{{Infobox organization |name = Kuwait Trade Union Federation |location = Kuwait |affiliations = International Trade Union Confederation<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lotcobistand.org/krankningar/countries/view/130 |title=Kränkningar av fackliga rättigheter - LO TCO Biståndsnämd |access-date=2008-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725094940/http://www.lotcobistand.org/krankningar/countries/view/130 |archive-date=2008-07-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |num_members = 60,000 - Most members come from Kuwait Oil Company{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} |full_name = Kuwait Trade Union Federation<br />الاتحاد العام لعمال الكويت |native_name = |image = Image:Ktuf-logo.png |founded = 1968 |dissolved = |merged_into = |headquarters = Kuwait City, Kuwait |key_people = |footnotes = }}
The '''Kuwait Trade Union Federation''' ({{langx|ar|الاتحاد العام لعمال الكويت}}) is the sole national trade union center in Kuwait. It was founded in 1968<ref>{{cite book | year = 2005 | title = Trade Unions of the World | editor = ICTUR | editor-link = International Centre for Trade Union Rights | display-editors=etal | edition = 6th | publisher = John Harper Publishing | location = London, UK | isbn = 0-9543811-5-7 }}</ref> and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legal Context |url=https://survey.ituc-csi.org/Kuwait.html?lang=en#tabs-1 |website=International Trade Union Confederation |access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref>
As of 2020, there were 38 trade unions in Kuwait, of which 15 are formally members of the Kuwait Trade Union Federation. Outside the oil sector, the federation does not have any trade union affiliates that cover workers in the private sector.<ref>{{cite web |title=العقيل: 38 نقابة عمالية بالكويت.. 19 منها تستحق دعماً سنوياً بواقع 271 ألف دينار |url=https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/economy-news/949766/06-02-2020-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%86%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82-%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B9-%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1/ |website=Alanba |access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref>
== Legal context ==
The freedoms of association and collective bargaining in Kuwait are recognized by law; however, they are strictly regulated. For instance, Article 104 of the Labor Act "prohibits unions from interfering in political, religious, and sectarian issues".<ref name=viol>{{cite web |title=Survey of Violations Against Trade Unions |url=https://survey.ituc-csi.org/Kuwait.html?lang=en#tabs-2 |website=International Trade Union Confederation |publisher=International Trade Union Confederation |access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref> In 2021, the International Labour Organization's Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, noted that the Kuwaiti government has failed "to eliminate the total ban on political activities of trade unions that is enshrined in section 104(1)." The committee further said "It notes with regret that the Government has not taken any measures in this regard" and urged the government to revise the Law "to allow for legitimate political activities of trade unions" in the country. <ref>{{cite web |title=Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022) Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1961) |url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4116630,103423https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4116630,103423 |website=ILO |publisher=International Labour Organization |access-date=28 December 2023}}</ref>
Under Kuwaiti law, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation is the only federation of trade unions permitted to exist on a national level, although the government permits limited trade union pluralism at the local level.<ref>{{cite web |title=Custom Report Excerpts: Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho |url=https://www.state.gov/report/custom/f280c296eb/ |website=US Department of State |publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref> However, despite these restrictions, some unions exist outside of the Kuwait Trade Union Federation, including the Kuwait Bank Workers’ Union and the Kuwait Airways Workers’ Union.<ref name=viol/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Organized labour}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Trade unions in Kuwait Category:World Federation of Trade Unions Category:International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions Category:Economy of the Arab League Category:Trade unions established in 1968 Category:1968 establishments in Kuwait
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