Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
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| Full name | National Confederation of Labour |
|---|---|
| Native name | Confederación Nacional del Trabajo |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Key people | Martin Paradelo, secretary general |
| Office location | Santiago de Compostela, Spain – location changes with the secretary general |
| Country | Spain |
| Website | www.cnt.es |
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT; "National Confederation of Labour") is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labour unions which was long affiliated with the International Workers Association (IWA; Spanish: AIT – Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores). When working with the latter group it was also known as CNT-AIT. Historically, the CNT has also been affiliated with the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (Iberian Anarchist Federation – FAI). In this capacity it was referred to as the CNT-FAI. Throughout its history, it has played a major role in the Spanish labor movement.
Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union Solidaridad Obrera, it significantly expanded the role of anarchism in Spain, which can be traced to the creation of the Federación de Trabajadores de la Región Española, the successor organization to the Spanish chapter of the IWA.
Despite several decades when the organization was illegal in Spain, today the CNT continues to participate in the Spanish worker's movement, focusing its efforts on the principles of workers' self-management, federalism, and mutual aid.
The CNT says of its membership, "We make no distinction at the time of admission, we require only that you are a worker, student or unemployed. The only people who cannot join are those belonging to repressive organisations (police, military, security guards), employers or other exploiters".
As a union organization, and in accordance with its bylaws, the aims of the CNT are to "develop a sense of solidarity among workers" hoping to improve their conditions under the current social system, and prepare them for future emancipation, when the means of production have been attained, to practice mutual aid amongst CNT collectives, and maintain relationships with other like-minded groups, hoping for emancipation of the entire working class. The CNT is also concerned with issues beyond the working class, desiring a radical transformation of society through revolutionary syndicalism. To achieve their goal of social revolution, the organisation has outlined a social-economic system through the confederal concept of anarchist communism, which consists of a series of general ideas proposed for the organisation of an anarchist society. The CNT draws inspiration from anarchist ideas, and also identifies with the struggles of different social movements. The CNT is internationalist, but also supports communities' right of self-determination and their sovereignty over the state.
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