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Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori C.I.S.L.

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Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:	Economic and Social: Business and Industry Coorporate Accountability Human Rights Labour New Global Institutions Women/gender Equality Financing for Development: Increasing financial and technical cooperation for development Mobilizing international resources for development Gender Issues and Advancement of Women: Human rights of women Millennium Development Goals Women and the economy Women in power and decision-making Social Development: Employment Poverty Social policy Technical cooperation Youth Sustainable Development: Capacity-building Industrial development International cooperation for an enabling environment Major Groups
Geographic scope:	National
Country of activity:	Italy
Millennium Development Goals:	Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Promote gender equality and empower women Develop global partnership for development
Mission statement:	The task CISL sets for itself, and its main immediate goal, is that of defending human and workers rights, both employed and unemployed workers' interests, fight agains discrimination, gender equality in the conviction society's interests themselves are, thereby, better promoted. Several fundamental, shared values support such an approach: democracy, solidarity, pluralism and trade union independence from any economic power, employer, Government or political party. And the firm belief that employees, as builders of the wealth of their societies, are entitled to "participate", through collective bargaining and socio/political independent action by the trade unions of their own choice, to the construction of their own and their communities' future. That is why negotiation, on one side, and on the other what we call concertation (the building up of a co-decision system where, always through negotiation, the social partners as well as the countries' political actors engage themselves to pursue and further agreed goals and behave consequently to achieve an effective all-incomes policy) are the main instruments of our action. CISL does not give up conflict, of course, as a possible recourse. But we look at industrial action not as a value in itself but, really, as a last recourse. The task CISL sets for itself, and its main immediate goal, is that of defending both employed and unemployed workers' interests, in the conviction society's interests themselves are, thereby, better promoted. Several fundamental, shared values support such an approach: democracy, solidarity, pluralism and trade union independence from any economic power, employer, Government or political party. And the firm belief that employees, as builders of the wealth of their societies, are entitled to "participate", through collective bargaining and socio/political independent action by the trade unions of their own choice, to the construction of their own and their communities' future. That is why negotiation, on one side, and on the other what we call concertation (the building up of a co-decision system where, always through negotiation, the social partners as well as the countries' political actors engage themselves to pursue and further agreed goals and behave consequently to achieve an effective all-incomes policy) are the main instruments of our action. CISL does not give up conflict, of course, as a possible recourse. But we look at industrial action not as a value in itself but, really, as a last recourse. Collective bargaining is the rule, instead, and the normal method of action. Following a national framework agreement on industrial relations signed in July 1993, collective bargaining is presently structured in Italy as a two tier system: national branch sectoral level, to define what we might, somewhat improperly, maybe, but effectively call a minimum wage and conditions accord, and company or local level to improve wages along productivity trends. CISL is a founding member of the ETUC (European Trade Unions Confederation), and of the ITUC (International Trade Unions Confederation) well aware since its very beginning that no union can afford to be an island in our small planet and, most particularly, in the era of globalisation. CISL has strong relations with the international trade union confederation ITUC and with the european one: ETUC, but also with national trade unons particularly in developing countries. CISL has been working to promote peace and democracy in Brazil, Poland, Cile, South Afric, Burma and in many other conflict situations. It has an Institute for International cooperation ISCOS set up more than 25 years ago who is working in all continents.
Year established:	1950
Organizational structure:	CISL affiliates salaried, white and blue collar employees, contrac labourers, migrant workers, through its branch or sector Federations on the basis of non-denominational, non-partisan and non-ideological values and principlesisl is a trade union confederation with a double organisational structure at different territorial levels: "vertical" structures, Federations corresponding to the main sectors of industry, regrouping all workers employed in the same branch of industry (e.g., chemical industry, metalworkers, banking sector, transports, municipalities) and "horizontal" structures, which at territorial level bring together (confederate) all union Federations. Both structures are present at four different territorial levels (workplace, district, regional and national).CISL is structured, as a Confederation of the branch unions, at territorial (district: such as, for instance, Milan, Rome, Palermo, Florence...) and regional levels (21 regions, in the country: such as Lombardy, Latium, Sicily, Tuscany...; and the Pensioners' Union members abroad). Workplace level The work place is at the base of the whole organisational structure. Trade union presence in the workplace is ensured through workplace representatives or shop stewards (RSU - Rappresentanze sindacali unitarie) directly elected by workers on lists presented by any trade union organisation (but, of any hundred freely expressed, secret ballot votes, more than 80% go to Cgil, Cisl and Uil trade unions) according to rules and procedures agreed between unions and employers associations and, now, also covered by law. These workers' representatives, or shop stewards, hold all union rights such as the management of time off for union activities, the right to call a workers' meeting or to post up notices, and are in charge of relations with employers. They engage in company-level bargaining, with the help and support and within the framework defined in national sector collective bargaining by the corresponding national industrial unions, according to rules and procedures defined in the pertinent, collective industry-wide agreement. Until an effective trade union unity is in place, District level This is a territorial union structure, roughly corresponding to a group of municipalities and covering all workers in a geographical zone, clearly defined by some administrative, industrial, economic or social common features. This territorial level is the basis on which the union's horizontal structure is built. Each district, as well as each Territorial Union (UST - Unione Sindacale Territoriale), groups all union organisations present in their own geographical area together. The district can be subdivided in Zonal and Municipal Unions, according to decentralisation criteria such as administrative and social homogeneity of a given area. Regional level The regional level groups together all districts situated in the same geographical region (Sicily, for instance, or Latium, Lombardy...). Each regional structure, Regional Union (USR - Unione Sindacale Regionale), groups together unions present in their region. National level This is the level which groups together all regional organisations. The National Confederation groups together all the National Industrial Federations.
Number and type of members:	CISL is the second largest Trade Unions Confederation in Italy. CISL has 4.485.383 members in 2011. 19 major National branch Federations(sector) : e.g. metalworkers, chemical, textile workers, public employees, service, agricultural workers, etc., and 9 other, as we say, secondary Federations. It organizes migrant workers, both regular and irregular, has at all level women and gender promotion coordiating structures and specific rules to promote women leadership within the union. CISL organizes retired workers in a specific retired workers union and young unemployed workers.
Affiliation with NGO networks:	Cisl is affiliated with GCap, Global campaign against Poverty, Associazione ONG Italia and cooperate with many other NGos
Funding structure:	Membership fees or dues

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