23 September, 2010A joint task force set up by the decision-making bodies of IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF meets in Germany to explore a process to unify the world's industrial workers into one global union federation.
GERMANY: Forty delegates representing the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) met on September 20-21 in Bad Münder, Germany. This was the first meeting of a joint task force set up by the decision making bodies of the three global union federations.
IMF's Executive Committee nominated in June its representatives to this preparatory working group. The task force was asked to look at the political project, structures, finances, and a possible timeline for uniting the 55 million workers represented by the three organizations into a unified global union federation.
Task force members from five continents acknowledged the rationale of the unifying process to create a united voice of the industrial workers of the world, and a strong counterpower to major multinational corporations. Unions want to underline the role of manufacturing industry as the locomotive of national economies and as a creator of good quality jobs with decent working conditions and trade union rights.
The meeting decided to set up a working group to look at the financial questions and to start drafting the statutes for a new organization for a continued discussion on decision-making, regional and sectoral structures. The task force will report back to the Executive Committees of the three federations and will meet again in the beginning of December in Geneva.