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DECLARATION
by the 5th (Extraordinary) Congress of the
General Confederation of Trade Unions
Moscow, 26 March 2004
Proceeding from the basic principles the General Confederation of
Trade Unions adheres in its activity, i.e. the independence of trade unions,
the protection of union rights and democratic freedoms, the autonomy,
equality of rights and responsibilities, solidarity and mutual aid of its affiliates,
the willingness to maintain relations with other trade union organisations,
and the strive for stronger unity of the world trade union movement based
on mutual respect and fair cooperation of all its stakeholders;
taking into consideration the significant political and socio-economic
changes in the CIS region where the development of trade unions has basically
come to the end of its transition period;
noting the low labour remuneration rates for most employees in the CIS
countries, the sizeable unemployment, and the continued encroachment on the
legal rights of workers and trade unions;
stressing the ever growing importance of united actions by trade unions
to surmount the negative effects of economic globalisation;
considering that the economic growth in the CIS countries raises the
liability of the employers and governments for timely and proper remuneration
of employees' work and for pursuing strong social policies aimed at securing
higher living standards for workers; and
confirming the validity of the Guidelines for GCTU Activity in 2002-2007
and other documents adopted by the GCTU 4th Congress,
the 5th (Extraordinary) Congress of the General Confederation of Trade Unions
has set the following priorities for the period to come:
coordinated struggle for social justice, full and efficient employment, decent work,
a high price of labour, dignified living conditions, effective social protection of all
categories of wage workers and gender equality;
protection of trade union rights in the CIS countries, providing legislative support
for the objectives set in trade unions' programmes and constitutions, achieving
more efficient cooperation between the unions and parliaments;
helping the affiliated organisations further develop their trade union movements,
rendering them support and solidarity with their collective actions to safeguard
trade union rights and freedoms and workers' economic and social interests;
improvement of social dialogue and social partnership at all levels of regulating
the social and labour relations, more active involvement of trade unions in the
formulation and realisation of economic and social policies;
trade union monitoring of the application of ILO conventions ratified by CIS states,
initiating ratification of other ILO conventions through the inter-parliamentary
structures;
more active participation of the GCTU in the work of Commonwealth interstate
and intergovernmental bodies with the aim of strengthening the social component
of integration, promoting a single social space, building a common labour market,
and regulating the migration processes;
working towards the practical fulfilment, in the CIS countries, of the principal
interstate agreements in the social sphere and the adoption of a Eurasian
Social Charter;
strengthening the multilateral contacts among, and bilateral business links between,
the GCTU affiliates, and the cooperation among trade union organisations in the
transborder regions of the Commonwealth countries;
further development of a constructive dialogue with all international trade union
organisations on pressing regional and global problems of economic and social
development;
rendering assistance to the affiliated organisations in personnel training, recruitment
of young people for union work, and motivating workers to join the unions;
strengthening the finance and organisational basis of the affiliates, optimisation
of trade union structures;
promotion of trade union cooperation in the field of information, establishment
of common databases, and improvement of relations with the mass media;
improvement of work procedures of the GCTU governing bodies, based on the
principles of collective leadership, publicity, respect for the opinion of the minority,
and execution of collectively taken decisions by all member organisations; and
enhancement of the efficiency of the GCTU standing commissions.
The 5th (Extraordinary) Congress of the General Confederation of Trade Unions
expresses its confidence that both the GCTU and its affiliates, acting in solidarity
and relying for support on the world trade union movement, will be able to protect
effectively the vital interests of wage workers in the CIS countries.
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