10 February, 2011Joint IMF-ICEM-ITGLWF task force meets in Japan to examine the process to unify the world's industrial workers into one global union federation.
JAPAN: Fortyone 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 February 8-9 in Tokyo. This was the third meeting of a joint task force set up by the decision-making bodies of the three global union federations.
The task force was mandated by IMF's Executive Committee in June 2010 to look at the political project, structures, finances, and a possible timeline for uniting 50 million workers represented by the three organizations into one global union federation.
Task force members from five continents confirmed the rationale of creating a united voice of the industrial workers of the world, and a strong counter-power to major transnational 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 task force heard the reports from the working groups on statutes and finances, and discussed in detail the decision-making, regional and sectoral structures of a possible new global union federation. The task force decided to meet again on May 5 in Frankfurt, Germany, to finalise a proposal to the Executive Committees of the three organizations.
The process will also be discussed at IMF's regional conferences this year. If an acceptable result for the world's metalworkers is achieved, IMF's Central Committee on December 7-8 may decide to convene an extraordinary Congress in 2012. Similar decisions are expected from ICEM's and ITGLWF's decision-making bodies.