CNT-CIT ||| The International Confederation of Labour (ICL), also known as the International Confederation of Labour (ICL) , is the international confederation of anarcho-syndicalist and revolutionary syndicalist trade unions to which the CNT is affiliated. The ICL was founded in Parma, Italy, in May 2018. It emerged from a refounding of the historic International Workers’ Association (IWA), following the expulsion of several of its member unions in 2016.
In this way, the ITC reflects the willingness of several trade union organizations to establish closer collaboration and give an international dimension to their local struggles. These organizations needed a more open International, less sectarian, and more deeply rooted in the real struggles of the working class, thereby reaching new unions in other parts of the world.
Currently, the CIT comprises: the CNT (Spain), USI (Italy), FORA (Argentina), FAU (Germany), ESE (Greece), IP (Poland), IWW-WISERA (British Isles, Europe, and Australasia), IWW-NARA (North America), and CNT-F (France), accepted in 2025, which is the most recent addition. Together, they have over forty thousand members, the highest number our International has had since the Spanish Transition, when our CNT alone contributed a vast number of members.
The trade unions that make up the International are committed to the principles of solidarity, class struggle, internationalism, federalism, class independence, direct action, antifascism, environmental protection, and antimilitarism. Regarding the latter, it is not without reason that the IWC has agreed to observe October 30th and 31st as days of action against war and militarism , aiming to call strikes wherever possible and, where not, demonstrations and mobilizations of all kinds.
Regarding international solidarity, the CIT contributed financially last year to the campaign supporting the “Six of Switzerland” workers, a campaign in which some sections also held support rallies outside consulates and embassies. Funding was also provided for the strike at Jeremias, a company in Poland, which helped strengthen our sister union there, to the point that it now boasts well over 8,000 members. Another area of focus has been substantial financial support for the General Federation of Workers of Myanmar (FGWM). This aid has been accompanied by several visits to Southeast Asia by CIT delegations.
The Asia Working Group
In this regard, we must highlight the enormous work of the women in this working group (WG). For years, practically since the creation of the CIT, the WG has been in contact with unions, collectives, and NGOs throughout South and Southeast Asia, from Pakistan to the Philippines and from South Korea to Indonesia. They have made several trips during which they have witnessed firsthand the social and labor struggles of numerous workers’ groups. For their part, following the anarcho-syndicalist tradition, the WG has carried our ideas and concepts to these lands, much like Fanelli.
Building on this work, the statutes of the CIT have been translated into Burmese and Indonesian. This same year, another trip was made to the region, during which contact was made with several groups. In Indonesia, notable groups include Perhimpunan Merdeka (PM), an anarcho-communist organization; Federasi Serikat Pekerja Rakyat Indonesia, primarily informal street vendors; Satria Putra, titled Suku Pelangi – LGBT dalam Budaya Masyarakat Nusantara (which translates as The Rainbow Tribe – The LGBT Community in Indonesian Culture); SINDIKASI, an Indonesian revolutionary trade union; and the Progressive Union for Workers’ Welfare, among others.
In Thailand, our delegation met with 17 groups, organizations, initiatives, and individuals—all political activists from Thailand or Myanmar—to explore expanding our network. They were invited to participate in Global May Day, which some did. The most interesting contacts were with the Thai Workers’ Union, the Yaung Chi Oo Workers’ Association (meaning hope or light), which organizes Burmese workers living or seeking refuge in Thailand, the Arakan Workers’ Organization (another organization that organizes workers, though not recognized as a union in Thailand), Sisters2Sisters, which organizes women and the queer community, a barista union (referring to restaurant workers), and representatives from various campaigns (refugees, ethnic groups, informal workers, etc.).
And, of course, the delegation met with the aforementioned FGWM. These meetings have been vital in helping this Burmese union decide to apply for membership in the ILC, along with the Brazilian organization FOB, a process that should culminate in their participation in the Congress in Italy this coming September.
This surge of activity from groups of all kinds can be seen in the Global May Day campaign (https://globalmayday.net/), in which many of these groups and unions participated, some of them quite large, such as those from Pakistan and Bangladesh. In fact, almost half of the 24 organizations that signed the Global May Day declaration were Asian.
All of this indicates a growing interest in revolutionary syndicalism and anarcho-syndicalism in that region of the world, which should make us reflect on the historical Eurocentrism of our movement. We should also reflect on how we explain our political and organizational traditions to other people who have completely different ones. While we can understand each other and collaborate, we must be aware of the difficulty.
The Congress of Massenzatico (Italy)
Thus, the International Workingmen’s Association (IWA) will hold its third congress in Massenzatico , a working-class town bordering Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region. The aim of the congress is to renew and improve the internal organization of the International, since an excessively rapid turnover of delegates in the sections has led to a loss of the organizational agility and capacity for expansion that the IWA possessed in its early days.
The growth in membership of several sections and the incorporation of new ones also makes it necessary to pay attention to how decisions are made in the International, seeing that it is necessary to achieve agility in deciding, but combining it with adherence to the principles or the final objectives of the International itself.
As we can see, the CIT is entering a stage of maturation and faces the challenge of consolidating its project and reaching grassroots unions that see themselves as a counterweight to power, that defend autonomy from political parties, government institutions, or religious sects, and that are still unfamiliar with anarcho-syndicalism or revolutionary syndicalism. We know that these types of unions abound on every continent, despite the current hegemony of criminal late-capitalism.
