GCTU Launches International Educational Program “Regulation of Labor Relations Based on Social Dialogue Principles”
The program is designed for specialists and trade union activists involved in collective bargaining at all levels of social partnership. It consists of four modules and will include about two hundred participants from six countries.
The first module—a lecture session—will be held on March 3, 2026. Leading experts from the General Confederation of Trade Unions, educational organizations of four national trade union centers (Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and Uzbekistan), and Lomonosov Moscow State University will deliver lectures.
Lecture topics are “Social Dialogue in a Polycentric World”, “Origins of Labor Regulation Based on Social Partnership Principles in Countries of the Turkic Legal Tradition”, “Corporate Social Dialogue Strategies: Cross-Border Aspect”, “Positioning of Trade Unions within the State-Oriented Model of Social Partnership”, “Effective Negotiations in the Tripartite System of Social Interaction”, “Integration of Social Dialogue Mechanisms in the Formation of National Digital Ecosystems”.
The second module—a practical session—will take place on April 28, 2026. Participants will review the GCTU report “On Improving the Social Partnership System of CIS Member States” and join a meeting of the GCTU Commission on the Protection of Socio-Economic Interests of Workers and Legal Issues.
The third module—an interactive session—is scheduled for May 19, 2026, and will be held as a roundtable on “Cross-Border Social Dialogue in the CIS Space.” During the discussion, participants will share their experiences in collective bargaining and receive feedback from leading experts of international industry trade union associations and national trade union centers.
The program will conclude with final testing (May 20–29). Participants who successfully complete the course will receive certificates from the General Confederation of Trade Unions.
This is the second international educational program launched by the GCTU in the past six months. For the first time, the CIS Executive Committee is serving as an informational partner for the program.
GCTU News
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Viktor Pinsky: GCTU Should Play a Leading Role in Organizing Trade Union Education in the CIS
Viktor Pinsky, Secretary General of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU), believes that the GCTU should take a leading role in developing a system for training, retraining, and upgrading the skills of personnel, exchanging experiences, and educating leaders and trade union activists across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
"We already have successful experience in organizing trade union education. This year over 400 people from six countries participated in the GCTU’s first two educational programs. The idea to launch such programs came directly from the requests of our member organizations. Internships are another in-demand format, especially among young people. They provide an opportunity to personally visit international organizations and see their work from the inside," said Viktor Pinsky.
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For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not merely a day of spring and renewal. Above all, it is an opportunity to once again reflect on the role of women in the world of work and in global development as a whole. Today, women perform 55% of the world’s total labor. They work longer hours than men—by 6 to 13 hours per week—and still earn less: on average, women’s wages amount to 66–84% of men’s wages, depending on the country. There is objective evidence that the more a country values women’s labor and the smaller the gender pay gap, the more developed its economy. A special issue is the “invisibility” of women’s domestic and, as experts call it, reproductive labor. This is why trade unions should continue to fight for justice for working women.
I congratulate all women of the CIS, my colleagues in the parliamentary corps, and women in trade unions on International Women’s Day. I wish you justice, decent work, success, and prosperity!
Viktor Pinsky
General Secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions, Member of the State Duma
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General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
The General Confederation of Trade Unions’ (GCTU) proposals are reflected in the draft CIS model law “On Cross-Border Insolvency and Bankruptcy.”
Trade unions must have the right to represent and protect workers’ interests in the bankruptcy of international companies, according to Viktor Pinsky, Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and General Secretary of the GCTU.