Italian Confederation of Workers Trade Unions

(ICWTU; Confederazione Italiana SindicatiLavoratori), a national trade-union center of Italy, second in influence and membership to the Italian General Confederation of Labor. Founded in 1950 by the merger of the Free Italian General Confederation of Labor and the Italian Federation of Labor, which had been formed after a split in the Italian General Confederation of Labor in 1948, the ICWTU is influencedprimarily by the Christian Democratic Party. According to data published by the organization, it had 2.2 million members in1974. Although it was founded on a platform of reformism and class cooperation, since the end of the 1960’s the ICWTU has turned increasingly to unity of action with the Italian GeneralConfederation of Labor in a struggle to improve the condition of the working people and defend the rights and freedoms of trade unions. It joined the federation of three Italian trade-unioncenters, which was formed in 1972, and it belongs to the Interna-tional Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The organ of theICWTU is Conquiste del lavoro.