Confederación Nacional del Trabajo

What Confederación Nacional del Trabajo does

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union confederation founded in 1910 in Barcelona, operating as a non-profit workers' organization. It serves employed, unemployed, retired, student, immigrant and informal-economy workers across Spain through a federated network of autonomous regional confederations (Regionales), industry-based local unions (Sindicatos de Ramo), multi-industry unions (Sindicatos de Oficios Varios), and workplace sections (Secciones Sindicales). Its service offering centers on labor representation, collective bargaining, legal advice, strike support, mutual aid, and the Caja de Resistencia solidarity fund, which raised over €95,000 for striking workers in a 2025 campaign.

CNT is funded entirely through member dues (cuotas) and voluntary contributions, explicitly refusing state subsidies and employer financing to preserve economic and political independence. Governance is assembly-based direct democracy: there is no class of paid professional representatives, and all decisions are taken by affiliated workers. The confederation maintains cultural and historical operations through its affiliated Fundación Anselmo Lorenzo (FAL) in Madrid, and disseminates analysis via the Periódico CNT newspaper, Revista Estudios academic journal, and a broad social-media presence.

CNT's underlying technology footprint is conventional and minimal: a content website (cnt.es), standard publishing tools for print and digital periodicals, and active social channels (Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Bluesky, YouTube). Internationally, CNT is a founding and active member of the International Workers' Association (IWA/CIT), coordinating solidarity with sister unions including FAU (Germany), FGWM (Myanmar), and FOB (Brazil). The organization differentiates itself from other Spanish unions by refusing to participate in official union elections, rejecting state and party financing, and pursuing both immediate workplace gains and a longer-term revolutionary aim of libertarian communism.

Name

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo

Legal name

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo

Website

https://cnt.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

1910

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union confederation founded in 1910, serving workers across Spain through federated regional and industry-based unions funded entirely by member dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Member Dues (Cuotas): CNT is funded entirely through member contributions (cuotas). The organization explicitly refuses state subsidies and employer financing to maintain economic independence. All resources go directly to union action rather than paying professional union representatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CNT is a worker-run anarcho-syndicalist trade union confederation that organizes workers across industries and regions of Spain for collective defense of labor rights. Core services include workplace representation, collective bargaining, strike organization, legal advice and a mutual-aid strike support fund (Caja de Resistencia). It also disseminates analysis through its Periódico CNT newspaper, Revista Estudios journal, and the cultural/historical work of the Fundación Anselmo Lorenzo.

Product overview

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) is an anarchist-syndicalist trade union confederation founded in 1910 in Barcelona, Spain. It is not a technology product company. CNT's primary offerings are trade union services including labor representation, collective bargaining support, worker training programs, and publications such as the "Periódico CNT" newspaper and "Revista Estudios" magazine. The organization operates through a network of local unions and sections organized by industry or region, providing its members with legal advice, strike support, and solidarity mechanisms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Periódico CNT: The union's newspaper publication in paper format
• Revista Estudios
• Caja de Resistencia

Products and services

• Labor representation and workplace organizing Affiliation-based service through which CNT local unions and workplace sections (secciones sindicales) defend member workers, engage in collective bargaining and coordinate direct action including strikes and pickets.
• Caja de Resistencia (Strike Support Fund) Confederal solidarity fund that pools contributions to financially support CNT members on strike, distributing resources across regions and disputes.
• Periódico CNT Quarterly print and digital newspaper of CNT covering labor struggles, social issues, historical memory and anarchist theory; distributed to members and the public.
• Revista Estudios Academic journal published by CNT for theoretical and historical analysis related to anarcho-syndicalism, labor history and social movements.
• Fundación Anselmo Lorenzo (FAL) Cultural foundation of CNT based in Madrid that preserves anarchist history, organizes exhibitions, lectures and book presentations, and maintains a historical archive.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful labor actions against major companies including ASTILLEROS, FERROVIAL, CLECE, AVE, CODEX, and hundreds of other enterprises
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Las 6 de La SuizamajorOthers · 1 July 2025CNT organized extensive solidarity campaigns including crowdfunding exceeding 95,000€ and protests across 18 cities in Spain to support six CNT members imprisoned for labor union activities at La Suiza (restaurant chain).
• Confederación Internacional del Trabajo (CIT/IWA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023CNT is a founding and active member of the International Workers' Association (IWA/CIT), the global anarcho-syndicalist international. CIT coordinates international solidarity campaigns, organizes congresses (II Congress held in Hannover 2023), and supports worker movements worldwide including Myanmar (FGWM), Bangladesh, Brazil, and Germany.
• FGWM (Federación de Trabajadores Generales de Myanmar)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021CNT supports Myanmar workers' federation through CIT Asia Working Group campaigns. Following the 2021 military coup, CNT participated in fundraising and international solidarity efforts for FGWM members resisting the junta.
• FAU (Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2020German anarcho-syndicalist union and member of CIT/IWA. FAU and CNT maintain mutual solidarity and coordination within the international anarchist labor movement.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Unión Sindical Obrera (USO): Independent Spanish union confederation competing for the same worker segments outside the CCOO/UGT duopoly. USO represents the alternative, non-aligned union option alongside CNT.
• Comisiones Obreras (CCOO): Spain's largest trade union confederation, competing with CNT for the same Spanish worker base across all sectors. CCOO is the institutional, social-democratic counterpart to CNT's anarcho-syndicalist positioning.
• Solidarity Federation: UK anarcho-syndicalist union and IWA/CIT affiliate. Directly comparable to CNT in organizational philosophy, rank-and-file control, and direct-action tactics, though operating in a different national jurisdiction.
• Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands (FAU): Germany's principal anarcho-syndicalist union and a sister IWA/CIT organization. Shares CNT's assembly-based direct democracy, refusal of professional representatives, and mutual-aid ethos.
• Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT): Spanish anarcho-syndicalist union confederation historically spun off from CNT. Operates with a near-identical ideology, federal structure, and refusal of state funding, making it the closest ideological competitor.
• Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT): Spain's second-largest union and the other pillar of the country's bipartite labor representation system. UGT directly competes with CNT for Spanish worker affiliation and collective bargaining influence.
• Industrial Workers of the World (IWW): Global revolutionary union rooted in syndicalist principles with 'One Big Union' organizing. Shares CNT's anti-bureaucratic stance, refusal of compromise with capitalist structures, and cross-industry solidarity model.

Regional players

• Unione Sindacale Italiana (USI): Italian anarcho-syndicalist union confederation and IWA/CIT affiliate. Closely comparable to CNT in ideology and federated structure, but operates primarily in Italy rather than competing in Spain.
• ELA-STV (Eusko Langileen Alkartasuna): Basque-Country-focused union confederation with strong industrial worker base. Competes regionally with CNT in northern Spain and operates with comparable workplace-organizing intensity.
• Intersindical-CSC: Catalan nationalist union confederation. Competes directly with CNT's regional Catalonia-Baleares structure for the same Catalan worker base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CNTsindicato
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CNTsindicato
• Facebookfacebook.com/CNTsindicato
• Instagraminstagram.com/sindicatocnt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/confederaci%C3%B3n-nacional-del-trabajo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Confederación Nacional del Trabajo