National trade union center - Definition and Overview

A national trade union center is a federation of trade unions in a single country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. When there is more than one national center, it is usually because of ideological differences -- in some cases long-standing historic differences.

Among the larger national centers in the world are the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations in the USA, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Britain, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Dutch FNV, the Norwegian and Swedish LO, the German DGB, the French CGT and CFDT, the Italian CISL, the Korean Congress of Trade Unions, and so on.

Most national trade union centers are now members of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions though some, particularly in countries where independent trade unions are not tolerated, belong to the formerly-Stalinist World Federation of Trade Unions.