Trade Unions Must Contribute to the Fight Against the Global Pandemic of Cognitive Disorders
The General Confederation of Trade Unions has issued a statement in connection with World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
Although there is a lack of statistical data, the impact of psychosocial factors on workers across various economic sectors worldwide is evident to trade unions.
Psychosocial factors are becoming an increasingly acute problem affecting the physical, mental, and social well-being and health of workers. This includes not only the atmosphere in the workplace but also the way tasks are planned and organized, their volume, pace, and clarity of expectations.
"Blurring the boundaries of workspace and time, as well as subjecting precarious employment to impersonal algorithms, push the exploitation of not only physical but also mental capacities to the limits of human capabilities. The rise in anxiety and depression under these conditions leads to a loss of mental health," states the General Confederation of Trade Unions in its statement for World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
Trade unions must contribute to the fight against this global pandemic of cognitive disorders, believes the GCTU. This year should mark the starting point for finding comprehensive solutions to prevent such factors. It is no coincidence that the International Labour Organization has chosen the motto for 2026: "Ensure a healthy psychosocial work environment!" Additionally, 2026 has been declared the Year of Health in the Commonwealth of Independent States. In its statement, the GCTU called on the trade unions of the CIS countries to actively participate in events within these initiatives, with an agenda focused on protecting the psychosocial health of workers across the CIS.
The full text of the statement can be found here: Statement of the General Confederation of Trade Unions on World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
GCTU News
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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.
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GCTU Launches International Educational Program “Regulation of Labor Relations Based on Social Dialogue Principles”
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.