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29 May, 2026IndustriALL Global Union held the first ever meeting of its global youth committee on 28 May 2026. The meeting brought together young worker representatives from different regions to elect their leadership and begin shaping the organization’s youth agenda.
The landmark meeting represents the culmination of years of work to give young workers a formal voice within IndustriALL structures. Faye Dagman from the Philippines was elected female co-chair for 2026-2027, with Tiara Amigorena from Argentina as her substitute. The two will switch roles for 2028-2029, when Tiara Amigorena takes over as co-chair and Faye Dagman becomes her substitute. Andrea Megazzini from Italy was elected male co-chair for the full 2026-2029 term, with Kelvin Ayemhenre from Nigeria as his substitute for the entire period. Isaac Vasquez from Nicaragua was elected secretary, with Lesedi Seboni from South Africa as his substitute.
Leadership: the time for youth is now
IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Christina Olivier, opened with a strong message of support, pointing to serious challenges facing young workers globally: high youth unemployment, particularly in the Global South, the spread of precarious work and short-term contracts and the rapid transformation of work through digitalization and automation.
“If we are unable to organize young workers, very soon we will talk about IndustriALL Global Union as an organization that existed a few years ago. That is why organizing young workers into our unions remains one of our key priorities,”
said Christina Olivier.
IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, noted that youth work across all regions had made the breakthrough possible. “The Congress finally gave youth a formal place in this organization,” he said.
Two youth representatives will now sit permanently on the IndustriALL Executive Committee as official members, with the first meeting taking place on 11-12 June 2026 in Geneva.
“The whole point of trade unions is that we need to be representative. If we’re going to make the right decisions, we need to listen to all voices,”
said Atle Høie.
Regions report
Regions gave brief reports on their current work and future priorities.
Sub-Saharan Africa has had a youth committee since 2019 and is currently researching the impact of platform work on young workers in the mining and energy sectors.
The Middle East and North Africa are preparing for its first in-person meeting in Morocco, focusing on leadership development and youth participation, including amplifying the voices of workers in Palestine.
Latin America and the Caribbean held its founding meeting in Uruguay in April 2026, prioritizing new organizing strategies, mobilizing unionized workers and building capacity.
Europe has had a youth structure for several years, currently holding two non-voting seats on the IndustriALL Europe Executive Committee, with the goal of securing voting rights at the next Congress.
Asia Pacific recently merged two sub-regional working groups into a single regional youth committee, with a two-year transition period agreed to integrate the structures.
New co-chairs ready to act
Both Faye Dagman (PIGLAS, Philippines) and Tiara Amigorena (CNTI CTAA, Argentina) called for strong teamwork and expressed their commitment to securing better conditions for the next generation of workers.
What next?
The global youth committee will meet again on 9 July and 8 September 2026, with the primary task of reviewing and finalizing the IndustriALL draft youth policy for submission to the IndustriALL Executive Committee in November. The committee adopted its terms of reference, which sets out its working method. The committee will finalize its youth policy to be adopted in the November executive. The global youth committee will meet in person every two years and at least once a year online.