3 December, 2007Marcello paid tribute to Brian Fredricks, former IMF assistant general secretary, at the Central Committee meeting in Brazil, November 28, 2007.
GENEVA: Brian Fredricks, former assistant general secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation retired after almost 30 years of service to the IMF.
Marcello Malentacchi, IMF general secretary paid tribute to Brian's work and life at the IMF Central Committee meeting in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.
"It is not easy to summarise Brian's long and intense trade union work since 1968 when he started as a young worker at the Toyota assembly plant in Durban, through the formation of a new non-racial auto workers union, the strikes of the 1970s, the development of international solidarity linkages, and the establishment of the first IMF South Africa office. All of that represented a crucial contribution to the unification of unions in the metal sector and the foundation of NUMSA," Marcello said.
A copy of Marcello's complete speech is available in English on the IMF website's Opinion section.