General Confederation of Labor (Spain)

The General Confederation of Labor (Spanish: Confederación General del Trabajo, CGT) is a Spanish trade union federation.

General Confederation of Labor

Confederación General del Trabajo
Founded	1979 (1979)
Headquarters	C/ Sagunto, 15 (Madrid)
Location	Spain
Members	85,000 (2018)[1]
Key people	José Manuel Muñoz Póliz
Affiliations	Red and Black Coordination
Website	cgt.org.es

The CGT was a result of a split in the anarchist National Confederation of Labor (CNT). In 1979, at the first CNT congress after Spain's transition to democracy, there was a fundamental disagreement concerning union elections. Such elections allow Spanish workers to elect union delegates to factory committees every four years. Some deemed this a renewal of anarcho-syndicalism, but the more orthodox in the organization considered such elections a "government intervention in labor–capital relations". Moreover, this would involve receiving state funding.[2] The two factions split and there were two CNTs. They fought over ownership of the name CNT. In 1989, the orthodox CNT prevailed in court and the renovators took the name CGT.[3]

The CGT has since participated in union elections since 1989, receiving the fourth most votes behind CCOO, the UGT, and the CSIF. It has 100,000 members, as of 2018.[4]

Since the division of the CNT in 2018, with the formation of the ICL/CIT (International Confederation of Labour) the CGT has developed a constructive relationship with the CNT-CIT and another union with roots in the CGT, Solidaridad Obrera. This resulted in a joint statement of intent by the three organisations to work productively together in April 2023. The alliance is to be known as “La Confluencia Anarcosindicalista”.[5]