Workers and Trade Unions:
Trade union input into the SARD Major Groups dialogue/process is coordinated through the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF). The IUF is an international trade union organization, made up of 333 national trade unions in 120 countries, and representing workers in food, agriculture and tourism. The IUF organises workers in the global food chain and represents a ‘plough to plate’ approach to food production.
The IUF's agricultural members are the women and men who labour in the crop fields, orchards, glasshouses, livestock units, primary processing facilities, and associated activities such as crop and animal product processing and packaging, livestock food preparation, irrigation, pest management, and grain storage, to produce the world's food and commodities. They are employed on everything from small to medium-sized farms to large industrialised farms, agricultural units and plantations. They are waged workers because they do not own the land on which they work nor the tools and equipment they use. In these respects they are a group distinct from farmers.
IUF can be contacted at www.iuf.org.