A movement encompassing all existing partnerships between trade unions of different countries on a regional (cross-border trade union cooperation), sectoral, national, or international level.
The international trade union movement is, to a very large extent, embodied by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) created in November 2006, by the merging of former world confederations, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). Independent partnerships are now rare, as unionists understand the necessity of global cooperation.
Increasingly, the name "global unions" is being used to refer to the major institutions of the international trade union movement.
The movement plays an important role in the international economic debate: the ITUC is recognized as an official partner by the UN and the International Labour Organization, and its various federations negotiate with organizations such as the WTO and the World Bank.
For some, the merging of the former two world confederations, the ICFTU and the WCL, is considered to be a major improvement; however, critics view it as yet another meaningless bureaucratic move made by a paralyzed trade union movement.