The General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has relieved Luca Visentini, who was elected as ITUC’s general secretary in November, of his duties. The background to the decision lies in the suspicions of corruption raised concerning Visentini earlier before Christmas.
The decision resulted from a vote of 57 to 12. Of the 79 members, 71 were present. One member abstained from voting.
“The decision was made after a clear voting result, so there is little room for later criticism,” says Antti Palola, the chair of STTK and a member of ITUC’s General Council.
Palola voted for the dismissal, as did the other Nordic representatives.
“Member organisations of the Council of Nordic Trade Unions (NFS) are satisfied with the voting result. We have been actively pursuing this ever since the ‘Luca-gate’ was discovered”, Palola says.
In the meeting on 11 March, a decision was also made concerning temporary arrangements. Deputy general secretary Owen Tudor will continue as the acting general secretary until a new general secretary is appointed. The goal is to appoint the new general secretary in an extraordinary General Council meeting before May.
ITUC’s General Council also approved the investigations into allegations of misconduct concerning Luca Visentini and the related further actions. The goal is to clarify the confederation’s use of money and transparency, as well as the transparency of campaign funding related to the election of the general secretary.
Photo: PES Communications