ITF Congress 2024 concludes with bold commitments to peace, workers' rights, equality and global solidarity

In a historic and decisive final session, the ITF Congress 2024 in Marrakech reaffirmed the unwavering resolve of transport unions worldwide, adopting key motions and electing critical new leadership roles that will shape the federation’s strategy for the next five years. 

News 20 Oct 2024

https://www.itfglobal.org/en/news/itf-congress-2024-concludes-bold-commitments-peace-workers-rights-equality-and-global

With a clear focus on building the power of working people and opposing forces of exploitation and division, Congress drew a line in the sand, setting the agenda for justice, equality, and solidarity in an increasingly turbulent world. At the heart of this is a clear commitment to do much more to grow and empower the role of women and youth at all levels of the ITF – clearly reflected in Congress celebrating the highest ever number of women Executive Board members, and a new amendment to the ITF Constitution allowing a Youth Vice President to sit on the Executive Board.

“Governments are failing us all over the world and are being replaced by movements like the neo-fascists, who are filling the gaps from a lack of moral courage and determination,” newly re-elected ITF President Paddy Crumlin told a packed Congress Hall.

We came here to reinvigorate our dream and our vision for a better world, today, tomorrow and next year. A cleaner world, a fairer world, a more just world – a world that provides equally for everyone.”

Crumlin added: “We’ve identified our targets; we need to have gender balance. We need to have governance that is based on the real demographics of human beings. And that is 50% women and 50% men – without this, we’re not delivering our responsibilities to each other.”

Frank Moreels is scheduled to take over the ITF Presidency from Crumlin in January 2027.

“Frank and I will work together with the Executive Board on continuing to generate the extraordinary talent of the young women and men we’ve seen – their energy, their commitment, their insight, their understanding,” Crumlin said.

“Part of our responsibility is to respect the elders, past and present - but we’ve now got in the house the future elders. And we need to provide the room, the scope and the resources so that they can continue to grow at their remarkable rate and continue to inspire us and the many workers who rely on that.”

The President’s comments echoed those heard during the afternoon. As newly elected Young Workers Co-Chair, Preeti Singh, said: “We want to reaffirm our commitment to build a union movement that can champion the rights of young people and pave the way for a fairer tomorrow: we need our unions and our unions need us.

“Together, we must commit to build a transport industry that values and empowers young workers for a brighter, more equitable and a just present and future for all.  

If young workers – men and women – are strong, our unions are strong.”

The day’s session opened in the morning with an address from Arsenio Dominguez, marking the first time that the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has attended an International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Congress.

Dominguez highlighted the huge number of transport workers and, in particular, seafarers that the ITF represents, alongside the similarity between the IMO’s key issues and those addressed in the ITF’s workplan – whether securing a just transition, ensuring better treatment of seafarers around abandonment and criminalisation, or on women and youth.

“I’m very pleased to see the ITF’s progress on diversity and inclusion,” he said. “I will be taking action on this, especially in support of women”.

The session then moved on to the tabling of a series of motions reflecting the global scope of the ITF’s work across a range of pressing transport worker issues.

Speaking to the Congress motion on ITF women 25 years on, Balvinder Bir from Unite (GB) reflected that it is hard to believe that the ITF had no formal women’s structures until its 1998 Congress in Delhi. “We want to invite you to keep on building this fight for women in transport,” said Luz Marina Peña from SNTT (Colombia), who denounced the “sabotage” of workers’ rights underway in Colombia.

We want to move the world forward with the rights of women transport workers.”

Young workers also took centre stage with the adoption of Motion 5, with delegates unanimously committing to empower young transport workers to be at the forefront of change. Outgoing ITF Young Workers’ Committee Co-Chair, Horacio Calculli from AAA (Argentina) declared, “Young workers lead the change. We don’t ask for change”. Moussa Sangare from SYNACCI (Côte d’Ivoire) added, “We need to redress this injustice and ensure young workers are equipped with the tools to become leaders and participate in our struggle.”

Congress sent a clear message of “zero tolerance” for the rising far-right threat in the Global North, uniting to defend workers' rights. Tom Peeters from BTB-UBT (Belgium) captured the urgency: “No retreat. United we stand—and we fight back.” Martin Burkert from EVG (Germany) echoed the sentiment: “All trade unionists must stand united against the extreme right.”

Congress also heard – and heeded – strong calls for the ITF to unite in opposing privatisation in Argentina from Franco Nervegna from UPSA (Argentina) and Nazeer Tahir from UNITY (Pakistan).

Ongoing wars were central to a series of motions passionately delivered to Congress from a series of delegates from around the world – all were unanimously adopted.

“We are very worried to see that international law is being violated - we still have armed conflicts putting populations in misery,” explained David Gobé from CGT Cheminots (France). “It’s always workers that are the first victims of war and the poverty it generates. Misery and unemployment are fuelling conflicts, eliminating them is a prerequisite of peace.”

Joelle Mputu from Solidarité (DRC) and Bienvenu Mabiala from Fesytpc (Congo Republic) painted a harrowing picture of the ongoing war in the eastern DRC which has claimed an estimated 6 million lives since 1996.

Mputu highlighted the 2.5 million displaced people, alongside the “…thousands of casualties, barbaric rapes of women and girls” and “the sacking of the riches of Congo by armed groups from neighbouring countries and corporations”. Mabiala spoke to the “open pillage of resources and riches” in a “human disaster brought about by the cynicism of governments and the immoral actions of corporations”.

Saeed Abood Al-Maari from the Labor Committee of Aden Container Terminal (Yemen) drew attention to the devastating impacts of the ongoing conflict in Yemen, fuelled by its geographical importance. “This has exposed Yemen to furious conflicts…We are calling for an end to the war in Yemen, with its devastating, pernicious impacts,” he said.

Transport workers from the Sahel region of Africa, deeply affected by over a decade of war, also called on the ITF to take urgent action. Ahmed Lamizana from Sumac (Burkina Faso) said “All wars around the world need to stop. We are for peace, but we have a war in the Sahel, a pernicious war that has lasted 10 years. We condemn the barbaric actions perpetrated by terrorists and separatist groups – we urge ITF to take measures to protect workers going about their daily jobs.” Mahamane Tienta from Sytrail (Mali) added: “Today in the Sahel, there is no more life. Hundreds of drivers are attacked and wounded by criminal and terrorist groups, schools have shut down, there is no more agriculture, famine is widespread. More than ever, we need the support of the ITF and its affiliates.”

Mick Lynch from the RMT (GB) drew together the common threads of war and conflict around the world – before proposing an emergency motion on the struggle still being faced in Eswatini, also known as Swaziland. “There are so many of our brothers and sisters struggling around the world and we must always be at the forefront of that struggle – Eswatini is one of those struggles.”

Sticks Nkambule from SWATCAWU (Eswatini), who survived an assassination attempt in 2022, invoked Martin Luther King Jr.’s words: 

I invite you to remember the teachings of MLK, who taught us so well that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I invite you not to rest until we attain justice everywhere, not just in Swaziland.”

The Congress also united against the exploitation of workers during global sporting events, unanimously passing a motion on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“We make the ‘global’ in global sporting events possible,” said David Massiah from ABWU (Antigua and Barbuda). “But like previous sporting events have taught us, these events hide the exploitation and even abuses that these workers face – these events should be a celebration of humanity, not an example of the worst exploitation.”

Strengthening transport workers' unions across Central and Eastern Europe was the subject of Motion 35, put forward by Ekaterina Yordanova from FTTUB (Bulgaria) to “continue our efforts to strengthen and build networks between the unions in the region”.

Shiva Gopal Mishra from AIRF (India) and Javier Villarroel Rivas from ANFDGAC (Chile) spoke to Motion 2: Social Security – a Right of Every Transport Worker. “Without social security, there is no decent work,” said Villarroel Rivas. “This is something we all deserve – each and every transport worker needs decent work.”

The final motion of the day, For Our Collective Memory, Alex Gordon from RMT (GB) called on ITF to “take on its responsibility to document, archive and publish the histories of transport workers and the struggles they were born from”.

“The fundamental truth is that the history of all human society is the history of class struggle – it’s as true today as it was in 1896,” he said.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Congress confirmed its new leadership for 2024-2029, with the election of a new Executive Board and the election of the following positions:

President:
•    Paddy Crumlin with Frank Moreels scheduled to take over from 1 Jan 2027 to the next Congress.

Vice Presidents:
•    Women: Mary Liew, SMOU, Singapore
•    Youth: Nice Amon Mwansasu, COTWU, Tanzania
•    Africa: Adewale Adeyanju, MWUN, Nigeria
•    Arab World: Seddik Berrama, FNTT, Algeria
•    Asia Pacific: Seong Yong Park, FKSU, Korea
•    Europe: Frank Moreels, BTB-ABVV, Belgium
•    Latin America: Pablo Moyano, FNTCOTAC, Argentina
•    North America: John Baker, ILA, USA

Section/Department Chairs: 
•    Women Workers: Meryem Halouani, UMT, Morocco 
•    Young Workers: Preeti Singh, AIRF, India (Co-Chair); Nick Loridan, BTB-ABVV, Belgium (Co-Chair) 
•    Civil Aviation: Sara Nelson, AFA-CWA, USA 
•    Dockers: Paddy Crumlin, MUA, Australia 
•    Fisheries: Johnny Hansen, NSU, Norway 
•    Inland Navigation: Jacques Kerkhof, BTB-ABVV, Belgium 
•    Railway Workers: Julio Sosa, La Fraternidad, Argentina 
•    Road Transport: Flemming Overgaard, 3F, Denmark 
•    Seafarers: Dave Heindel, SIU, USA 
•    Tourism: David Massiah, ABWU, Antigua & Barbuda 
•    Urban Transport: Eric Campos Bonta, FESIMETROSA, Chile 
•    Warehousing: Matt Draper, Unite the Union, Great Britain

Lay Auditors:
•    Simon Weller, ASLEF, Great Britain
•    Olu Tunde, Nautilus International, Great Britain
•    Melissa Heywood, TSSA, Great Britain