The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) is the global union federation of democratic and free trade unions in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied industries. Established in 2005 by a merger of the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW) and the World Federation of Building and Wood Workers (WFBW). As of 2006, it has 350 member organisations in 135 countries, representing a combined membership of more than 12 million workers.
The BWI is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Regional Offices and Project Offices are located in Panama and Malaysia, South Africa, India, Australia, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Kenya, South Korea, Russia, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. The organisation works closely with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the other global union federations, and has a Special Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Committee of the United Nations.
