... I see an IUF providing political training for all its union leaders, so they may unite in every country of the world and participate in politics, in order to better defend our workers. This Congress, organizing for power, has met all expectations, and I think all of us here, all the workers and union leaders that have participated, leave filled with the hope that labor will occupy a predominant position in the world, with dignity for workers everywhere.

Gerónimo Venegas

UATRE - Argentina

This congress has been very interesting, as we achieved a significant level of participation; in particular I found the Women’s Conference very stimulating, bringing together women from countries from around the world to analyze and discuss the problems suffered by women in the different regions. As for the congress itself, it is an opportunity for IUF affiliates to intensify our efforts in each region, as it provides a fundamental space for the members of our organizations to defend the rights of unionized workers.

Adela Torres

Sintrainagro - Colombia

We must strengthen and intensify the struggle for agrarian reform, while at the same time implementing actions to advocate for and support family farming, preserve the environment, combat rural violence and impunity, and achieve decent working conditions. I want to highlight in particular the IUF’s and Sweden’s Lo-Tco’s solidarity in support of the “Campaign Against Rural Violence” in Brazil. This campaign has brought to the attention of the international community the persecution suffered by our union leaders, the situation of rural laborers’ organizations, and the human rights abuses, which herald the irresponsible progress of the prevailing model of production. 

Alberto Broch

CONTAG - Brazil

This past March 16 and 17, we held the IUF Women’s Conference, from which we have come out very satisfied because the 40 percent quota for participation of women, which was established in 2002, was finally made effective in this Congress through a resolution that stipulates sanctions for unions that fail to meet the quota; another issue discussed was the need to have programs and plans for the unionization of women, to achieve a more active involvement of women in unions.

Susana Cesari

UTHGRA - Argentina

This is the first time that CONTRACS participates in an IUF Congress. It has been a first opportunity for us to learn about the causes that the IUF defends throughout the world. Each day we discussed very important issues such as sexual abuse, occupational diseases, exploitation of workers, slave and child labor, etc. For us it has been a very rich space to deepen the debate and learn about the situations of other countries, towards strengthening this struggle, which must be global.

Lucilene Binsfeld

CONTRACS-CUT Brasil

While all the issues discussed are important, the achievements attained by women in the 25^th Congress of the IUF are quite significant: we obtained the 40 percent quota for the participation of women in Conferences and in the Executive Committee, in which, in fact, there are two women; in the Women’s Conference, one of the main issues dealt with was repetitive stress injuries (RSI) suffered by women workers. We have multiplied the support for CONTAC’s National Occupational Health Campaign here, incorporating into our struggle fellow workers from countries that import products from the chicken packing industry, where the majority of RSI cases are concentrated.

Geni Dalla Rosa

CONTAC - Brasil

“This Congress has had the particularity of delving deeply into a great deal of the issues that have to do with the neoliberal model imposed on the world, analyzing employment casualization, migrant workers, and outsourcing and its effects on the labor movement, and moving increasingly closer to the interests of the people.”

Carlos Reyes
STIBYS - Honduras

“We don’t want women beside or behind men. We struggle so that men and women, women and men, will have equal standing in the workplace, in trade unions and their governing structures, and in particular in collective bargaining processes.”

Silvia Villaverde, president of the IUF’s International Women’s Committee