Central Única dos Trabalhadores

The CUT is the Central Unica dos Trabalhadores, the largest trade union federation in Brazil. It was founded in 1983.

She has (as of October 2004) 3266 affiliates ( in Brazil, the trade unions are organized at local or regional level by division ). Thus, it represents about 7.4 million members.

Its history is strongly connected with the Workers' Party of Brazil, the PT ( Partido dos Trabalhadores ), but both organizations emphasize their independence from each other. Their emergence and rapid emergence are the result of powerful strikes and demonstrations of the workers that shook Brazil at the end of the 70s and early 80s. These battles brought the military dictatorship to totter and formed the beginning of a development that led to its end a few years later.

At its inception, the CUT broke expressly disclaims any formal relationship with any of the existing world trade union confederations.