The ILO Conventions and Trade Union Independence

This conference opened up a needed discussion concerning the reality of the "new trade union international," which is set to be founded on November 1st in Vienna, after the dissolution of the ICFTU and the WCL.

In his introduction, Daniel Gluckstein, coordinator of the ILC, spoke of the connection between the threats to the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the questions posed by the "new trade union international," as well as the world summit of the U.N. of last autumn.

Due to the quality of the discussion at this conference, we will be publishing all of the speeches. This week, we are publishing the first part of the report of Daniel Gluckstein.

The ILC is not in compebreastion with any other organization of the workers� movement. Its mission is not to formulate a program. Its responsibility is to inform, alert and discuss these questions which affect the future of the workers� movement. At the end of the rich debate, the following proposals were made:

-- To organize the debate and continue the discussion, not only on a national level, but in the framework of the newsletter of the ILC. In the ILC International Newsletter we will include, until November, a special section on this discussion, beginning with the publication of speeches presented at the Geneva conference.

-- To mandate the bureau of the ILC to write a letter to all the affected organizations and all the delegates to the November 1st Congress in Vienna, to discuss with them the need to preserve the independence of trade union organizations.