The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), also called the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions or Palestinian Trade Union Federation (and, briefly, General Trade Union Federation in Palestine), is a national trade union center in the Palestinian Territories. It has an estimated membership of 290,000, and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. The union in its current form is historically aligned with Fatah, but other parties have also worked within its organization. The PGFTU traces its modern history to 1965, and its origins to the Palestinian labour movement of the 1920s. Its current general secretary is Shaher Saed, who has held the position for many years. The PGFTU has not held open elections since 1981, for which it has been criticized by independent unionists as well as PGFTU insiders. A 2007 report in al-Jazeera indicates that the PGFTU receives most of its funding from Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt, as well as from organisations such as the Red Cross. Saed argues in the same report that his union has aided more than 250,000 Palestinians with both work and financial support. History Early years and the First Intifada The early years of the PGFTU were marked by fragmentation and political division. As'ad Ghanem has written that the West Bank General Federation definitively seceded from its parent Jordanian body in 1969. A new General Federation of Palestinian Labour Unions was established in 1973, due in large part to the efforts of the Communist Party, but it was not particularly successful and split into rival factions in 1981. After this period, unions aligned with Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Communists all claimed the name "General Federation" for themselves. There were also regional divisions, as separate union organizations developed in the West Bank, Gaza, and around the exiled leadership of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Ghanem has argued that these rival "General Federations" did not function as effective labour unions during this period, and that internal elections came to an end after 1981. This situation continued into the period of the First Intifada, and several rival groups were still claiming the name "General Federation" in the period just before the Gulf War. A movement toward unity began in 1990, as federations aligned with the Palestinian People's Party (formerly Communists) and Popular Front merged with the Fatah-aligned group.