Both the COSYBU and CSB are affiliated to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
COSYBU was founded in 1995 after seceding from the CSB, but the two organisations cooperate.
[1] In total, 10 of the 59 officially recognised trade unions in Burundi are affiliated to the CSB.
Most Burundians work in the informal economy and members of certain unions have been harassed for their affiliations.
[3] It was estimated that only 1.3 percent of the labour force were trade union members in 2014.