A virtual meeting of the WFTU Secretariat took place on July 27th, 2022, which analysed the developments in the trade union movement worldwide and discussed several important issues including the WFTU Action Plan for the second semester of 2022 and the allocation of responsibilities and duties of the Secretariat members.
The WFTU Secretariat notes and salutes the emerging big wave of struggles, mobilizations, and strikes in all continents, with the main demand the wages increase and measures against inflation and prices rising and ramping privatization of even strategic sectors. The WFTU affiliates are at the forefront of these fights, leading the struggle against the shrinking of real wages, the devaluation of labor power, and the consequential deterioration of the living standards of the working class and the popular strata. The WFTU expresses its undivided internationalist solidarity with all the struggling unions, assuring them that they can always rely on the support of the WFTU in their just struggles for wage increases, taxes reduction, and adequate, effective measures to deal with the increasing prices, especially for living essentials such as food, fuels, energy, housing and dignified working and living conditions.
The WFTU openly calls upon all the workers to join and strengthen the class-oriented trade unions in their countries in order to intensify the wave of struggles for the satisfaction of our contemporary needs. This is the only way to achieve better working and living conditions. This is the only way to put a brake on impoverishment, misery, and capitalist exploitation. The struggles can bring results, the struggles are what they are afraid off and fight so fiercely, the struggles should be intensified and strengthened by us.
Militant initiatives and demands of the class-oriented trade unions that actually dispute, question, and defy in practice the dominant policies of the bourgeois governments and the unacceptable practices of employers are the real, deep reason of increasing the frequency and intensity of state repression, the intimidating practices, and the efforts to cause economic suffocation to the trade unions. The list of these attacks all over the world is endless and the WFTU affiliates are permanently in the crosshairs of such efforts that violate any concept and principle of trade union rights and freedoms, as well as the workers’ right to draw their own conclusions and to freely decide about their own representation, affiliation, and action. Indicating examples are the prosecution and arrest of trade unionists of USB, WFTU affiliate in Italy, the blackmail practices, and the ultimatum that aims to enforce the Local 36 roofers union to revoke its WFTU affiliation and the violent attacks of riot police and army against the great mobilizations of WFTU affiliates and other unions in Sri Lanka. The WFTU declares and warns that such efforts neither will be accepted nor will go unanswered. The trade union and democratic freedoms are non-negotiable and we demand their unconditional respect.
The WFTU Secretariat adopted a militant action plan with activities and action on various issues and decided, among others, to implement the 18th World Trade Union Congress decision for the re-establishment of September 1st as International Trade Union Action Day for Peace and to honor the WFTU foundation day with the organizing of the Annual International Action Day on October 3rd. Moreover, a solidarity action will take place on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine on November 29th and an international convention on trade union and democratic rights will be realized.
Detailed announcements and materials for the above International Action Days and other actions decided by the Secretariat will be published in due time.
The Secretariat
Source: WFTU