International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions
 | |
| Merged into | International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1907 |
| Dissolved | 1995 |
| Location |
|
| Members | 6.3 million (1992) |
| Affiliations | International Confederation of Free Trade Unions |
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions (ICEF) was a global union federation of trade unions.
History
[edit]The secretariat was founded in August 1907, as the International Federation of General Factory Workers, but became inactive during World War I. It was re-established on 27 October 1920 at a conference in Amsterdam, and set up its headquarters at 17 Museumplein in the city. By 1935, the federation had affiliates in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and Yugoslavia.[1]
The federation held regular sectional conferences for the chemical industry. Following the collapse of the International Federation of Glass Workers, it added a glass industry section, with its first conference in 1938. Similarly, the International Federation of Pottery Workers dissolved before World War II, and in 1947, the federation held the first conference of its new pottery industry section. In 1954, it held a conference for the rubber industry.[2]
In 1950, the federation was renamed as the International Federation of Industrial Organisations and General Workers' Unions (IFF), and then in 1964 it became the International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions (ICF).[3] At this time, the organisation was in competition with the International Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers, but that collapsed in 1976, with many of its affiliates joining the IFCGW, which renamed itself as the International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions (ICEF). Membership accordingly rose from four million to 6.3 million by 1992.[4][5] In 1995, the ICEF merged with the Miners' International Federation to form the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions.[4]
Affiliates
[edit]The federation rarely published a list of affiliates, but the following unions attended the federation's 1964 congress:[6]
Leadership
[edit]General Secretaries
[edit]- C. Sorrensen
- 1920: Roel Stenhuis
- 1929: Klaas de Jonge
- 1950: L. M. van Waasdijk
- 1954: Menzo ter Borch
- 1964: Charles Levinson
- 1984: Michael Boggs
- 1994: Vic Thorpe
Presidents
[edit]- 1920: James O'Grady
- 1925: August Brey
- 1933: Robert Nielsen
- 1945: Mark Hewitson
- 1950: Carl F. Lindahl
- 1953: Jim Matthews
- 1964: Wilhelm Gefeller
- 1970: Karl Hauenschild
- 1983: Moss Evans
- 1986: Nils Kristoffersson
- 1989: Hermann Rappe
References
[edit]- ^ Repertoire des organisations internationales. Geneva: League of Nations. 1936. p. 290.
- ^ "Section conferences held". Bulletin of the International Federation of Industrial Organizations and General Workers' Unions: 72. 1956.
- ^ Rütters, Peter (2001). International Trade Union Organisations (PDF). Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. p. 18. ISBN 3898920453. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b James C. Docherty and Sjaak van der Velden, Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor, pp.140-141
- ^ Union of International Associations, "International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions (ICEF)"
- ^ Coldrick, Percy; Jones, Philip (1979). The International Directory of the Trade Union Movement. New York: Facts on File. pp. 42–44. ISBN 0871963744.
