In a hard fought campaign staff unions at the United Nations have had their trade unions re-recognised as well as winning improvements on consultation and dispute resolution.
Last year, the United Nations in an astonishing act of hypocrisy de-recognised the staff unions federation, the CCISUA which is affiliated to the GFTU here in the UK. A major campaign was launched to support the staff unions – which the Campaign For Trade Union Freedom fully supported.
A major lobbying campaign was started involving the ITUC, the TUC, GFTU and many trade unions world-wide who wrote to the UN Secretary General to complain about the disgraceful decision.
UK ministers were also lobbied – not least because the TUCÂ suspected Foreign Secretary William Hague of having been a ‘behind-the-scenes promoter of derecognition’.
A LabourStart petition calling for union rights at the UN attracted 14,000 signatures.
Ian Richards, the President of the Co-ordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations said: “We know that management only came back to the table because unions, organisations and working people around the world were united in their anger at the way the Secretary-General withdrew trade union recognition last June.”
