TUAC - TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD

Les origines du TUAC remontent à 1948 avec la création d'un comité syndical consultatif dans le cadre du Programme pour la Reconstruction de l'Europe – le Plan Marshall. Lors de la constitution en 1962 de l'OCDE dans son format actuel d'organisation intergouvernementale pour les politiques publiques, le TUAC a poursuivi ses activités de représentation du monde syndical auprès de cette nouvelle entité. Aujourd'hui, l'OCDE se transforme à nouveau, avec de nouveaux Etats membres, il est devenu le forum intergouvernemental de référence pour l'encadrement de la mondialisation. Le rôle du TUAC est d'assurer que les marchés mondiaux sont équilibrés par une réelle dimension sociale. Au travers de consultations régulières avec les comités de l'OCDE et les Etats membres, le TUAC coordonne et représente les positions du mouvement syndical dans les pays industrialisés. Il est aussi en charge de la coordination de la participation des syndicats aux sommets annuels du G8 et des conférences sur l'emploi.

Le TUAC regroupe 56 centrales syndicales affiliées dans les trente pays industrialisés de l'OCDE, représentant environ 60 millions de travailleurs. Les organisations affiliées financent le fonctionnement du TUAC, décident de ses orientations et nomment ses représentants.
La majorité des affiliés du TUAC sont aussi membres de la principale organisation syndicale internationale, la Confédération Internationale des Syndicales Libres (CISL), certains sont membres de Confédération Mondiale du Travail (CMT). La plupart des affiliés européens sont aussi membres de la Confédération Européenne des Syndicats (CES). Le TUAC travaille en étroite collaboration avec ces organisations ainsi qu'avec l'Organisation Internationale du Travail (OIT). Le TUAC travaille aussi étroitement avec les Fédérations Syndicales Internationales pour renforcer la participation syndicale dans les dossiers sectoriels de l'OCDE tels que l'éducation, la gestion du secteur public, l'acier, le transport maritime.

Le TUAC fonctionne sur la base d'un secrétariat restreint basé à Paris et constitué de cinq conseillers politiques et de trois salariés administratifs. John Evans en est le secrétaire général.

TUAC's day to day work involves meeting with the OECD Secretariat, Committees and Member governments to appraise them of the views of the trade union movement on the issues on the OECD's agenda.

At the same time TUAC briefs affiliates on a regular basis on the work under way in the OECD, coordinates policy statements on major areas of interest and evaluates the outcome of OECD meetings and publications. The TUAC secretariat are frequently called on to make presentations to meetings or Congresses of affiliates and other international trade union organisations. This process enables the trade union movement to have access to the intergovernmental policy debate and at the same time allows policy makers to have dialogue with the Social Partners. Given the growing impact of globalisation on working people and their families and the realisation of the need for participatory strategies by governments for all the stakeholders in market based economies, this dialogue is more important than ever.

The formal decision making body within TUAC is the Plenary Session, which meets twice a year (April/May and November/December). All TUAC affiliates and the representatives of the international trade union organisations are invited to attend, and normally around fifty union Presidents or General Secretaries, International Secretaries and Economic or Research heads attend. The Plenary Session discusses and approves major policy statements, discusses the work programme and priorities, it also sets a budget and affiliation fees and elects TUAC Officers.

The Plenary also elects an Administrative Committee which is in charge of overseeing the administration of TUAC. At the moment it consists of the following organisations: DGB, Germany; CLC, Canada; TUC, United Kingdom; AFL-CIO, United States; FO and CFDT, France; CGIL, Italy; RENGO, Japan; ÖGB, Austria; TCO, Sweden and CSC, Belgium together with the President, the Vice-Presidents and the General Secretary.

The Officers are elected for four year renewable terms. Currently the President of TUAC is Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO (USA). The Vice-Presidents are Marc Leemans, President of the Belgian Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC-Belgium), Tsuyoshi Takagi, President of RENGO Japan, and Marie-Louise Knuppert, Secretary of LO-Denmark. The General Secretary is John Evans.

In addition to the General Secretary the TUAC Secretariat consists of Policy Advisors (Kirsty Drew, Pierre Habbard, Anabella Rosemberg & Roland Schneider), an Administrative and Financial Assistant (Michelle Vedel), and two Secretaries.

Working Groups exist on Economic Policy, on Global Trade and Investment, and on Education, Training and Labour Market Policy. The Working Groups prepare TUAC positions for both the Plenary Session and for consultations with the OECD. They are open to all affiliates, the international organisations and TUAC "partner" organisations in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition a range of ad hoc meetings are held under specific areas being considered by the OECD.

TUAC normally has consultations with the Bureaux of OECD Ministerial meetings where statements are submitted. Trade union presentations are also made to the OECD in the course of consultations with different OECD Committees. There is also an annual meeting with the OECD Liaison Committee for Non-Governmental Organisations, which is made up of members of the OECD Council. TUAC representatives now also participate in some OECD Committees or Working Groups as active observers. On average some four hundred trade union representatives take part each year in different TUAC and OECD meetings mostly at OECD headquarters in Paris.

There is also an OECD Labour/Management Programme, partially financed by the OECD, which serves as a forum for preconsultations between trade union and management experts on matters that eventually come up in the OECD's programme of work. Meetings in 2003 included a major initiative with African trade unions on the NEPAD.

TUAC also organises on a regular basis conferences with affiliates and other trade union bodies in OECD countries reports are usually presented as publications.

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