General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU)
The General Confederation of Trade Unions is an international trade union organization founded 16 April 1992. The GCTU mission is to consolidate the actions of its affiliates to protect the social, labour, professional, economic and other legitimate rights and interests of workers in each state where the GCTU has member organizations, the rights and operating guarantees of trade unions activity, and to help strengthen international labor solidarity.The GCTU currently affiliates 8 national trade union centers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and 20 industrial trade union internationals with a total membership of approximately 30 million organised workers.
The Union Council - permanent collegial governing body of the GCTU - is located in Moscow, Russian Federation.
The General Confederation of Trade Unions is widely recognised at the interstate level in the Commonwealth of Independent states. It enjoys observer status with the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, and is actively involved in the work of the CIS Economic Council, a number of CIS industrial committees, and other statutory bodies of the Commonwealth.
The GCTU maintains business cooperation with the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the CIS Executive Committee as well as the Eurasian Commission of the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Russian Federation.
The GCTU cooperates with specialized UN organizations. The International Labour Organization has granted the GCTU a regional consultative status for Europe. The GCTU also enjoys a status with the Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations of the United Nations Department of Public Information and the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
GCTU News
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New Minimum Wage Campaign: Current Tasks of the General Confederation of Trade Unions Discussed at Meetings of the Executive Committee and Council of the GCTU
Meetings of the Executive Committee and the Council of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU) were held in Moscow on December 8. Trade union leaders from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan discussed current socio-economic issues, achievements and new areas of work of the GCTU.
One of the main issues considered at the meeting of the Executive Committee was the results of the GCTU’s solidarity campaign “Minimum Wage – to Minimum Subsistence Level”. Currently, in many CIS countries, the minimum wage is significantly higher than the subsistence minimum. In Uzbekistan, the minimum wage is almost twice as high as the subsistence minimum; in Russia, the minimum wage will be more than 30% higher than the subsistence minimum starting from January 1, 2026. Members of the Executive Committee of the GCTU are confident that the tendency of increasing wages in CIS countries should continue. In this regard, one need to set a higher minimum wage standard.
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Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan supports amendments to the Labor Code
Deputies of the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan submitted to Parliament a bill on payment for work on weekends. At a meeting of the Committee on Labor and Social Policy, they received support from Sahib Mamedov, Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan.
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“No to Sanctions, Yes to Trade Union Consolidation and Social Partnership”. Statement of the Participants of the International Conference in Belarus
The participants of the conference “Modern Economic Challenges and their Impact on Labour Relations” (Minsk, December 11) called for consolidating trade union approaches, strengthening social partnership, and developing innovative ideas for ensuring labour rights and social guarantees.