The ICFTU European Regional Organisation (ERO) was a regional trade union confederation, bringing together national federations of trade unions in Europe.

History

The confederation was established in April 1950 at a conference in Brussels, held on the initiative of the recently-formed

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

(ICFTU). It was the first regional organisation established by the ICFTU, and was a new initiative, as the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

and

International Federation of Trade Unions The International Federation of Trade Unions (also known as the Amsterdam International) was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU. IFTU had close links to the Labo ...

had never set up regional bodies. ERO established its headquarters in Brussels. The organisation aimed to represent European trade unions in all regional matters, but in particular in relation to the expected establishment of a European Community. However, competitor organisations soon emerged. The Committee of the Twenty-One was established in 1952, to liaise with the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...

, and this was succeeded by the European Trade Union Secretariat (ETUS), representing trade union federations in the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

nations. In 1968, a Trade Union Committee for the European Free Trade Area (EFTA-TUC) was also established. The ERO became marginalised, and after its general secretary,

Walter Schevenels Walter Schevenels (11 November 1894 – 6 March 1966) was a Belgian trade union official. Born in Anderlecht, Schevenels' father was the secretary of the National Federation of Metal Workers, and Walter followed in his footsteps, soon becoming ...

, died in 1966, its affiliates discussed a reorganisation, whereby the ETUS and the EFTA-TUC would affiliate to the ERO, and the ETUS general secretary would become the secretary of the ERO. The proposal was rejected, and instead a plan was drawn up for the ERO to act as a liaison group between the ETUS and EFTA-TUC. There proved little need for an organisation to fill this role, and so in 1969 the ERO was dissolved. In 1973, the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and n ...

was established, to fill a similar role.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1950:

:1966: Charles Ford (acting)

Presidents

:1950: Charles Geddes :1957:

Alfred Roberts Alfred Roberts (18 April 1892 – 10 February 1970) was an English grocer, preacher, and local politician. He served as alderman of Grantham from 1943 to 1952 and mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946. His second daughter, Margaret, was the ...

:1963: Frederick Hayday

References

{{ICFTU Trade unions established in 1950 1950 establishments in Europe Trade unions disestablished in 1969 1969 disestablishments in Europe