19 June, 2009
In countries where national unions are vulnerable or enterprise unions predominate, the IMF will work with affiliates to promote national unity and strengthened national structures. This includes developing strategies to prevent workers' organisations from being played off against one another or becoming dependent on management. Using tools such as Country Councils, the IMF will work to avoid competition and encourage co-operation and solidarity between workers.
Given that strong national unions are often born out of different historical backgrounds, it is necessary to seek unity of action even when unification into a single national union is not realistic. The IMF will focus its attention on ensuring that the unions we support have the capacity to organise, bargain and prioritise work on a national level, and that different unions within a country work in concert in the interests of all metalworkers.
In countries where labour legislation does not permit national unions, the IMF will work with national centres, other global unions, and the ITUC to assist workers and their unions in overturning laws that prevent workers from forming national unions.
To assist affiliates in achieving unity at the national level, the IMF will:
- Utilise IMF Country Council structures to build greater unity and solidarity in action; and
- Focus its union building activities in countries where affiliates are predominantly enterprise-level unions in TNC's on the strengthening of national structures, and on building unity among unions by encouraging changes in union structures.
IMF affiliates will:
- Work with other affiliates at the national level to build common positions and platforms on issues affecting metalworkers, particularly collective bargaining.