A global union federation is an international federation

Federation (disambiguation)

-Use in political science:*Federation, a state governed under the system of federalism**Federated school, a model of governance used by some educational institutions which is also analogous to a political federation...

 of national and regional trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

s organising in specific industry

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 sectors or occupational groups

Profession

A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....

, previously known as international trade secretariats [ITSs].

Most major unions are members of one or more global union federations, relevant to the sectors where they have their members. Normally, the individual union will also be affiliated to a national trade union center

National trade union center

A national trade union center is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a single country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. When there is more than one national center, it is often because of ideological differences—in some...

, which in turn can be affiliated to a world body such as the International Trade Union Confederation

International Trade Union Confederation

The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...

, ITUC.

Together with the ITUC and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...

, ten global union federations jointly own and manage the web site Global Unions

Global Unions

Global Unions is a website, which is jointly owned and managed by the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD and ten global union federations....

.