3rd International Automotive Workers Conference opens - Pune welcomes automotive workers and friends from around the world
November 20, 2025: Correspondence: At 11 a.m. Indian time, Manoj Patil from Shramik Ekta Mahasangh (SEM) and as a coordinator from the International Coordination Group (ICOG) welcomed participants to the 3rd International Auto Workers Conference (IAC) at the G.D. Madgulkar Auditorium in Pune, India. Conference is opened with the honor of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and lightning of the lamp. The hospitality and commitment of the SEM and TUCI trade unionists was impressive. They made this meeting and the broad participation of other representatives of the Indian labor movement possible. This included providing the participants with good vegetarian food during the lunch break.
A representative of TUCI summed up the idea behind the IAC as follows: big capital is coming together in India and its automotive industry – but here, automotive workers from many countries are coming together.
They are all united by the question of how to ensure that no struggle stands alone in the future.
A first highlight was the ceremony in which the torch was ceremoniously handed over from the South African delegates to the many hands of their Indian colleagues. To accompany this, they each sang a well-known song from the labor movement of their countries.
For Ganesh Vandana the graceful dance of young women in traditional, colorful robes also contributed to this culturally rich opening of the conference
During the conference, a resolution is to be passed on the unionization of international automotive workers against exploitation, fascism, war, and environmental destruction.
The conference is meeting with great interest among the many automotive workers and other people in Pune. The German participants experienced this when they accompanied their SEM colleagues on advertising campaigns and fundraising at pick-up points where workers take the bus to and from work.
Twelve countries are represented at the conference so far.
Here are some initial photo impressions.
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