Miners' International Federation
The Miners' International Federation (MIF), sometimes known as the International Federation of Miners, was a global union federation of trade unions.
 | |
| Founded | 1890 |
|---|---|
| Date dissolved | 1995 |
| Merged into | International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions |
| Members | 4.2 million (1994) |
| Affiliation | ICFTU |
| Office location | Russell Square, London (1890–1984) Belgium (1985–1995) |
| Country | International |
History
The federation was established in 1890 at a meeting in Brussels by unions from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It was initially one of the largest union federations, with membership reaching 1.2 million in 1913, and this grew slightly to 1.5 million in 1931.[1]
From the 1950s, the MIF began to campaign for common international minimum working conditions. However, with reductions in the number of miners in its heartland of Western Europe, its overall membership began to fall, and was below one million by 1976. [1]
The union was based in London for many years, with the British National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) as its largest affiliate. In 1983, Arthur Scargill, leader of the NUM, proposed dissolving the federation and forming a new one with the World Federation of Trade Unions-affiliated Trade Unions International of Miners. This was opposed by a majority of members, but the NUM nevertheless withdrew, leaving the federation to relocate its headquarters to Brussels and struggle with a shortage of funds.[2]
The MIF began recruiting unions in other parts of the world, and by 1994 consisted of 58 unions with 4.2 million members. In 1995, it merged with the International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions to form the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions.[1]
Affiliates
In 1960, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:[3]
| Union | Country | Affiliated membership |
|---|---|---|
| All-Japan Federation of Metal Mine Workers' Unions | Japan | 57,000 |
| Associated Mineworkers of Southern Rhodesia | Southern Rhodesia | 1,000 |
| Confederation of Copper Workers | Chile | 24,000 |
| Cyprus Federation of Free Miners | Cyprus | 1,530 |
| Federation of Miners of Greece | Greece | 30,000 |
| Federation of Mine Workers | Tunisia | 6,125 |
| Free Italian Federation of Workers in Mining Industries | Italy | 12,656 |
| General Dutch Industrial Union of the Mining Industry | Netherlands | 3,000 |
| General Union of Spanish Workers | Spain | Unknown |
| Ghana Mine Workers' Union | Ghana | 40,000 |
| Indian National Mineworkers' Federation | India | 150,000 |
| Japan Coal Miners' Union | Japan | 200,441 |
| Korean Mine Workers' Federation | South Korea | 28,246 |
| Luxembourg Workers' Federation | Luxembourg | 2,000 |
| Manpower Citizens' Association | British Guiana | 2,000 |
| Miners' Federation | France | 21,000 |
| National Coal Mine Workers' Union | Japan | 75,000 |
| National Mines and Allied Workers' Union | Philippines | 3,000 |
| National Union of Mine and Quarry Workers | Italy | 14,610 |
| National Union of Mineworkers | United Kingdom | 675,000 |
| Nigerian Mineworkers' Federation | Nigeria | 10,000 |
| Northern Rhodesian African Mineworkers' Union | Northern Rhodesia | 36,000 |
| Northern Rhodesia Mine Workers' Union | Northern Rhodesia | 4,500 |
| Norwegian Union of General Workers | Norway | 6,000 |
| Suriname Mine Workers' Union | Suriname | 80 |
| Swedish Miners' Union | Sweden | 14,000 |
| Tanganyika Mine Workers' Union | Tanganyika | 1,000 |
| Union of Metal, Mining and Energy | Austria | 25,000 |
| Union of Mineworkers of Belgium | Belgium | 36,000 |
| United Mine Workers of America | United States | 600,000 |
| United Mineworkers of New Zealand | New Zealand | 3,320 |
| United Mineworkers of Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | 5,500 |
| Union of Mining and Energy | West Germany | 461,674 |
| Union of Mining, Metallurgical and Chemical Workers of Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 95,000 |
Leadership
Secretaries
- 1890: Thomas Ashton
- 1921: Frank Hodges
- 1927: Achille Delattre
- 1934: Ebby Edwards
- 1947: Will Lawther
- 1957: Ernest Jones
- 1960: Ted Jones
- 1963: Dennis Edwards
- 1976: Peter Tait
- 1984: Jan Olyslaegers
- 1989: Peter Michalzik
Presidents
- 1910s: Robert Smillie
- 1921: Herbert Smith
- 1929: Joseph Dejardin
- 1932: Fritz Husemann
- 1934: Pierre Vigne
- 1945: Achille Delattre
- 1954: Heinrich Imig
- 1956: Nicolas Dethier
- 1963: Heinrich Gutermuth
- 1967: Walter Arendt
- 1969:
- 1971: Adolf Schmidt
- 1984: Anders Stendalen
References
- James C. Docherty and Sjaak van der Velden, Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor, pp.183
- Ronald Payne and Gary Busch, "Scargill goes international", The Spectator, 30 November 1985
- Goldberg, Arthur (1960). Directory of International Trade Union Organizations. Washington DC: United States Department of Labour. pp. 10.1–10.16.