Photo: Delegates vote unanimously in support of backing Coca-Cola workers.

A resolution submitted by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents around 14,000 CCE and Coca-Cola workers in the USA was unanimously supported by the Congress.

Full details are here.

CONDEMNS the slaughter of villagers protesting against Government seizure of agricultural land in Nandigram by police and ruling party goons. On March 14 at least 31 villagers were shot dead. Many women were raped, innumerable bodies (including children) have disappeared.

Notes the dangerous trend towards the creation of a Police State which has arisen under President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Emergency Regulations under which abductions, disappearances and arbitrary detentions have occurred including the abductions of trade unionists and journalists;

NOTES that seven farmers who led protests defending their land in Guangdong province were detained and brutally beaten by the police. They had their crops destroyed, were charged with extortion in December 2006 and had their lawyers barred from entering the court.

CONDEMNS this police brutality and the shocking denial of legal rights.

For more information about "The Internationale" including lyrics in different languages, click here.

Aliaksandr Yarashuk, from the Belarus Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions
Mark Lauritsen, from the UFCW in North America
Branislav Canak, from Nezavisnost in Serbia

All the videos can be seen on YouTube.

My name is Anas Haryanto, I work in Alila Hotel Jakarta as a butcher in Kitchen Department. On the 3rd FSPM Congress, back in April 2005, I was elected as President of FSPM, a federation of Workers’ Union in Hotel, Restaurant, Plaza, Apartment, Food Retail, Catering and Tourism in Indonesia.

Following the adoption of several resolutions (Sri Lanka, West Bengal, etc. - details to follow), the first speaker was Kirill Buketov from the IUF's Moscow office, who spoke about the challenge of organizing workers in the former Soviet Union.

He was followed by Kumushbek Mambetov, president of the AWU in Kyrgyzstan, who addressed problems faced by his union in the largely rural, mountainous former Soviet republic, where the privatization of agricrulture led to a massive decline in union membership among small farmers.

Mark Lauritsen of the UFCW in North America spoke about the struggles at Smithfield, one of the world's largest meat manufacturers, which seems intent upon exporting its low-wage, anti-union model to Europe.

Adela Torres of SINTRAINAGRO (Colombia) closed the session.

Delegates are now responding and discussing the issues raised.

The second session featured speakers from Germany, Indonesia and North America.

Franz-Josef Mollenberg from NGG (Germany) spoke about NGG's organizing strategy.

Anas Haryanto, president of FSPM (Indonesia) emphasized the key role played by the IUF and international solidarity, which he said were essential to the union's survival and growth.

Bruce Raynor, president of UNITE HERE, talked about organizing hotel workers, private equity, and other issues facing unions in North America and around the world.

The 25th IUF Congress:

NOTES the continuous deterioration of the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe and gross violations of human and trade union rights;

CONDEMNS the brutal attack on the opposition resulting in the killing of innocent people;

DEMANDS that the Government of Zimbabwe respect freedom of association and the rule of law;

CALLS on the IUF and its affiliates to campaign for the full respect of trade union and human rights in Zimbabwe.

The panel, moderated by BBC journalist Paul Mason, included Sharan Burrow (president of the Australian Trade Union Congress and the International Trade Union Confederation), Graciela Camano (vice president of the Argentinian Parliament and former Labour Minister) and Franck Riboud, CEO of Danone Group, one of the world's largest corporations and a key player in the food sector.

Sharan Burrow (pictured) commented on IUF documents distibuted at the congress, urging unions to go further than what they have done so far, and stressing the key role to be played by global unions -- including organizing workers in countries where there are no unions today.

Franck Riboud (pictured) spoke about the importance of there being "strong trade unions" around the world, and cited Danone's largely positive experience with the IUF, having signed several joint agreements. When asked what would be the one thing he would like to change, Riboud spoke about having managers in different countries who shared his vision -- and who were willing to work closely with unions.

Graciela Camano (pictured) pointed out that unions several decades ago were in many ways more international than they are today -- citing the example of the world-wide struggle for the eight-hour day.

Discussion followed, with participation from delegates.

Adwoa Sakyi from the General Agricultural Workers Union of TUC (Ghana). Adwoa spoke about the challenges of organizing women workers.

Therese Hulthen from HRF, the Swedish hotel and restaurant workers union. Therese spoke about her impressions of the IUF congress, including the women workers' conference which preceded it.

Teresa Mackay from the Transport and General Workers Union in Britain -- a lay member involved in the rural and agricultural sector-- speaking about issues concerning those underpaid workers.

Hemasari Dharmabumi, from the IUF Asia and Pacific Indonesia Project Office, speaking about struggles to organize hotel workers in Indonesia -- from the historic Shangri-La dispute up to the current struggle to organize the Hyatt chain. The interview ends with an appeal for global solidarity with the Hyatt workers.

And we did two interviews in Spanish:

Adele Torres from SINTRAINAGRO (Colombia)

Geronimo Venegas from UATRE (Argentina)

All the interviews can be seen on the IUF's You Tube site, here.

The IUF has a website on the subject of private equity, here.

The 25th IUF Congress:

CONCERNED about the political implications of President Bush's recent visit to Latin America and his promotion of bio-fuels.

The 25th IUF Congress meeting in Geneva, March 19-22, 2007

NOTES WITH CONCERN the increased use of precarious employment practices by employers in all IUF sectors throughout the world, involving:

Defining Food Sovereignty as the right of people to define their own sustainable policies and strategies for the production, distribution and consumption of food, to guarantee food for the whole population.