Blog Archive
Global Solidarity Summer School in Waterford
Posted on September 15, 2009
Minister Peter Power at the opening of the Summer School
70 trade unionists from the north and south of Ireland attended the Global Solidarity Summer School in Waterford on the 28th and 29th of August.
The Summer School was opened by the Assistant General Secretary Sally Anne Kinahan. In her speech she emphasized that "Congress continues to play a leading role campaigning in support of the UN-recommended 0.7% of Gross National Income to be given as aid and sought to ensure the Government's commitment to reach this target by 2012 was reflected in Towards 2016".
Global Solidarity at Congress' BDC in Tralee
Posted on July 31, 2009
Motions, fringe events and drums.
Global Solidarity issues played an important role at Congress' Biennial Delegate Conference (BDC) in Tralee 7 - 10 July. Six motions had been tabled on various Global Solidarity issues and they were all adopted. ICTU's Global Solidarity Committee will continue to develop its concrete work for international trade union solidarity. The BDC also decided to recommend the Irish Aid supported training course "Global Solidarity Champions" as a useful vehicle for the unions to build their capacity in developing their international solidarity work.
Some of the adopted motions pertained to specific countries, including;
- Strengthen the solidarity work with the Colombian trade union movement and to work to stop EU's trade agreements, until the Colombian government fully respects human rights and core labour standards.
Solidarity with the Trade Unions in Colombia
Posted on July 20, 2009
Luis Alberto Vanegas, Colombian Trade Union leader at the BDC in Tralee
- The solidarity with Colombia shown by the Irish Trade Union Movement during my days here in Ireland is highly valued by me and my comrades in CUT-Colombia.
Luis Alberto Vanegas, the Director of the Human Rights Department in the Colombian Trade Union Congress (CUT) was happy after his week in Ireland. He was invited by ICTU Global Solidarity to take part in the Biennial Delegates Conference in Tralee, where he spoke on the 8th of July to the 800 delegates and observers. The speech which was much appreciated described the extremely difficult situation for Colombian trade unionists.
The Global Solidarity Champions Course
Posted on May 13, 2009
On the 7th of April 2009 ICTU finished its first Global Solidarity Champions training course. 12 trade unionists received their certificate as "Global Solidarity Champions" from the final speaker at the course, the Deputy General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Jaap Wienen. The overall evaluation of the 5 day course was very positive. The "Champions" felt committed to develop the international solidarity work in their own union and to take part in the future work of the global solidarity project in ICTU.
The main speakers come from the international trade union movement and progressive NGOs. At the first course we had trade unionist speakers from Colombia, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands and introductions made by representatives of Irish Aid, Concern and Trocaire.
€61,263 for reconstruction of houses, schools and hospitals in Cuba
Posted on May 13, 2009
The four hurricanes that hit Cuba in just three weeks last autumn are the worst natural disasters for this island nation since 1963. Therefore the Executive Council of Congress decided last October to start an All Ireland Trade Union Campaign to support the Cuban people's efforts to rebuild their country. We succeeded to collect €61,263. Contributions came from SIPTU €38,270, CWU €10,000, UNITE €5,143 and 12 other unions.
Half a million houses were destroyed by the hurricanes. Major factories, schools, telecommunications, hospitals, government buildings and farms were severely damaged. The agriculture sector was also severely hit, as much as 70% of last year's food production was lost.