4th ITUC World Congress

How the Congress works

Congress participants can register at the Bella Center at the following times:

  • Saturday 1 December: from 12:00 to 20:00
  • Sunday 2 December: from 09:00 to 18:00
  • Monday 3 December: from 08:00 to 11:00

This Congress is designed to be interactive so as to enable participants to engage in discussions and debates based on the experiences, campaigns, political action and organising strategies of trade unions from across the world.

The draft Congress Statement will be debated in the plenary, and any amendments will be decided upon in the plenary.

If any resolutions on urgent matters are proposed, the Congress Standing Orders Committee will first decide if the proposals really are urgent and if so, they will then be sent to the plenary for debate.

Official speeches from delegates for the Congress record can be given using the “Congress Live” broadcast facility – the speeches will be live-streamed on the internet via the Congress website, and recorded for the official report of Congress.

Congress Live speeches will be grouped by region, according to the following schedule:

Monday, 3 December
15:00-18:00 Americas

Tuesday, 4 December
09:30-13:00 Asia-Pacific
14:00-16:00 Europe
16:00-18:00 Africa

Thursday, 6 December
09:30-10:30 Asia-Pacific
10:30-13:00 Africa
14:00-16:30 Europe
16:30-18:00 Americas

There will be a time limit of four minutes per speech. Requests to be included on the “Congress Live” speakers’ list can be made at the Congress Live facility.

Languages: Media and social media content will be mainly in English, French and Spanish.

Social media will be an integral part of the Congress discussions and of the external communications strategy.

News and updates about what is happening at Congress will be posted on the ITUC Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Check these regularly and post your comments about the Congress.

During the plenary and sub-plenary debates, you can use the Twitter Congress hashtags to get up-to- date information about what is happening at Congress, to share your thoughts and to make comments that will appear on the Twitter walls.
The main plenary and each sub-plenary will have a Twitter wall allowing participation from the floor.

Hashtags for the plenary and each of the sub-plenary groups are:

Plenary #ituc18
Future of Work #work18
Wages and inequalities #wages18
Organising #organising18

If you would like to create social media accounts before you arrive at Congress, follow these instructions:

Equal Times: Equal Times will be reporting from Congress, along with Radio Labour. Regular news, radio and TV studio debates will be available on www.equaltimes.org.

ITUC Congress website: The ITUC Congress website will feature daily news and updates about Congress events and activities. Live streaming of the plenary sessions, lunchtime TV studio panel debates and leaders’ speeches will be available at congress2018.ituc-csi.org.

Interpretation in the four official Congress languages – English, French, German and Spanish – will be provided in the main plenary and all sub-plenaries. Official Congress documents will also be translated into these languages.

In the main plenary, interpretation will be provided in:

  • English
  • French
  • Spanish
  • German
  • Swedish
  • Italian
  • Russian
  • Japanese
  • Arabic
  • Portuguese
  • Participants may also speak in Norwegian and Danish.

Future of Work

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Participants may also speak in Portuguese and Italian.

Wages and Inequality

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Participants may also speak in Portuguese and Italian.

Organising

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Participants may also speak in Portuguese and Italian.

The other languages listed above will be each provided in one or another of the subplenaries. The distribution of these languages is yet to be decided.

Interpretation headsets will be made available each morning at the Congress venue. Participants will not need to change headsets when moving between plenary and sub-plenary sessions. The headsets are expensive, and each participant is required to leave their headset at the collection point in the Congress venue each time they leave the building.

Journalists who wish to apply for media credentials should contact Gemma Swart at [email protected].

The business of Congress will be conducted online.

Participants will be able to access the background information, draft decisions, reports during Congress, multimedia materials and other relevant ITUC products via their electronic device (laptop, tablet or mobile phone).

As documents will be ready in advance, delegates will still have the option to download and print their own documents before coming to Copenhagen. Documents modified or created during Congress will, however, only be made available electronically.

Seating at Congress will be “free”, i.e., there will be no pre-allocated seating of delegations. In the main plenary sessions, official delegates, advisers and interpreters should sit in the front section and observers should take their seats in the rear section.

For the opening ceremony on Sunday 2 December, participants are requested to collect their interpretation headsets and take their seats by 15:30.

Because there are a limited number of restaurants around the Congress venue, several catering options, including coffee shops, will be provided on site, from Monday to Friday.

Side events will take place at different times during Congress, including during lunch breaks and after sessions.

OrganisationEventDateStart TimeEnd TimeRoom
FES Unions crossing the divide between formal and informal economy – new ideas and practices 2/12/18 13:00 15:30 AUD10-11-12
ITUC-CSI-IGB Briefing: Trade Union Take on the SDGs 3/12/18 11:00 12:30 AUD10-11-12
ITUC Africa Caucus 3/12/18 12:30 13:30 Room 5
PERC Caucus 3/12/18 12:30 13:30 Room 6-7
CSA-TUCA Caucus 3/12/18 12:30 13:30 Room 19
ITUC Asia-Pacific Caucus 3/12/18 12:30 13:30 Room 20
ATUC ATUC Meeting 3/12/18 13:30 15:00 Room 5
ITUC-CSI-IGB Youth 3/12/18 17:30 18:30 AUD15
ITUC-CSI-IGB Women 4/12/18 08:00 09:00 AUD15
AFL-CIO Unions Pushing a Progressive Trade Agenda 4/12/18 09:00 11:00 Room5
ITUC-CSI-IGB Briefing: Labour standards of the World Bank and development banks 4/12/18 11:00 12:00 AUD15
HKCTU Hong Kong China’s Economic Transformation, Overseas Investments and Impact on Labour Rights 4/12/18 11:00 13:00 Room 5
CNV Netherlands Role of Trade Unions in Youth Employability 4/12/18 12:00 14:00 AUD10-11-12
CCOO Spain, CFDT & CGT France, CGIL Italy, FGTB Belgium, LO Norway, ÖGB Austria, PGFTU Palestine, TUC Great-Britain, UGTT Tunisia Palestine: solidarité syndicale et droit international 4/12/18 12:15 14:00 AUD15
AFL-CIO What’s going on with politics in the U.S.? 4/12/18 13:00 14:00 Room19
ITUC-CSI-IGB LGBTIQA+ 4/12/18 15:30 16:30 Room 20
ATUC Syndicalisme sous dictatures dans la région arabe 4/12/18 17:30 19:00 AUD15
ITUC-CSI-IGB Briefing: Due Diligence 6/12/18 10:00 12:00 AUD15
Solidarity Center New Global Labor Law Network ILAW 6/12/18 10:00 11:00 Room 20
FNV Netherlands & TUC Great-Britain Trade Union Organising in a Platform Economy 6/12/18 12:00 14:00 AUD15
CGSLB-CSC-FGTB Belgium Just transition: Climate change, a trade union answer 6/12/18 17:30 19:00 AUD15

General information

Delegates will be welcomed by staff at the airport.

Staff will assist delegates to find their way to public transportation, the most efficient and sustainable way to circulate in Copenhagen.

At registration, delegates will be given a public transport pass for the duration of Congress.

For more detailed information on public transport in Copenhagen, visit https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/public-transport.

The venue for the Congress is:

Bella Center
Center Boulevard 5
2300 Copenhagen
Denmark

Click here to view a map of the Congress venue and the Congress hotels.

Click here to view a map of the Congress venue and the Congress hotels.

The ITUC has made a block booking at the:

AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen
Center Boulevard 5
Copenhagen, 2300 Denmark
Phone: +45 32 47 30 00

For participants covered by the ITUC
Please contact the ITUC as soon as possible.

For participants covering their own costs
To book a room at the ITUC special rate, please click here.

Special rate per night for a single room, breakfast, internet and VAT included (Breakfast IS INCLUDED although not mentioned on the web-site):

  • STANDARD, Single room DKK 1145 and for double occupancy DKK 1345
  • CITY VIEW, Single room DKK 1295 and for double occupancy DKK 1495
  • DELUXE, Single room DKK 1445 and for double occupancy DKK 1645
  • EXECUTIVE, Single room DKK 1845 and for double occupancy DKK 2045

Terms & Conditions for ITUC individual bookings:

  • The Event booking Link only allows individual bookings.
  • Each reservation must be booked with individual name and credit card information.
  • The accommodation will be charged on the provided credit card 7 days prior arrival (latest 12h00 noon CET).
  • After this date the reservation cannot be cancelled or amended. No-shows will be charged in full.
  • Name change and occupancy change will be allowed up to 24 hours before arrival.
  • Sums paid in advance as a deposit will not be refunded.
  • In case of invalid credit cards and other issues regarding payment the reservation will be cancelled.
  • A new reservation can be made with a new payment guarantee should there still be availability.

In addition, the ITUC also has a block booking at the following hotels:

Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers
Copenhagen Towers,
Oerestads Boulevard 114 - 118,
Copenhagen, 2300 S Denmark
Phone: +45 88776655

To book a room at the ITUC special rate, please click here.

Special rate per night for a single room, breakfast, internet and VAT included: DKK 1145 and for double occupancy DKK 1345. (Breakfast IS INCLUDED although not mentioned on the web-site)

Terms & Conditions for ITUC individual bookings:

  • The Event booking Link only allows individual bookings.
  • Each reservation must be booked with individual name and credit card information.
  • The accommodation will be charged on the provided credit card 7 days prior arrival (latest 12h00 noon CET).
  • After this date the reservation cannot be cancelled or amended. No-shows will be charged in full.
  • Name change and occupancy change will be allowed up to 24 hrs. before arrival.
  • Sums paid in advance as a deposit will not be refunded.
  • In case of invalid credit cards and other issues regarding payment the reservation will be cancelled.
  • A new reservation can be made with a new payment guarantee should there still be availability.

CABINN Apartments
Arne Jacobsens Allé 4
2300 København S, Denmark
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (+45) 32 46 57 10

To book an Apartment click here.

CABINN Apartment rate: (Breakfast IS INCLUDED, even if mentioned on the web-site that Breakfast can be purchased at the reception upon arrival)

1-6 days

  • Rate per night for an Apartment single, breakfast, internet and VAT included: DKK 850
  • Rate per night for an Apartment double, breakfast, internet and VAT included: Single occupancy DKK 950 – Double occupancy DKK 1125

7-13 days

  • Rate for an Apartment single, breakfast, internet and VAT included: DKK 550
  • Rate per night for an Apartment double, breakfast, internet and VAT included: Single occupancy DKK 650 – Double occupancy DKK 925

Individual reservations can be cancelled up to 2 days before arrival. No-shows will be charged to the credit card used as guarantee.

Many participants wishing to attend the ITUC World Congress will need a Schengen visa to enter Denmark.

Information on the visa procedure is provided on the following website: http://um.dk/en/travel-and-residence/short-stay-visas. We recommend that all participants follow the procedure to the letter.

Any participants who experience difficulties obtaining a visa are requested to contact the ITUC immediately, citing their full name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, nationality and passport details (number, date and place of issue and expiry date).

You may freely bring goods into Denmark if they are for your own personal use. However, there are limits as to how much alcohol and tobacco you are allowed to import.

Maximum quantities and value:

Tobacco

  • Cigarettes (see exception below): 800 pcs
  • Cigarettes when you arrive from Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania and Hungary: 300 pcs
  • Cigarillos (max 3g each): 400 pcs
  • Cigars : 200 pcs
  • Smoking tobacco: 1kg

Alcohol

  • Spirits (above 22% and beverages to which alcohol has been added): 10 litres
  • Fortified wine (22% alcohol or less, for example port, sherry and madeira as well as sparkling wine such as champagne): 20 litres
  • Table wine (for example red, white and rosé and cider-based wine – and maximum 60 litres of sparkling wine, such as, for example, champagne): 90 litres
  • Beer and beer-based cider: 110 litres
    For more information, see: https://skat.dk/skat.aspx?oid=2244291.

In Denmark it is against the law to smoke in indoor public places, except in specially equipped smoking booths. This includes the Bella Center, restaurants, cafés, bars, all forms of public transport and taxis. Hotels determine their own smoking rules, but most hotels are non-smoking.

The currency used in Denmark is the Danish Krone.

For current exchange rates, see http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

The ITUC does not provide insurance cover for self-paying participants, and does not accept responsibility for medical problems or other losses incurred during travel to or from, or during attendance, at Congress. Self-paying participants are strongly advised to take out appropriate travel insurance to provide this cover.

The winter weather in Copenhagen in December will see high temperatures reach 4°C, with colder days struggling to get above 0°C. Sudden winds can make it feel even colder. Daylight hours are short during the winter with the sun rising at 8:30 a.m. and setting at 3:30 p.m.

Denmark uses two-pin continental plugs and 230 volt (50Hz) like most other European countries.