Durban, South Africa – With the themes of “struggle, internationalism and unity”, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is preparing for its 17th Congress in Durban, South Africa Oct. 5-8.

The WFTU is an international trade union federation of more than 100 countries with a membership of more than 92 million workers. It aims to build a militant, class-oriented, internationalist, democratic trade union movement.

The WFTU holds a congress every five years. This year’s congress is hosted by South Africa’s trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

This congress of WFTU will be attended by more than 70 trade unions formations from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. There will also be a delegation of trade unionists attending from the U.S.

The congress will conclude with a mass workers rally at the Curries Fountain stadium on Oct. 8. As part of the closing ceremony, a workers’ memorial plaque will be unveiled at the Curries Fountain stadium.

The class-oriented and revolutionary trade union movement under the banner of WFTU will use this opportunity to reflect and come out with responses to the challenges facing the working class all around the world and also to consolidate and strengthen the principles of working class internationalism and universalism.

The congress will afford the workers an opportunity to pay the greatest homage to the foundational figures of the South African trade union movement such as Moses Mabhida, JB Marks, John Nkadimeng, Eric ‘Stalin’ Mtshali, John Taolo Gaetsewe, Billy Nair, Wilton Mkwayi, Mark Shope, Joe Molokeng, Ray Alexander, Stephen Dlamini, Leslie Masina, Leon Levy and many others who pioneered COSATU’s predecessor SACTU.

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