Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail

Infobox Union
name= CFDT
country= France
affiliation= ITUC, ETUC, TUAC
members= 875,000
full_name= French Democratic Confederation of Labour
native_name= Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail


founded= 1964
current=
head=
dissolved_date=
dissolved_state=
merged_into=
office= Paris, France
people= François Chérèque, secretary general
website= [http://www.cfdt.fr www.cfdt.fr]
footnotes= The Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT or "French Democratic Confederation of Labour") is a national trade union center, one of the five major French confederations of trade unions, led since 2002 by François Chérèque. It is the largest French trade union confederation by number of members (875,000) but comes only second after the Confédération générale du travail (CGT) in voting results for representative bodies.

History

It was created in 1964 when a majority of the members of the Christian union Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens (CFTC) decided to become secular. The minority kept the name CFTC.

At first, under the lead of Eugène Descamps, the CFDT presented itself like a Social-democratic confederation close to the Unified Socialist Party ("Parti socialiste unifié" or PSU) which was led by Pierre Mendès-France. It came to terms with the CGT, which was dominated by the Communist Party. This alliance took a part in the May 68 upheaval. Then, the CFDT was auto-gestionary.

In 1974, many PSU and CFDT members joined the Socialist Party ("Parti socialiste" or PS) led by François Mitterrand. Behind Michel Rocard, they formed an internal opposition called "the second left". They abandoned the auto-gestionary project and advocated an alignment on the European social-democracy. In the same time, under the lead of Edmond Maire, the CFDT cut its links with the CGT.

In the 1980s, after François Mitterrand's election and his choice to follow Socialist economic policies, the CFDT appeared like a pro-governmental organization. During this time a lot of members and voters were lost. In the 1990s, under the lead of Nicole Notat, the CFDT chose a strategy of independence towards PS. In this, it supported Alain Juppé's plan of Welfare State reform. It replaced FO like "main partner" of employers and right-wing governments, and to the presidence of social security offices.

In 2003, the support of the new CFDT leader François Chérèque of the plan of pensions reform caused an internal crisis. Some CFDT members left the confederation and chose the CGT or the autonomous trade unions SUD. However, the CFDT participated with the other confederations to the 2006 conflict about the "Contrat première embauche".

Famous members

* Eugène Descamps
* Jacques Chérèque
* Edmond Maire
* Nicole Notat
* François Chérèque
* Pierre Rosanvallon

ee also

* Politics of France
* other trade unions
** the other confederations:
*** Force Ouvrière
*** Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens
*** Confédération Générale du Travail
*** Confédération Générale des Cadres
** Solidaires Unitaires Démocratiques
* Mouvement des Entreprises de France

References

*cite book
year = 2005
title = Trade Unions of the World
editor = ICTUR et al,
edition = 6th
publisher = John Harper Publishing
location = London, UK
id = ISBN 0-9543811-5-7

External links

* [http://www.cfdt.fr Official site of the CFDT]