CGT (France)

The General Confederation of Labour (, , CGT) is a national trade union center, founded in 1895 in the city of Limoges. It is the first of the five major French confederations of trade unions.

It is the largest in terms of votes in the Labour Court elections (34.0% in the 2008 election), and second largest in terms of membership numbers.

Its membership decreased to 650,000 members in 1995–96 (it had more than doubled when François Mitterrand was elected president in 1981), before increasing today to between 700,000 and 720,000 members, slightly fewer than the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT).

According to the historian M. Dreyfus, the direction of the CGT is slowly evolving, since the 1990s, during which it cut all organic links with the French Communist Party (PCF), in favour of a more moderate stance. The CGT is concentrating its attention, in particular since the 1995 general strikes, to trade-unionism in the private sector.

History

The CGT was founded in 1895 in Limoges from the merger of the ''Fédération des bourses du travail'' (Federation of Labour Councils) and the '' Fédération nationale des syndicats'' (National Federation of Trade Unions). Auguste Keufer was amongst the founders and became the first treasurer.

At the end of Henri Krasucki's term (1982–1992), he began to distance himself from the French Communist Party (PCF). Pascal Riché
En prônant la négociation, la CGT "peut faire bouger le syndicalisme"
'' Rue 89'', 21 November 2007 His successor, Louis Viannet, did the same, going as far as resigning from the political bureau of the party.

CGT General Secretary Phillipe Martinez announced that the union will support the week of climate action beginning on 20 September 2019.

In 2023, the CGT was involved in the interunion social movement against pension reform which organized strikes and protests in 300 towns across France, and wrote to Emmanuel Macron requesting negotiations, then, having not been received, mediation and a suspension of the 2023 French pension reform bill.

On 18 June 2024, the CGT called for a vote for the New Popular Front (NFP) in the 2024 French legislative elections. with the CGT General Secretary Sophie Binet also personally endorsing the NFP. Céline Verzeletti, a senior CGT member and General Secretary of the Federal Union of State Trade Unions, was nominated by the NFP for Paris's 15th constituency. The decision to endorse the NFP presented a turning point, since while the CGT has regularly called for a vote against the far right, in recent decades it has not called for people to vote for any specific party or bloc, due in part to the CGT's Amiens Charter—which recognizes the independence of trade unions from political parties.

Africa

In 1937 CGT began organizing workers in French West Africa. The union's functioning was interrupted by its banning by the Vichy regime, but in 1943-1948 a process of reconstruction took place. The main centers of activity were Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo and the French Soudan. CGT had an upper hand in the Muslim regions in comparison to the rival French Confederation of Christian Workers, who depended on the presence of Catholic communities for its recruitment. CGT emerged as the major trade union force amongst the 100 000 strong organized labour force in Senegal and Mauritania after the Second World War.

Within the CGT branches in the region, there was however a growing wish for independence. A leader of CGT in French West Africa, Bassirou Guèye, promoted this idea. At a meeting of the Territorial Union of Trade Unions in Senegal and Mauritania, held in Dakar 11 November – 12 November 1955, the majority of delegates voted for separation from the French CGT. A conference was held in Saint-Louis on 14 January – 15 January 1956 which formed the Confédération générale des travailleurs africains (CGTA), separating the parts of the West African CGT organizations from the French CGT. At the conference 50 out of 67 delegates had voted for separation.

In Togo, CGT had 45,100 members in 1948 (65% of organized labour). By 1952 the number had decreased to 34,000 (46% of organized labour).

CGT formed a branch in Madagascar in 1936.Busky, Donald F.. ''Communism in history and theory. Asia, Africa, and the Americas''. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2002. p. 128

Publications

The CGT has two publications '' La Vie Ouvrière'', and .

Affiliated organisations

Federations

Other affiliates

*Federal Union of State Trade Unions (UFSE-CGT)
*General Union of Engineers, Managers and Technicians CGT (UGICT-CGT)
*Confederation of CGT retirees' union (UCR-CGT)
*Young CGT
*National Committee for the Fight and Defense of the Unemployed

Former federations

Leadership

General Secretaries

See also

* 1995 strikes in France
* List of trade unions
*Anarchism in France
* Politics of France
* CGT-SR
* Trade unions:
** French Democratic Confederation of Labour
** French Confederation of Christian Workers
** Workers' Force
** French Confederation of Management – General Confederation of Executives
** Solidaires Unitaires Démocratiques
* Mouvement des Entreprises de France

Footnotes

Further reading

* Ross, George. ''Workers and Communists in France: From Popular Front to Eurocommunism'' (1982).

External links

The beginnings of the CGT, 1895–1921
An account and analysis of the anarchist origins of the CGT, and the later rise of the Communist Party within it.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confederation Generale Du Travail

National trade union centers of France
Trade unions in France
European Trade Union Confederation
1895 establishments in France
Trade unions established in 1895