Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli. [Elvis Ogina,Standard]

Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has been re-elected for the fourth term to the position of Vice President of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

ITUC is the world's largest trade union federation with a membership of over 200 million drawn from 163 countries.

In a press statement on Monday, November 21 COTU Deputy Secretary General Benson Okwaro said Atwoli was re-elected during the ongoing 5th Congress in Melbourne, Australia.
"Earlier on during the ongoing congress, Atwoli was elected, unopposed, to the Seven-Member Credentials Committee. The Credentials Committee is an important Committee, within the architecture of the ITUC, that determines who qualifies as a delegate of the ITUC to participate in the elections of the ITUC," said Okwaro.

In his acceptance speech, Atwoli appreciated the huge confidence that his trade union colleagues worldwide continue to have in him to serve them.

"The position you have just bestowed on me this morning isn't an easy one, you are sending me to war, to fight for working men and women wherever they are in the world, am only your soldier whose actions will always come from you, the commanders, and I will stand for your interests and put up my life for you always," Atwoli said.

Others elected during the hotly contested ITUC elections were the new Confederation's General Secretary Luca Vasentini from Italy who garnered a total of 65 million votes beating his main challenger Kemal Ozkan from Turkey who got 23 million votes represented by the 2,000 plus delegates who attended the Congress.

Atwoli has been the President of the Pan African Labour movement, the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) since 2014 to date.

Since 2008, he has been a Member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization, (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

He is also a Board Member of the Training Centre of the International Labour Organization in Turin, Italy since 2011.

Atwoli has held his position as part of the Board of Trustees at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) since 2001.

Since 2001, he has been a Council Member of the National Industrial Training Authority of Kenya (NITA).