Since it’s founding on October 2, 1945, the WFTU has fought against capitalism, imperialism and war, and fought for justice for workers and building class-consciousness in unions. The WFTU stands in contrast to the Yellow Union collaborationists on the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The WFTU has stood by it’s principles of class-consciousness in trade unions and fighting against capitalist exploitation and imperialist war.

The WFTU, along with the various unions both local and international, held rallies and protests on October 1 and 2nd, culminating in a meeting held at a worker’s exchange in Paris. WFTU President Michael Mzwandile Makwayiba gave a digital greeting, then speeches were given by head of the Unione Sindicale di Base, Cynzia Della Porta, the prior General Secretary and Honorary President of the WFTU, George Mavrikos, and a speech was given by a representative of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Then WFTU General Secretary Pambis Kyritis gave a speech on the struggles and victories of the past 80 years and gave optimism to the future of the WFTU.

LUEL salutes the WFTU for 80 years of class struggle against exploitation by monopoly capitalism and will work with the WFTU to build presence and class-consciousness here in the United States. Long live the WFTU!

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209 years after that date, the working people continue to fight for their definitive independence, in a context of the advance of capital that seeks a society without freedom or rights for workers. In this sense, the government headed by President Javier Milei is carrying out disastrous policies that go in the direction historically defined by the enemies of the people. However, the multiplicity of sectors across the country, including retirees, who are confronting their reactionary initiatives are a clear example that the people, as in those days, are willing to wage whatever battles are necessary to thwart the anti-popular and quisling attempts of the government and its allies, while also building a just and democratic society.

In this regard, from the National Coordinating Board of Retiree and Pensioner Organizations, we urge grassroots organizations to converge in common actions with a united attitude to achieve our objectives.

“THE ONLY BATTLE YOU LOSE IS THE ONE YOU ABANDON”
Argentina, July 7, 2025

The post ARGENTINA: Wednesday Retiree Update first appeared on Labor Today.

The WFTU strongly condemns any collaboration with the war machine of the murderous state of Israel and calls for a boycott of Israel, especially for activities linked with its military operations and the crimes against Palestinians.

-Noting that on 26 January 2024, the International Criminal Court ordered Israel to ‘take all possible measures’ to ‘prevent’ genocide in Gaza, recognising that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it sought protection were plausible.

-Noting that on 26 May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must ‘immediately’ stop its military offensive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in response to South Africa’s request that the court issue this decision as an emergency measure, stating that Israel’s activities in Rafah constitute a ‘genocidal’ operation and threaten the survival of the Palestinian people.

-Noting that on 20 May 2024, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that he had requested arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Galant, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

-And if the news published in various media outlets about the SINEDOR collaboration with the Israeli murderous state is true, we demand the immediate and unconditional end of the partnership without exception.

No support of the Israeli crimes
Stop the Genocide – Free Palestine

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It is announced, among others, that the countries are committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on core defence spending to buy military hardware and maintain troops, and another 1.5% on defence-related investments.

The World Federation of Trade Unions, the militant voice of 105 million workers, unequivocally condemns the new provocative soaring of military expenditures, the increase of the NATO budget, and their plans, which are deepening the confrontation and increasing the risk for a generalized imperialist conflict with disastrous consequences.

We demand full respect for the sovereignty, independence, and right of every people to choose their own path, present and future. We oppose the exclusions, discriminations, embargoes, and sanctions orchestrated by the USA, EU, and their allies against a range of countries, resulting in a direct and detrimental impact on the everyday lives of ordinary people. Low-income households, wage workers, poor farmers, and the broader vulnerable parts of society are disproportionately affected.

It is clear that both the spending of the war economy and the implications of the economic war negatively impact the standard of living of the popular strata are already burdened by the consequences of economic hardship, including soaring prices, rampant inflation, and the enduring effects of long-standing austerity measures, while the ordinary people pay with their lives for the wars conducted for the increase of multinationals’ profitability.

The international class-oriented trade union movement reiterates its firm demand for the immediate dissolution of NATO and all military coalitions, the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, and respect for the independence and sovereignty of all states.

The WFTU calls upon its affiliated and friends to intensify their struggles, initiatives, demonstrations, and strikes against the imperialists’ plans and wars.  We demand the end of all existing military conflicts, the end of the genocide in Palestine, and we strengthen the struggle for lasting peace, for a world free of imperialist interventions and man-by-man exploitation.

The post Statement of the WFTU on NATO Summit 2025 first appeared on Labor Today.

Over 30,000 people took to the streets with USB to demand a class-based alternative based on peace and justice.The extraordinary national demonstration organised with the Disarmiamoli coalition group concluded in Rome, with over 30,000 people participating, including workers, young people, students, activists, and trade unionists.

The crowd shouted clear messages to the country: ‘No more war! No more rearmament! No more complicity with NATO, the arms industry or the genocide of the Palestinian people!’Today’s demonstration was an integral part of the national general strike called by USB on 20 June.

This strike united the struggle against rearmament with demands for higher wages, more rights and welfare to defend public health and education and save an industrial apparatus sinking deeper every month.

While the Meloni government continues European policies by pouring billions into rearmament and militarisation, ordinary people suffer: hospitals are collapsing, schools are being closed down, and deindustrialisation is desertifying territories while rents are skyrocketing.In this context, continuing to invest in weapons, military missions and aggressive alliances such as NATO — which is complicit in the genocide currently being carried out in Gaza by the terrorist state of Israel — is a political, social and moral crime that must be strongly denounced.

Yesterday’s demonstrations and protest initiatives throughout Italy, along with today’s large rally, confirm USB’s position as a trade union and class alternative, connecting the defence of social rights with the struggle against permanent global war.

The post ITALY: USB Holds Historic Day of Protest Against War and Rearmament first appeared on Labor Today.

On this day, it is important not to forget the children around the world who are being robbed of their childhoods as a result of imperialist interventions and wars. Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in Gaza, more than 16,000 children have lost their lives, while hundreds of thousands will carry the fear, trauma, and physical and emotional wounds of war for the rest of their lives.

Today, over 160 million children are still trapped in labor, many subjected to hazardous, degrading, and exhausting conditions. These children are denied their right to education, to leisure, to a healthy life, and to a dignified childhood. This is not an unfortunate accident or the result of isolated failures—it is the direct outcome of the exploitative nature of capitalism, which thrives on inequality, poverty, and imperialist domination.

Child labor worldwide has risen to alarming levels in recent years. Between 2016 and 2024—for the first time in over two decades—the number of working children globally has increased. The unprecedented economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the deepening capitalist crisis and wars, continues to push children into ever more exploitative and dangerous labor conditions.

Meanwhile, the same forces that liberalize markets, dismantle public services, and suppress workers’ rights are the ones that drive families into despair and force children into labor. Multinational corporations, complicit governments, and international institutions may present themselves as champions of children’s rights, but in reality, they advance policies that entrench exploitation and strip working people of their dignity and protections.

For the WFTU, it is clear: the eradication of child labor can never be achieved under a system that sees human beings as tools for profit. What is needed is a radical transformation—one that guarantees free, quality public education for all children, ensures decent wages and secure employment for all adults, and strengthens public services and social protection systems. No parent should ever be forced to choose between hunger and sending their child to work.

We reaffirm our militant commitment to this struggle, and we stand in solidarity with workers across the globe who resist exploitation and fight for their rights. The battle against child labor is inseparable from the broader struggle against capitalist injustice and imperialist aggression. It is part of our vision for a society where the needs of the people—not the profits of the few—come first.

The post Statement of the World Federation of Trade Unions on the World Day Against Child Labor first appeared on Labor Today.

We retirees have begun to outright reject the policies of Javier Milei’s government from the moment he took office. No wonder. The level of inhumanity of these bootlicking stooges of the US and Israel in geopolitics and economic power, as their employees, knows no bounds.

Every day that passes, we learn of a new betrayal of the Argentine people, and particularly of the working people. Therefore, it is extremely important and auspicious to see how, week after week, our call to protest before Congress is growing, not only with more retirees but also with new sectors punished by the government and its “dialoguing” allies.

This Wednesday, June 4th, we will be surrounded by workers from the Garraham Hospital, families of people with disabilities, especially children, researchers from Conicet (National Council of Workers), migrants, representatives of indigenous peoples, those laid off by the state and private sectors, and, above all, the Ni Una Menos collective.

It has been mentioned a lot lately, starting with the series El Eternauta (The Eternalist), but it is a slogan that, for us, comes from the depths of history:

“No one is saved alone.”

For this reason, we call for a united, broad front of workers that will halt and destroy all the reactionary policies pursued by this government, with the miserable complicity of the so-called “dialogue-oriented” opposition, and, in turn, build the political tool defined and led by the working class that will build the new, just, and democratic society we dream of.

The post ARGENTINA: Wednesday Retiree Update first appeared on Labor Today.

The meeting started with the introductory speech of the General Secretary of the WFTU comrade Pambis Kyritsis, where he analyzed the current global situation and the priorities and goals of the international class-oriented trade unions movement.

Later on, comrade Petros Petrou, responsible of ILO affairs of the central offices of the WFTU, took the floor to set the priorities for the WFTU delegation in the works of the ILC, highlighting the important items on the agenda of the 113th, analyzing the WFTU’s positions on those matters.

Moreover, members and friends of the WFTU participating in the meeting, engaged in a constructive discussion on the items on the agenda of the 113th ILC.

You can watch the full speech of the WFTU General Secretary down below:

The post WFTU Holds Preparatory Meeting Ahead of 113th International Labour Conference first appeared on Labor Today.

This anniversary coincides with that of the WFTU, which is celebrating its 80^th anniversary, a world trade union federation of class and mass struggle. CATH salutes its efforts and wishes the WFTU a long life. Today, CATH, as a member of the Trade Union International of Leather, Clothing, Textiles, and Footwear workers and the Trade Union International of Pensioners and Retirees, notes that all struggles to change the living conditions of workers encounter enormous obstacles that are difficult to overcome (low wages, the high cost of living, mistreatment of workers in the workplace, systematic violations of their rights, dismissals without apparent cause, non-payment of workers’ contributions to the Old Age Insurance (ONA) pensions and the Workplace Accident, Sickness and Maternity Insurance Office (OFATMA) benefits, etc.). These obstacles have led not only to the degeneration of the country but also to the deepening poverty of our workers.

What are the root causes of this situation? For more than three (3) decades, Haiti has experienced only shadow governments appointed by the global capitalist and imperialist system, exploiting the labor force of our workers. These visionless, irresponsible, careless, and useless leaders are working for the destruction of their country. They prefer to join the so-called “state banditry” to decimate an entire defenseless people for the benefit of capitalist and imperialist countries that want to suck the blood of our workers at all costs. Therefore, banditry is a vicious lever of exploitation.

CATH, as a class-based and mass trade union organization, cannot associate itself with unhealthy and unacceptable initiatives. CATH denounces with repugnance the destructive policies pursued by the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), which fail to take into account the situation of the Haitian people, particularly workers and pensioners.

More than 97% of the Haitian capital has been handed over to terrorists, in full view of the CPT. This is intentional and planned. May 18, the date on which the Haitian people celebrate their flag and university, is seen as a secondary event because the government cannot celebrate it in its usual location due to the occupation of that site by the desired and planned terrorists. The location of the May 18 celebration has been transferred this year to Cap-Haïtien following the security crisis. What a shame for the government and the CPT! The leaders placed at the head of state solely to steal and plunder resources have failed in their republican responsibilities. They cannot give any satisfaction to the Haitian people, knowing that corruption is the rule.

The CATH notes that: The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) spent a year doing nothing, disregarding the Haitian people; 2. The referendum promised by this government team failed miserably, even though the leaders already know the extent of the security crisis and constitute a blockage. The leaders persisted until failure to save bonuses, per diems, etc.

The government is not taking any security measures to protect the Haitian population (for example, the territories controlled by terrorists are increasing, namely: Kenscoff, Pétion-ville, Delmas, Port-au-Prince, Croix-des-Bouquets, Gressier, Artibonite, Mirebalais, Carrefour, Arcahaie, etc.) and they have issued threats to take over other important municipalities.

CATH demands:

An adjustment of the minimum wage to 2,500 gourdes ($19.14);

The unconditional departure of the useless, disengaged, and irresponsible members of the CPT.

Long live the workers’ struggle!
Long live CATH!
May peace reign in Haiti!
Thank you!

Louis Fignole SAINT-CYR
General Secretary
Autonomous Center of Haitian Workers (CATH)

The post CATH Position on its 40th Anniversary, Which Coincide With the 80th Anniversary of the WFTU first appeared on Labor Today.

Since 29 October, the people of Valencia have had an open wound, which cannot begin to heal until those responsible pay for their negligence. The main person responsible for what happened is clearly President Carlos Mazón, but that does not mean he was the only one, as the actions of employers also seriously endangered the health and lives of the working class, which in some cases had fatal consequences and in others has led to significant psychological effects.

The trade unions forming part of the World Federation of Trade Unions have been there from the very beginning, not only helping the population to face the situation, but also denouncing the actions of the president and employers, and demanding the investigation of those responsible.

The general strike called for 29 May, jointly organised by various trade unions in the Valencian Country, is a historic general strike, as it is the first time that a general strike has been called at the national level.

The unions calling the strike are demanding criminal charges against those responsible for the deaths of workers, starting with President Mazón, and are also demanding compensation and justice for the victims of the DANA, the reversal of privatisations and the strengthening of public services, that those affected by the employment regulations resulting from the DANA receive 100% of their wages, the creation of unlimited paid leave for situations of weather alerts, the reduction of the working week to 32 hours or four days, wage increases and respect for the right to housing with controls on rent and sale prices, and the creation of a public housing stock.

For all these reasons, the European Regional Office of the World Federation of Trade Unions sends its full support and solidarity to the general strike on 29 May in the Valencian Country, hoping that it will be a great success, that it will mark a turning point in the country and that it will be a step forward in strengthening class-based trade unionism in the Valencian Country.

The post WFTU-EUROF Solidarity Statement with General Strike in Valencian Country first appeared on Labor Today.