The WFTU meeting with the Sectoral Unions (TUIs) and the Regional Offices successfully concluded today, September 21st, 2024.
The meeting was attended by 32 WFTU leading cadres, the WFTU General Secretary and President, members of the Secretariat, heads of the Regional Offices, and the leaders of the TUIs who discussed thoroughly the development of the international trade union movement, the role of the regional and Sectoral structures of the WFTU, exchanging experiences and proposals for the improving of their efficiency in serving the workers’ interests worldwide and unanimously adopted the following announcement.
Announcement on the meeting-discussion of the WFTU sectoral organizations and regional offices
The meeting-discussion between the WFTU Secretariat, the representatives of the sectoral Trade Union Internationals (TUIs) and of the Regional Offices concluded today. Dozens of elected trade unionists from all over the world participated, representing thousands of unions that shared their experiences in organizing struggles within their respective sectors.
The experiences and conclusions discussed were valuable, as in dozens of countries, members of the WFTU and its allies have organized, participated in, and led various struggles.
These struggles, taking place in countries like France, the USA, India, Italy, Bangladesh, Turkey, Greece, Latin America, and others, inspire hope in the global working class, not only because of their results and achievements but also due to their resilient stance against attempts at bribery, intimidation, repression, and imprisonment. These struggles were fought against the capital and its governments. Against imperialist wars. Against the genocide of the Palestinian people by the murderous state of Israel, supported by the USA, NATO, and the European Union. This is the unifying element which brought workers together, giving them the determination to continue the fight.
In the speeches delivered by the WFTU General Secretary, Pambis Kyritsis, and the WFTU Secretariat responsibles George Perros and Swadesh Dev Roye, who are deputy secretaries, the main tasks for the TUIs were highlighted, based on the decisions of the 18th Congress of the WFTU.
The WFTU’s Trade Union Internationals must, without delay:
Take all necessary measures to expand the unions, with thousands of new members.
Particularly to contribute so to strengthen the unions by recruiting young workers and women into their ranks.
Focus on sectors and workplaces where there are large numbers of unorganized workers.
Strengthen the opposition in industries and workplaces to the ITUC and its forces, to prevent the poison of compromise, consensus, fatalism, and disappointment from spreading among the working class. Especially in today’s situation, it is crucial for workers to raise their own flag, the flag of struggle and resistance.
Prioritize and take initiatives for Collective Labor Agreements, demanding significant wage increases, as wages are being eroded by inflation, particularly in essential goods, energy, and other widely consumed products. Prepare all our forces for major struggles and confrontations with the forces of capital and their governments, whose only goal is to intensify the exploitation of workers for the profit of business groups.
Organize the struggle against privatizations and the appalling conditions in health, education, and housing, making this an immediate priority.
Coordinate the forces and friends of the WFTU to organize sectoral struggles in each country.
Organize international solidarity in practice.
The plan for the Congresses and meetings of the TUI bodies was discussed: The upcoming Congresses need to adopt documents that reflect the current priorities for the millions of members of each sector and region, based on the current reality and developments.
The WFTU’s sectoral organizations need to hold open, democratic, and class-oriented Congresses and procedures, critically reviewing the actions of the past five years and addressing current problems in the context of capitalist globalization. They must block the infiltration of the social partnership logic promoted by the ITUC, and push for unions and unionists to break free from the political and especially economic influence of governments, imperialist unions, and yellow trade unions and institutes.
The participants also discussed the regional mechanism and the role of the Regional and Sub-regional Offices. They exchanged experiences and opinions on improving the action of the Regional and Sub-regional Offices.
The regional office is a statutory institution and is an essential component of the structure of our Federation. The regional office should:
Monitor the development of the workers’ struggles in the region and organize solidarity and mutual support, coordinate the action of the WFTU affiliates, assist and support the action of the TUIs affiliated to the WFTU, ensure that the presence and influence of the WFTU is expanded through the affiliation of new members.
Functioning of the regional offices are based on collectivity and consultation.
There should be regular regional conferences to provide the necessary accountability and to elect not only Regional Office coordinators but also coordinating secretariats.
The sub-regional offices have to assist the Regional Offices and, in contact and coordination with them, to help ensure that regional coordination is carried out more effectively and productively.
An integral part of regional coordination is of course the coordination between the WFTU Regional Offices and the regional structures maintained by the sectoral TUIs affiliated with the WFTU.
The WFTU, its TUIs and Regional Offices emerge stronger from this discussion, with experience, planning, and decisiveness to carry out our tasks until the 19th Congress, standing against the line of submission to monopoly interests, and reject the idea that the working class should march under any flag but its own. We raise our own flag of struggle, of class conflict with the capital, its governments, and unions, and call upon the entire working class to continue the struggle with all our strength for a future in which workers can enjoy the wealth they produce, the wealth that today is in the hands of a small group of monopoly enterprises.
We continue… The power of organized struggle is where hope and future prospects lie!
