THE International Trades Union Confederation decided on Saturday that its general secretary Luca Visentini “no longer had the confidence of the general council” of the organisation.

Mr Visentini was placed under investigation last December, just weeks after being elected as general secretary of the global body that represents 200 million workers in 168 countries.

The ITUC general council came to its conclusion after considering a report from a special commission investigating allegations against Mr Visentini over alleged payments made by Qatar to influence European Union decision-making.

The commission found no evidence of donations from Qatar influencing the ITUC’s policies or programmes but the meeting decided that Mr Visentini “no longer had the confidence of the general council” to remain as general secretary.

Mr Visenti was one of six people questioned by authorities in the scandal, dubbed “Qatargate.”

He has denied any wrongdoing.

An extraordinary world congress will be held as soon as practicable to elect a new leader for the organisation.

ITUC president Akiko Gono said: “The events of the past few months have caused significant damage to the ITUC’s reputation.

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