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.84 A number of those unions, including those from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, left later when their governments had ideological differences with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In 1952, the WFTU organised a speaking tour of the Caribbean for communist activists Billy Strachan and Ferdinand Smith.

Decline

The WFTU declined as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and socialist governments in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, in particular in Europe, with many of its former constituent unions joining the ICFTU. That fall seems to have come to an end since the congress in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.PAME, leading member of the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece (, ΚΚΕ; ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece. It was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Workers' Party of Greece (SEKE) and adopted its current name in Novem ...

(KKE), at its head. In January 2006 it moved headquarters from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and reinvigorated its activity by putting focus on organizing regional federations of unions in the

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

, by organizing campaigns against imperialism, racism, poverty,

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

and exploitation of workers under capitalism and in defense of full employment, social security, health protection, and trade union rights. The WFTU devotes much of its energy to organizing conferences, issuing statements and producing educational materials and courses for trade union leaders. In recent years, the WFTU has successfully managed to recruit several trade unions of importance in Europe, amongst which the Rail Maritime Trade Union in Great Britain, the Unione Sindicale di Base in Italy. In France, the CGT National Federation of Agri-Food and Forestry has maintained its affiliation with the WFTU. The CGT National Federation of Chemical Industries sent delegates to the last congress in Athens in 2011. In 2013, two local CGT railway workers branches have taken steps to become affiliates with the WFTU. The different offices of the WFTU across the different continents organize regular exchanges and militant visits of trade union activists from an affiliate to another in order to further discussions, foster internationalist ties, establish an international activity of its affiliates around shared objectives and campaigns, against common adversaries. In Africa, unions of major importance such as COSATU in South Africa have affiliated with the WFTU. As part of its efforts to advance its international agenda, the WFTU develops working partnerships with national and industrial trade unions worldwide as well as with a number of international and regional trade union organizations including the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions (ICATU), the Permanent Congress of Trade Union Unity of Latin America (CPUSTAL), and the General Confederation of Trade Unions of

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

. The WFTU holds consultative status with the

Economic and Social Council of the United Nations The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

, the ILO,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

, and other UN agencies. It maintains permanent missions in New York, Geneva, and Rome.

Affiliates

National Affiliates

Example of National affiliates of the WFTU include: * General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea () * All-Workers Militant Front () * "Amanat" Commonwealth of Trade Unions () *Unione Sindacale di Base () * Bangladesh Trade Union Centre () * Jatio Sramik Federation () * Samajtantrik Sramik Front () * Vietnam General Confederation of Labour () * Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey () *

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is George Welch and its current General Secretary is Eddie Dempsey. The RMT ...

() * Congress of South African Trade Unions () * Bolivian Workers' Center () * Workers' Central Union of Cuba () *General Union of Palestinian Workers (GUPW) () *

Confederación General de Trabajadores del Perú The Workers' General Confederation of Peru (in Spanish: ''Confederación General de Trabajadores del Perú'' CGTP) is a national trade union center in Peru. It was formed in 1929 by José Carlos Mariátegui. The CGTP is the largest trade union ...

() * General Federation of Trade Unions () * All India Trade Union Congress () * Centre of Indian Trade Unions () * All India Central Council of Trade Unions () * Intersindical-CSC () *Coordinadora Obrera Sindical () *Coordinadora Sindical de Clase () *Frente Sindical Obrero de Canarias () * Confederation Intersindical Galega () *

Langile Abertzaleen Batzordeak (, Basque for "Nationalist Workers' Committees") is a Basque left-wing nationalist and separatist trade union operating mainly in the Basque Country under Spanish rule currently led by Garbiñe Aranburu. It was created in 1974 by Jon Idigora ...

() * Workers' House () *Unidade Classista () *Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras do Brasil () * United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga" () *Labor Today International (LTI) () * Union of Trade Unions of Monaco () * National Federation of Agri-Food and Forestry () * National Federation of Chemical Industries () *Union of Trade Unions of Russia () * Congress of Indonesia Unions Alliance (Konfederasi KASBI) () * Pancyprian Federation of Labour () *

General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers The General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (Portuguese: Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses or CGTP) is the largest trade union federation in Portugal. It was founded informally in 1970, emerged publicly after the Carnation ...

() *

Kilusang Mayo Uno Kilusang Mayo Uno (), also known by its initials KMU is an independent labor center in the Philippines. It promotes "genuine, militant and patriotic trade unionism". The KMU was established on May 1, 1980 to fill a clear need for a workers' or ...

() * Lao Federation of Trade Unions () * Confederación de Trabajadores del Ecuador ()

Trade Union Internationals

During the late 1940s, the WFTU unsuccessfully tried to reach an agreement with already existing international trade secretariats. When the Union split in 1949 they were left without an organization at the level of specific industries, leading to the creation of the

Trade Union International The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

(TUI) system. The TUI system has gone through a number of transformations in its over 60 years of existence. The following Trade Unions Internationals are constituted within the WFTU: * World Federation of Teachers Unions – known by its French acronym FISE, this is the earliest affiliated union, founded in 1946. It maintained a degree of independence from the WFTU not exercised by the other TUIs. * In 1949, the 2nd World Congress decided to create a series of sectoral unions, after their negotiations with already existing international trade secretariats failed. At first these were known as Trade Departments or International Federations, but they adopted the appellation "Trade Union Internationals" by the mid-1950s. The original TUIs formed in 1949 and 1950 were: * The WFTU functioned during the Cold War largely as a unitary organization, bringing together unions from the Communist bloc and Western unions. ** Trade Union International of Agricultural and Forestry Workers (also known as the TUI of Agricultural, Forestry and Plantation Workers) ** Trade Unions International of Building, Wood, Building Materials and Industries ** International Union of Trade Unions of Postal, Telephone and Telegraph Workers (also known as the TUI of Postal, Telegraph, Telephone and Radio Workers) ** Trade Union International of Chemical and Allied Workers ** Trade Unions International of Miners ** Trade Union International of Food, Tobacco, Hotel and Allied Industries Workers (also known as the TUI of Food, Tobacco and Catering Workers or the TUI of Food, Tobacco and Beverage Industries, and Hotel, Cafe and Restaurant Workers) ** Trade Union International of Metal and Engineering Workers (also known as the TUI of Workers in the Metal Industry) ** Trade Union International of Textile and Clothing Workers ** Trade Union International of Leather, Shoe, Fur and Leather Products ** Trade Unions International of Seamen and Dockers ** Trade Unions International of Land and Air Transport Workers Over time, some of these original eleven would expand their bases, change their names or merge: * In 1953, the TUIs of Seamen and Dockers and Land and Air Transport Workers merged to form the Trade Unions International of Transport, Port and Fishery Workers. By 1985, this union had adopted its present name, Trade Unions International of Transport Workers. * In 1954 the TUI of Chemical and Allied Workers expanded its sectoral base and became the Trade Unions International of Chemical, Oil and Allied Workers. * In 1955 the International Union of Trade Unions of Postal, Telephone and Telegraph Workers expanded its scope to all public employees and became the Trade Unions International of Public and Allied Employees. * In 1958 the TUIs of Leather, Shoe, Fur and Leather Products and of Textile and Clothing Workers merged to form the

Trade Union International of Textile, Leather and Fur Workers Unions The Trade Union International of Textile, Leather and Fur Workers Unions was a trade union international affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions. History The Trade Union International of Textile, Leather and Fur Workers Unions was fo ...

. * In 1983 the TUI of Miners expanded its scope and became the Trade Unions International of Miners and Energy Workers. In 1986 it became the Trade Unions International of Energy Workers before ceasing activities.Project for Articles of Association
p. 16 Other than the initial eleven, two new TUIs were formed during the course of the Cold War: * Trade Union International of Workers in Commerce formed in 1959 *

Standing Committee of Trade Unions in the Graphic Industry The Standing Committee of Trade Unions in the Graphic Industry, also known as the Permanent Committee Graphic Arts Unions, was an global union federation, international trade union federation for workers in the graphic arts industry. History Th ...

formed in 1961, allied with, but not formally affiliated to the WFTU.

Post-Cold War developments

After the dissolution of the Eastern bloc, the Trade Unions International of Energy Workers and the Trade Union International of Metal and Engineering Workers temporarily suspended operations. In 1998 a conference was held in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Trade Unions International of Energy Workers in 2007. This left the metal workers an opportunity create a new TUI the next year, Trade Union International of Workers in the Mining, the Metallurgy and the Metal Industries.'' Europa World Year Book'' London; Taylor & Francis, 2004 p.342 In 1997 the

Trade Union International of Agroalimentary, Food, Commerce, Textile & Allied Industries The Trade Union International of Agroalimentary, Food, Commerce, Textile and Allied Industries (, UISTAACT) is one of ten Trade Union Internationals of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). History The union was formed in 1997 by the mer ...

was formed by the merger of the Trade Union International of Agricultural, Forestry and Plantation Workers, Trade Union International of Food, Tobacco, Hotel and Allied Industries Workers, Trade Union International of Workers in Commerce, Trade Union International of Textile, Leather and Fur Workers Unions. The

Trade Union International of Workers in Tourism and Hotels The Trade Union International of Workers in Tourism and Hotels (HOTOUR) is a trade union international affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions History HOTOUR was founded a conference in Athens December 1–2, 2009 attended by 68 trad ...

was founded in 2009, the Trade Union International of Banks, Insurance and Financial Unions Employees in 2011 and the Trade Union International of Pensioners and Retired Persons in 2014. In 2020, a new Trade Union International of Textile-Garment-Leather was founded.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1945: Louis Saillant () :1969: Pierre Gensous () :1978: Enrique Pastorino () :1982: Ibrahim Zakaria () :1990: Alexander Zharikov () :2005: George Mavrikos () :2022: Pambis Kyritsis ()

Presidents

:1945: Walter Citrine () :1946:

Arthur Deakin Arthur Deakin (11 November 1890 – 1 May 1955) was a prominent British trade unionist who was acting general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1940 and then general secretary from 1945 to 1955. Background Arthur ...

() :1949: Giuseppe Di Vittorio () :1959: Agostino Novella () :1961: Renato Bitossi () :1969: Enrique Pastorino () :1975: Sándor Gáspár () :1989: Indrajit Gupta () :1990: Ibrahim Zakaria () :1994: Antonio Neto () :2000: K. L. Mahendra () :2005: Shaban Assouz () :2016: Mzwandile Makwayiba ()

References

Bibliography

* Fabio BERTINI, ''Gilliatt e la piovra. Il sindacalismo internazionale dalle origini ad oggi (1776–2006)'', Roma, Aracne, 2011 *

External links

*
Guide to World Federation of Trade Unions. Reports and Minutes, 1945–1949. 5396mf. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Federation Of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1945 Organizations based in Prague Organizations based in Athens International and regional union federations