28 November 1949
Bread, Peace, and Freedom
BG B5/449
The founding of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1949 was a typical product of the Cold War. Immediately after the Second World War, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was established to incorporate all trade unions of the world. The federation gradually came under Soviet influence. Growing tensions reached a breaking point when the WFTU rejected the Marshall Plan in 1948. In the course of 1949 most of the Western unions left the WFTU. At a conference in London from 28 November to 7 December 1949, delegates from 53 countries founded a confederation of 'free' trade unions under the slogan 'Bread, Peace, and Freedom'.
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Today in the Biographies Dutch Labour Movement
Born on 28 November |
Died on 28 November |