The General Confederation of Labour (Spanish: Confederación General del Trabajo, CGT) is a Spanish trade union federation.
Confederación General del Trabajo | |
 | |
| Founded | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | C/ Sagunto, 15 (Madrid) |
| Location | |
Members | 102,874 (2023)[1] |
Secretary General | Miguel Fadrique Sanz |
Key people | José Manuel Muñoz Póliz |
| Affiliations | Red and Black Coordination |
| Website | cgt |
Formerly called | CNT-Congress of Valenica (1979-1983) CNT (1983-1989) |
The CGT was a result of a split in the anarchist National Confederation of Labour (CNT). In 1979, at the first CNT congress after Spain's transition to democracy, there was a fundamental disagreement concerning union elections. Such elections allow Spanish workers to elect union delegates to factory committees every four years. Some deemed this a renewal of anarcho-syndicalism, but the more orthodox in the organization considered such elections a "government intervention in labour–capital relations". Moreover, this would involve receiving state funding.[2] The two factions split and there were two CNTs. They fought over ownership of the name CNT. In 1989, the orthodox CNT prevailed in court and the renovators took the name CGT.[3]
The CGT has since participated in union elections since 1989, receiving the fourth most votes behind CCOO, the UGT, and the CSIF. It has 100,000 members, as of 2018.[4]
Since the division of the CNT in 2018, with the formation of the ICL/CIT (International Confederation of Labour) the CGT has developed a constructive relationship with the CNT-CIT and another union with roots in the CGT, Solidaridad Obrera. This resulted in a joint statement of intent by the three organisations to work productively together in April 2023. The alliance is to be known as "La Confluencia Anarcosindicalista".[5]
References
Sources
- El País (1989). "La CNT renovada adopta de forma provisional las siglas CGT" [The renewed CNT provisionally adopts the acronym CGT]. El País (in Spanish).
- Ealham, Chris (2015). Living Anarchism: José Peirats and the Spanish Anarcho-Syndicalist Movement. Oakland/Edinburgh: AK Press.
- Pascual, Alfredo (2018). "Del 8M a Amazon: CNT y CGT resucitan a costa de los dinosaurios sindicales" [From 8M to Amazon: CNT and CGT resurrect at the expense of union dinosaurs]. El Confidencial (in Spanish).