Building a New Path to Socialism and Independence
Cooperation between the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL) and the Trade Unions of West and Central Africa (1958-1968)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51185/journals/rhca.2024.060709Keywords:
Italy, Guinea, Mali, Ex-Belgian Congo, Cameroon, All Africans Trade Union FederationAbstract
This article takes an outside look at some progressive trade unions in West and Central Africa. This is the point of view of the Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro (CGIL), the largest Italian trade union, close to the Communist Party and the socialist left. The Italian trade union sources and their perspectives show the importance of the anti-colonial struggle for the CGIL. The CGIL established close relations with the trade unions in Guinea, Mali and Ghana, which were linked to the ruling parties in those countries, thereby encouraging their pan-African ambitions. At the same time, they maintained close relations with the underground unions in Cameroon and Congo, becoming their intermediary with the World Federation of Trade Unions and helping them through practical cooperation. The CGIL uses the interpretative categories of the Italian trade union movement to analyse African trade unions and, through dialogue with them, seeks to strengthen its position within the WFTU. The CGIL documents also contain a core of correspondence produced by the African unions themselves and sent to Italy.
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