Claiming 157 million members in 225 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) came into being on December 7, 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).
Alleging Communist domination of the WFTU's central institutions, a large number of non-communist national trade union federations (including the U.S. AFL-CIO, the British TUC, the French CFDT, the Italian CISL and the Spanish UGT) seceded and created the rival ICFTU at a conference in London attended by representatives of nearly 48 million members in 53 countries.
From the 1950s the ICFTU actively recruited new members from the developing regions of first Asia and subsequently Africa. Following the collapse of Communist party government in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, the Federation's membership has risen steeply from 87 million in 1988 and 100 million in 1992.
Organisation
The ICFTU has three regional organisations, APRO for Asia and the Pacific, AFRO for Africa, and ORIT for the Americas and Caribbean. The ICFTU also maintains close links with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) (which includes all ICFTU European affiliates) and Global Union Federations, which link together national unions from a particular trade or industry at international level.
Central to the ICFTU's work has been the struggle to defend workers' rights. The ICFTU lobbies for the ratification of what it calls "core labour standards" -- the various conventions of the International Labour Organization.
The ICFTU has staff which are devoted entirely to the monitoring and defense of workers rights, and they issue -- almost on a daily basis -- alerts and calls to action. Every June, the ICFTU publishes its "Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights" which is essential reading for those who are concerned with these issues. The publication of that report is usually accompanied by extensive press coverage of the violations of trade union rights around the globe, often focussing on the numbers of people killed simply for being members of unions.
In its constitution, the organization pledged itself to "champion the cause of human freedom, promote equality of opportunity for all people, seek to eliminate everywhere in the world any form of discrimination or subjugation based on race, religion, sex or origin, oppose and combat totalitarianism and aggression in any form".
That constitution lists no fewer than seventeen aims of the organization and it has been argued that the ICFTU from its very beginning set itself goals that would be impossible to achieve -- particularly with a small staff and budget. For example, the organization's constitution requires it "to carry out a programme of trade union and workers’ education" as well as to give "assistance to those suffering from the consequences of natural and industrial disasters".
In 2004 Australian union leader Sharan Burrow was elected as the first female president of the ICFTU.
Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights
ICFTU publishes an annual report which documents violations by governments, industries, and military and police forces against both workers and related trade unions.
2006 report
Release on 7 June 2006 the report reprises the year 2005. The press release from ICFTU OnLine reports,
"115 trade unionists were murdered for defending workers’ rights in 2005, while more than 1,600 were subjected to violent assaults and some 9,000 arrested ... Nearly 10,000 workers were sacked for their trade union involvement, and almost 1,700 detained."
The report is divided into five regional sections, with detailed reports by country.
Africa
ICFTU writes that, "One of the most striking features of the violations that took place in Africa is the failure of governments to respect the rights of their own employees, both through the restrictions in law on organising, collective bargaining and strike action, and repression in practice."
the report continues on to detail violations such as the lack of the right to organize unions in the public service in ; the police use of stun guns, rubber bullets and tear gas at workers' strikes and protests in South Africa; and the death of a drivers' union member during a demonstration by striking minibus and lorry drivers.
Americas
The report of violence in the Americas details a total of 80 deaths, more than half of the number reported worldwide. 70 of those deaths were in Colombia, while an additional 260 Colombian workers received death threats. In Ecuador 44 workers at the San Jose plantation were fired for forming a union. In Canada a collective agreement was imposed by law on members of the BCTF.
Asia and Pacific
ICFTU singled out Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, South Korea and the Philippines as having "particularly" violent episodes. In Bangladesh three trade unionists were killed when police intervened in a Sinha Textile Mill protest. In South Korea, Kim Tae-hwan, from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions was run over and killed while on the picket line.
In the Philippines, Diosdado Fortuna, leader of theFood and Drug Industry Union was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen, Victoria Ramonte of the Andres Soriano College Employees' Union was stabbed to death, and Ricardo Ramos, President of the Sugar Workers' Union was shot and killed.
Europe
The report on Europe begins by noting "Strong resistance to the creation of independent trade unions was a common trait across Central and Eastern Europe, both by employers and the State." Examples include an organized government attempt to coerce workers to leave independent trade unions in . Belarus is highlighted as wanting to return to Soviet-era trade union centres, with the ensuing close ties to the government.
The death of one trade unionist in Russia is reported. Although there are no details concerning the exact circumstances, he had previously received threats, and his house had been set on fire.
Middle East
In Iraq, during the first two months of 2005 Hadi Salih, international secretary of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) was brutally tortured and killed. Talib Khadim and Saady Edan, both also from the IFTU were attacked and kidnapped. Two attempts were made on the life of the president of the IFTU's Kirkuk branch. Ali Hassan Abd of the Oil and Gas Workers' Union was shot and killed in front of his children, and Ahmed Adris Abas of the Transport and Communications Union, was shot dead.
The report also details the difficulties faced by migrant workers in many countries, such as Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where they are a major portion of the labour force, but have few rights.
Qatar is singled out as a source of good news, with the country adopting a new labour code which, although still below international standards, allowed for the establishment of free trade unions.
Role in Destabilizing Democratically elected Haitian government
In June 2006 an American labor magazine, Labor Notes, ran an article alleging that that the ICFTU, ILO, ORIT, and the AFL-CIO played a role in supporting a destabilization campaign against the Haitian government. According to Labor Notes, the ICFTU ignored massive labor persecution against public sector workers throughout 2004, 2005, and 2006. [link]
