CONFERENCE OF THE WORLD CONFEDERATION OF LABOR

Organizers: WCL, Cartel Alfa, CSDR

The World Confederation of Labor (WCL) will assemble its International Congress in Bucharest, Romania, between October 22nd and 27th.

The WCL Congress assembles every four years, and the forthcoming one is the 25th edition. In 1997, the 24th Congress took place in Thailand, and the one before, in 1993, in Mauritius. Logically, the 26th one should therefore meet in Latin America. The WCL indeed values the fact that the continents host the Congress by turns.

This year, it will be the first time that the WCL Congress meets in a Central or East European country. One of the criteria for affiliation to the WCL is indeed independence of states and companies.

Romania is one of the Central and East European countries with the best trade union structures, which explains the choice of Bucharest as venue of the Congress. The WCL has two affiliates in that country: the CNS Cartel Alfa and the CSDR (confederation of democratic trade unions of Romania).

Bogdan Hossu, President of Cartel Alfa, is WCL Vice-President for Central and Eastern Europe.

The essential purpose of this Congress is to verify how the international trade union movement can adapt itself in order to remain a decisive actor within an economic context that rather tends to reduce its influence.

The main theme of the Congress will be "Build a World of Solidarity - the Workers' Movement in the 21st Century".