The General Diamond Workers' Union of the Netherlands (Dutch: ''Algemene Nederlandse Diamantbewerkers Bond''; abbreviated ANDB) was a trade union for diamond workers in the Netherlands from 1894 to the 1920s. In 1893, the

National Labor Secretariat The National Labor Secretariat ( nl, Nationaal Arbeids-Secretariaat, NAS) was a trade union federation in the Netherlands from 1893 to 1940. Early years In the late 1880s and early 1890s the idea that trade unions should no longer be branches of ...

(NAS) was founded as a national trade union center based on syndicalist principles with a weak and unpaid central board. The General Diamond Workers' Union of the Netherlands, on the other hand, followed the German model, meaning that it had a centralized structure, loyalty and strong discipline among the rank and file, paid union leaders, and high membership dues allowing for a large strike fund. The ANDB did not join the NAS because of these differences. Its founding was the result of a strike in the diamond industry in 1894. Jews made up a significant portion of diamond workers; some seventy percent of its members lived in or near Jewish quarters. There had been friction between Jewish and non-Jewish diamond workers in the past. Nevertheless, this strike managed to unify workers in this industry and the ANDB encompassed both, though this would sometimes lead to conflict. Unlike the NAS, which also had political goals, the ANDB focused solely on improving workers' conditions. It struggled for the eight-hour day, achieving a nine-hour work day in 1905. Beyond that, the ANDB was also active in attempting to enrich its members' cultural life. It ran a library and organized cultural events. Instead of joining the NAS, the ANDB was one of the primary founders of the Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions (NVV) in 1906. Little of the industry survived after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and although the union was reformed after the war, it was on a very small scale. In 1958, it merged into the General Dutch Metalworkers' Union.Hofmeester

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External links

Archief ANDB
at the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figur ...

{{Authority control Trade unions in the Netherlands 1894 establishments in the Netherlands 1958 disestablishments in the Netherlands Trade unions established in 1894 Trade unions disestablished in 1958