9 February, 2012The European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF), European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) and the European Trade Union Federation for textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (ETUF-TCL) will formally merge in Brussels on May 16, 2012.
EUROPE: Representing eight million workers in Europe, the national trade union leaders affiliated to the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF), the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) and the European Trade Union Federation for textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (ETUF-TCL) signalled their intention join forces through a merger of the three federations, which will take place in Belgium on May 16, 2012.
On January 31, 2012 the first joint meeting of the executive bodies of the three founding organizations agreed on a political programme, new statutes and on the candidates for the political leadership of the new organisation. Michael Vassiliadis, president of Germany's IGBCE, was nominated to serve as president. EMF general secretary Ulrich Eckelmann was nominated to be general secretary. Nominated as vice presidents were Anders Ferbe from IF Metall, Sweden, Renzo Ambrosetti from UNIA, Switzerland, and Valeria Fedeli from CGIL FILCTEM, Italy. Sylvain Lefebvre, EMCEF, Bart Samyn, EMF, and Luc Triangle, ETUF-TCL, were nominated as deputy general secretaries.
The new federation will consist of four policy committees: the collective bargaining and social policy committee, the company policy committee, the industrial policy committee, and the social dialogue policy committee. It will also be composed of eight regions: South, Benelux, Central, South-East, Eastern, British, Nordic/Baltic, and South-West.
The joint executive declared that the new federation will strive to become a fighting force for a dynamic economic framework that will allow industry to thrive as the motor for jobs and sustainable growth across Europe.
The new federation has yet to formally adopt a name, its temporary name is the European Industrial Workers' Federation (EIWF).