THE X (EXTRAORDINARY) CONGRESS OF THE GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS WAS HELD IN MOSCOW
Thursday, December 14, 2023
The X (extraordinary) Congress of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU) was held in Moscow’s President Hotel 12 December 2023. The President of the GCTU Alexander Korchagin opened the Congress with an introductory speech and led it.
As she delivered the report “On the GCTU’s work in modern conditions: a solidarity response to new challenges”, GCTU Deputy General Secretary Natalia Podshibyakina focused on organizational issues, forms and methods of work, and the internal structure of the GCTU.
She stressed that it is important to determine the future appearance of the organization, its structure, forms and methods of work.
She also underlined the following: “Time goes on and the world becomes different. Perhaps we should think about expanding our geography, going beyond the CIS region, and taking a closer look at the surroundings, primarily the nearest one, as well as the states of anti-colonial choice”.
Natalia Podshibyakina continued: “The organizational forms of interaction between the GCTU and trade union associations and national trade union centres can be diverse, from the mildest situational, on a specific topic, to close cooperation and even full membership in the GCTU. The new version of the GCTU Constitution being developed opens up wide opportunities for this”.
The representatives of the GCTU affiliated national trade union centres of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and of industrial TUI (International Confederation of Water Transport Workers’ Unions) intervened in the debate on the report.
The Congress approved the work done by the GCTU in modern conditions and recommended that the member organizations continue to work on the implementation of the Guidelines for GCTU Activity in 2022-2027, taking into account new challenges.
Viktor Pinsky (Vice President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia) was elected General Secretary of the GCTU.
Mikhail Orda (President of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus) was elected Vice President of the GCTU.
Valentina Kabanova (President of the Moscow Regional Association of Trade Union Organizations) was elected President of the GCTU Control and Auditing Commission.