International Workers Association  XXIX Congress

First Report:  IWA/AIT/IAA Outgoing Secretariat Report:

The IWA has celebrated its XXIX Congress in Asia. 22 member organizations took part, in person or virtually for a marathon Congress that last 3 days and still was not able to finish.

Among the points that we will mention is that the IWA expanded by 2 Sections: the WSF from Pakistan (who will host the next Plenary) and FORA-AIT from Argentina. We also learned that at least one more organization intends to change its status from Friends to a full Section.

One positive outcome was that the IWA confirmed its desire to discuss with organizations in South America and Africa and visit those who are interested in anarcho-syndicalism. We agreed to organize some speaking tours, so if you are interested in the IWA, please contact the Secretariat: secretariado@iwa-ait.org

Another positive thing was that the IWA reaffirmed its committment to one of its core prinicples: anti-militarism. A working group will be started and some IWA Sections have been networking with other anti-militarism organizations and international networks.

The IWA also showed support and mutual aid to comrades in Colombia who want to open a collective solidarity bakery which will also serve as a type of social center for the working class community. We are looking forward to hearing about how the plans develop and wish them success in organizing it! We hope it will serve the community well and will show how collective projects can be implemented without hierarchy and bosses!

A number of other proposals needed further development and probably will be topics on the Plenary. Another longer discussion topic unfortunately could not be treated for lack of time – that is a discussion about starting new anarcho-syndicalist organizations, sharing experiences with some of the newer organizations (Initiatives) and with each other and also trying to get more feedback and information about whether the IWA materials on this topic are too Eurocentric and can be improved in this respect. That will go onto the next Plenary, which is to be held in Pakistan.

The Congress was however able to have a discussion about the campaigns against unpaid wages and whether or not the Sections are able to increase their membership. Many Sections had different experiences, so it was very fruitful to hear about this and discuss issues related to our direct actions and strategies for growing our organizations.

We were quite pleased to hold a successful Congress in East Asia, despite the fact that we had to act clandestinely due to intense government crackdowns on people of our ideological tendency. To continue our committment to promoting development of our organizations in various parts of the world and to make international meetings more accessible for people who are sometimes blocked from Fortress Europe, we look forward to going to Asia once again for our next Plenary.

Outgoing IWA Secretariat

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Second Report: Priama akcia: Report of the 29th Congress of the International Workers’ Association

The first ever IWA Congress in East Asia took place on 27-29 December 2025, with 22 delegations, including Priama akcia, in person and online. In addition to the sections, which are the only ones with voting rights, the Friends, Initiative and Contact organizations also attended. Here is a summary of the highlights.

IWA expansion and development of contacts in South America and Africa

Two new sections outside Europe joined IWA. WSF from Pakistan requested to change its status from Friends to Section and FORA-AIT from Argentina returned to IWA after 8 years. In addition, shortly before the congress, another non-European organization expressed interest in becoming a member section (they are currently Friends of IWA). On the other hand, the congress confirmed the long-standing fact that BASF Bangladesh no longer exists and officially removed it from the list of IWA sections.

However, the development of contacts continues, not only in Asia, and the congress approved a lecture tour in countries in South America and Africa, where there are contacts interested in anarcho-syndicalism.

Project support

Congress confirmed the creation of a working group dedicated to anti-militarism and supported the creation of a self-governing solidarity bakery in Bogotá, which is also intended to be a social center in a neighborhood inhabited mainly by the working class.

Discussions – the founding and growth of anarcho-syndicalist organizations

One of the most interesting items on the agenda were the practical ones, mainly discussions about the fight for the payment of unpaid wages in the context of anarcho-syndicalism and the founding of new organizations.

Delegations from different countries shared their experiences. There was talk of whether the International Week Against Non-Payment of Wages (and the fight for unpaid wages in general) contributes to an increase in membership. A more general question emerged in the discussion as to whether our struggles should have this purpose alone. It was interesting to hear the different approaches of the unions. For example, some organizations require workers to join a union before they will support them in disputes. Others, including the Priama akcia union, support workers regardless of whether they decide to join a union.

We also talked about the first steps in organizing in our workplaces, about dismissals for union activities, but also about possible Eurocentrism in IWA materials for new organizations. Due to lack of time, a significant part of the topics remained undiscussed (including the entire point about the current social movement in Serbia) and we will reserve more space at the next plenary.

Next meeting

We consider it a success that we managed to hold the first congress in East Asia, although it had to be held in secret due to government repression of anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist groups. We will continue to support our friends in Asia and the next meeting (plenary in 2027) will be held in Pakistan.

For more information about anarcho-syndicalism, we recommend:
– a short leaflet “What is an anarcho-syndicalist union” at priamaakcia.sk
– the book “We Fight for Each Other: Anarcho-syndicalism and Class Struggle” at priamaakcia.sk .

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