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General Confederation of Labour (France)

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Confédération Générale du Travail
General Confederation of Labour
FoundedSeptember 1895
HeadquartersMontreuil, France
Location
  • France
Members640,000[1]
General Secretary
Sophie Binet (since 2023)
AffiliationsITUC, ETUC
Websitewww.cgt.fr
A CGT banner during a 2005 demonstration in Paris

The General Confederation of Labour (French: Confédération Générale du Travail, CGT[a]) is a national trade union center, founded in 1895 in the city of Limoges. It is the first of the five major French confederations of trade unions.

It is the largest in terms of votes (32.1% at the 2002 professional election, 34.0% in the 2008 election), and second largest in terms of membership numbers.

Its membership decreased to 650,000 members in 1995–96 (it had more than doubled when François Mitterrand was elected president in 1981), before increasing today to between 700,000 and 720,000 members, slightly fewer than the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT).[2]

According to the historian M. Dreyfus, the direction of the CGT is slowly evolving, since the 1990s, during which it cut all organic links with the French Communist Party (PCF), in favour of a more moderate stance. The CGT is concentrating its attention, in particular since the 1995 general strikes, to trade-unionism in the private sector.[3]

History

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The CGT was founded in 1895 in Limoges from the merger of the Fédération des bourses du travail (Federation of Labour Councils) and the Fédération nationale des syndicats (National Federation of Trade Unions). Auguste Keufer was amongst the founders and became the first treasurer.[4]

At the end of Henri Krasucki's term (1982–1992), he began to distance himself from the French Communist Party (PCF).[3] His successor, Louis Viannet, did the same, going as far as resigning from the political bureau of the party.[3]

CGT Secretary General Phillipe Martinez announced that the union will support the week of climate action beginning on September 20, 2019.[5]

Africa

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In 1937 CGT began organizing workers in French West Africa. The union's functioning was interrupted by its banning by the Vichy regime, but in 1943-1948 a process of reconstruction took place. The main centers of activity were Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo and the French Soudan. CGT had an upper hand in the Muslim regions in comparison to its main rival CFTC, who depended on the presence of Catholic communities for its recruitment. CGT emerged as the major trade union force amongst the 100 000 strong organized labour force in Senegal and Mauritania after the Second World War.[6]

Within the CGT branches in the region, there was however a growing wish for independence. A leader of CGT in French West Africa, Bassirou Guèye, promoted this idea. At a meeting of the Territorial Union of Trade Unions in Senegal and Mauritania, held in Dakar November 11–November 12, 1955, the majority of delegates voted for separation from the French CGT. A conference was held in Saint-Louis on January 14–January 15, 1956 which formed the Confédération générale des travailleurs africains (CGTA), separating the parts of the West African CGT organizations from the French CGT. At the conference 50 out of 67 delegates had voted for separation.[7]

In Togo, CGT had 45,100 members in 1948 (65% of organized labour). By 1952 the number had decreased to 34,000 (46% of organized labour).[8]

CGT formed a branch in Madagascar in 1936.[9]

Affiliates

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Federations

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Affiliate Abbreviation Founded Membership (2019)[10]
Banking and Insurance Staff Unions Federation FSBPA
Commerce, Services and Distribution Federation 1973 44,980
Federation of Education, Research and Culture FERC 1948 25,258
Federation of Employees in the Postal and Telecommunications Sector FAPT 1919 49,346
Federation of Design Studios FSE 1980
Federation of Workers in the Book, Paper and Communication Industries FILPAC 1982
Finance Federation Finances 1930
General Federation of National Police Trade Unions 1946
Health and Social Protection Federation Santé 1979 74,725
Merchant Marine Officers' Federation FOMM
Metalworkers' Federation FTM 1909 62,131
National Federation of Agri-Food and Forestry FNAF 1981 22,701
National Federation of Chemical Industries FNIC 1907 24,814
National Federation of Construction, Wood and Furniture Employees FNSCBA 2011
National Federation of Entertainment, Cinema, Audiovisual and Cultural Action Unions FNSAC 1902
National Federation of Equipment and the Environment FNEE 1973
National Federation of Glass and Ceramic Workers
National Federation of Maritime Unions FNSM 1905
National Federation of Mines and Energy FNME 1999 58,064
National Federation of Ports and Docks 1901
National Federation of Staff of Social Organisations Orgasociaux
National Federation of State Workers FNTE 1922
National Union of Journalists SNJ 1918
Public Services Federation 1903 80,717
Railway Workers' Federation Cheminots 1917 42,640
Temporary Staff Union USI 1968
Textile, Clothing, Leather and Laundry Federation THCB 1985
Transport Federation FNST 1902 36,432

Other affiliates

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  • Federal Union of State Trade Unions (UFSE)
  • General Union of Engineers, Managers and Technicians CGT (UGICT)
  • Confederation of CGT retirees' union (UCR)
  • Young CGT
  • National Committee for the Fight and Defense of the Unemployed

Former federations

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Affiliate Abbreviation Founded Reason not affiliated Year Membership (1937)[11] Membership (1946)[11]
Air, War and Navy Federation 16,000 15,000
Bridge and Road Engineers' Federation
Clothing Federation 1892 Merged into THCB 1985 110,000 74,000
Commercial Travellers' Federation 6,000 20,000
Coopers' Federation 18,000 18,000
Designers' and Technicians' Federation Dissolved 1945 79,000 N/A
Federation of Employees FEC 1893 Joined FO 1947 285,000 200,000
Federation of Workers in the Wood, Furniture and Allied Industries Merged into FNSCBA 2011
French Federation of Book Workers FFTL 1881 Merged into FILPAC 1982 60,000 55,000
General Administration Federation 23,000 ?
Glass Federation 30,000 23,000
Hairdressers' Federation 22,000 20,000
Hatters' Federation 10,000 10,000
Jewellers', Goldsmiths' and Watchmakers' Federation 12,000 8,000
National Education Federation Became independent 1947 101,000 150,000
National Federation of Agricultural Workers FNTA 1920 Merged into FNAF 1981 156,000 290,000
National Federation of Ceramic, Faience, Pottery and Kindred Industries 36,000 20,000
National Federation of Construction Workers FNTC 1920 Merged into FNSCBA 2011 540,000 700,000
National Federation of Energy FNE 1905 Merged into FNME 1999 80,000 105,000
National Federation of Food, Hotels, Cafes and Restaurants Merged into FNAF 1981 300,000 300,000
National Federation of Hides and Leather 1893 Merged into THCB 1985 88,000 86,000
National Federation of Miners FNTSS 1883 Merged into FNME 1999 270,000 287,000
National Federation of Paper and Cardboard Merged into FILPAC 1982 72,000 40,000
National Federation of Textile Industry Workers 1891 Merged into THCB 1985 360,000 270,000
Pharmaceutical Federation 47,000 19,000
Tobacco and Matchworkers' Federation 1948 Merged into FNAF 2008 14,000 12,000
Wood Federation

Leadership

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General Secretaries

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Year Secretary
1895 Absalon Lagailse [fr]
1898 Maurice Copigneaux
1900 Victor Renaudin [fr]
1901 Eugène Guérard [fr]
1901 Victor Griffuelhes
1909 Louis Niel [fr]
1909 Léon Jouhaux
1945 Benoît Frachon and Léon Jouhaux
1948 Benoît Frachon and Alain Le Léap
1957 Benoît Frachon
1967 Georges Séguy
1982 Henri Krasucki
1992 Louis Viannet
1999 Bernard Thibault
2013 Thierry Lepaon [fr]
2015 Philippe Martinez
2023 Sophie Binet

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Dalton, Matthew; Bisserbe, Noemie (2023-01-27). "French Union Cuts Power to Pressure Macron on Pensions". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on Mar 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Numbers given by Michel Dreyfus, author of Histoire de la C.G.T., Ed. Complexes, 1999, interviewed in Pascal Riché, En prônant la négociation, la CGT "peut faire bouger le syndicalisme", Rue 89, 21 November 2007 (in French)
  3. ^ a b c Pascal Riché, En prônant la négociation, la CGT "peut faire bouger le syndicalisme", Rue 89, 21 November 2007 (in French)
  4. ^ "BnF Catalogue général". Bibliothèque nationale de France (in French). Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  5. ^ La CGT prépare deux journées d'action à la rentrée autour de l'urgence climatique, https://mobile.francetvinfo.fr/economie/syndicats/la-cgt-prepare-deux-journees-d-action-a-la-rentree-autour-de-l-urgence-climatique_3538113.amp Article in FranceInfo
  6. ^ Fall, Mar. L'État et la Question Syndicale au Sénégal. Paris: Éditions L'Harmattan, 1989. p. 24, 27
  7. ^ Fall, Mar. L'État et la Question Syndicale au Sénégal. Paris: Éditions L'Harmattan, 1989. p. 31–32
  8. ^ Fall, Mar. L'État et la Question Syndicale au Sénégal. Paris: Éditions L'Harmattan, 1989. p. 44
  9. ^ Busky, Donald F.. Communism in history and theory. Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2002. p. 128
  10. ^ "La CGT en bref". Institut superieur du travail. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b Lorwin, Val (1954). The French Labor Movement. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 324–325.
  1. ^ French pronunciation: [se ʒe te]

Further reading

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  • Ross, George. Workers and Communists in France: From Popular Front to Eurocommunism (1982).
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