Global Unions

Global Unions or Council of Global Unions is a website, which is jointly owned and managed by the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD and ten global union federations.

In November 2006 two international union organizations were created, the ITUC and the Council of Global Unions that emerged out of a reorganization of the international trade union movement (which was divided because of post-war divisions). ITUC is the result of the break up of both the WCL and ICFTU for the purposes of uniting under one organisation (ITUC). The Council of Global Unions was created at the first meeting of ITUC and is a body involving the GUFs, ITUC, and TUAC.

Although Global Unions are described as ‘global’, this represents more an “aspiration than a reality since they are more accurately described as international bodies with wide coverage that are ‘globalising’" (Croucher and Cotton, 2009). Historically, they have built outwards from their European bases in an attempt to include unions in other regions and are still trying to extend their coverage to every country where unions are found.

According to Harold Lewis (2003) the Global Union Federations are responsible for 80 per cent of the international movement’s activity and 90 per cent of its work directly affecting workplaces.

See also

• Trade union
• Global union federation

External links

• www.global-unions.org