Confédération générale du travail de Guadeloupe
Encyclopedia
Confédération générale du travail de Guadeloupe ('General Confederation of Labour of Guadeloupe') is a trade union
centre in Guadeloupe
. CGTG was founded in 1962, as the Guadeloupean federation of the French
Confédération générale du travail
became an independent centre. CGTG is particularly strong amongst banana plantation workers and in the Basse-Terre
area.
Historically, CGTG is linked to the Guadeloupe Communist Party
(PCG). In 1965, CGTG began publishing Tribune Ouvrière ('Workers' Tribune).
In 2000, the PCG party congress adopted a new line of action, calling for street protests, strikes and civil disobedience
in order to pressure the French state to allow a new stature for Guadeloupe. The PCG congress also stated that the party would support trade union struggles, even if not directly led by the party. These adjustments opened up for more cooperation between CGTG and the independentist trade union centre UGTG.
In January 2002, a member of the Trotskyist group Combat Ouvrier, Jean-Marie Nomertin, was elected General Secretary of CGTG at a meeting of the CGTG Executive Committee. A deal was struck between militants of PCG and Combat Ouvrier. Nomertin, previously general secretary of CGTG-Banane, succeeded PCG militant Claude Morvan. Morvan had been the general secretary 1975-2002. Before Morvan, Hermann Songeons was the general secretary of CGTG.
In the 2002 election to the Guadelopean Joint Industrial Tribunal, CGTG came second with 15 out of 48 seats. 28% of employees participated in the vote. In 2008, CGTG won 14 seats.
As of 2003, CGTG was estimated to have 5,000 members.
In December 2008, CGTG took part in organizing a general strike
in Guadeloupe, along with other trade union centres, political parties and social movements. The strike was organized in order to demand lowering of petrol prices and augmentation of salaries.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
centre in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
. CGTG was founded in 1962, as the Guadeloupean federation of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Confédération générale du travail
Confédération générale du travail
The General Confederation of Labour is a national trade union center, the first of the five major French confederations of trade unions.It is the largest in terms of votes , and second largest in terms of membership numbers.Its membership decreased to 650,000 members in 1995-96 The General...
became an independent centre. CGTG is particularly strong amongst banana plantation workers and in the Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre is the prefecture of Guadeloupe, an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles...
area.
Historically, CGTG is linked to the Guadeloupe Communist Party
Guadeloupe Communist Party
The Guadeloupe Communist Party is a political party in the French département d'outre-mer of Guadeloupe. The party has one seat in the French National Assembly in the group of the Socialist Party....
(PCG). In 1965, CGTG began publishing Tribune Ouvrière ('Workers' Tribune).
In 2000, the PCG party congress adopted a new line of action, calling for street protests, strikes and civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
in order to pressure the French state to allow a new stature for Guadeloupe. The PCG congress also stated that the party would support trade union struggles, even if not directly led by the party. These adjustments opened up for more cooperation between CGTG and the independentist trade union centre UGTG.
In January 2002, a member of the Trotskyist group Combat Ouvrier, Jean-Marie Nomertin, was elected General Secretary of CGTG at a meeting of the CGTG Executive Committee. A deal was struck between militants of PCG and Combat Ouvrier. Nomertin, previously general secretary of CGTG-Banane, succeeded PCG militant Claude Morvan. Morvan had been the general secretary 1975-2002. Before Morvan, Hermann Songeons was the general secretary of CGTG.
In the 2002 election to the Guadelopean Joint Industrial Tribunal, CGTG came second with 15 out of 48 seats. 28% of employees participated in the vote. In 2008, CGTG won 14 seats.
As of 2003, CGTG was estimated to have 5,000 members.
In December 2008, CGTG took part in organizing a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
in Guadeloupe, along with other trade union centres, political parties and social movements. The strike was organized in order to demand lowering of petrol prices and augmentation of salaries.
Affiliated unions
- The banana plantation workers' union in CGTG is CGTG-Banane. Pierrot Berancier is the general secretary of CGTG-Banane.
- The teachers' union affiliated with CGTG is Syndicat de l'Enseignement Public - Confédération Général du Travail de la Guadeloupe. Aude Girondin is the general secretary of SEP-CGTG.
- The builders' union affiliated with CGTG is the Fédération des Travailleurs de la Construction CGTG. The union is affiliated to the Trade Unions International of Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries (UITBB), one of the professional internationals inside the World Federation of Trade UnionsWorld Federation of Trade UnionsThe World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
. - In the health sector, the CGTG affiliate is CGTG-Santé.
- In the banking sector CGTG is present through the Fédération CGTG des Organismes Financiers, a continuation of the previous Union Syndicale des Employés de Banques et Cadres CGTG.