BRUSSELS: The general secretary of the international union ITUC has been dismissed from his post, the confederation said, over his links to a European Parliament graft scandal implicating Qatar.

Luca Visentini was arrested in December as part of the investigation into suspected corruption among MEPs involving Qatar and Morocco.

The 54-year Italian — who was detained for two days then released, but remained a suspect — was suspended by the board of the International Trade Union Confederation in December. The board decided he “no longer had the confidence of the General Council” and would be removed from his post.

“The events of the past few months have caused significant damage to the ITUC’s reputation,” said Akiko Gono, the president of the body, which federates 338 unions in 168 countries and territories around the world.

“We are determined to protect the ITUC from any form of improper influence, or indeed the appearance of such influence.”

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023