19 June, 2012The 11th World Congress of the ITGLWF voted in favour of the establishment of IndustriALL Global Union.
ITGLWF Congress delegates followed in the footsteps of the IMF and ICEM delegates and, meeting this afternoon in Copenhagen, unanimously voted to join the new global union.
Full backing was also given to the nomination of Hisanobu Shimada as Vice-President and Monika Kemperle as Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL.
Speaking at the Congress, ITGLWF General Secretary Klaus Priegnitz said, “Forming IndustriALL is the best way to protect the interests of workers in our sector.”
The women’s caucus expressed their pride in the long history of the ITGLWF, which has led the global trade union movement in supporting the human and trade union rights of the poorest paid and most vulnerable women workers.
The ITGLWF has been instrumental in getting multinational companies to acknowledge responsibility for working conditions throughout their global supply chains, a responsibility now recognized in the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.
Tribute was paid to the work of the late ITGLWF General Secretary, Neil Kearney, who led the global union for over 20 years as a tireless advocate for textile, garment and leather workers around the world.