The Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU) is a

general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...

, the largest union in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

History

The union was founded on 25 May 1960, with the merger of five unions: * Catering and Meat Cutters Union * Commercial and Allied Workers' Union * General Clerical and Public Boards Employees' Union * Manufacturing and Industrial Workers' Union * Printers and Newspapers Workers' Union It was initially named the Industrial, Commercial, and General National Workers' Union. It affiliated to the

Ghana Trades Union Congress The Ghana Trades Union Congress is a national centre that unites various workers' organizations in Ghana. The organization was established in 1945. History The GTUC as a central co-ordinating body for 14 union groups in 1945. The unions were r ...

(TUC). The largest union in the country, in the 1980s under L. G. K. Ocloo it became known for its opposition to the

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...

, and Ocloo was ultimately forced into exile. In 1983, some union members split away, to form the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees' Union. A further group left in 2003, founding the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance (UNICOF). The TUC accepted UNICOF as a new member, leading the ICU to resign from the TUC, in protest. This led to a long-running dispute over its offices in the Hall of Trade Unions in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. As of 2020, the union claims to have about 100,000 members.

General Secretaries

:1960: Benjamin T. Bartimeus :1964: :1972: Ben Edjah :1983: L. G. K. Ocloo :1992: Napoleon Kpoh :2010: Gilbert Awinongya :2013: Solomon Kotei

External links

*{{official website, http://icu-ghana.org

References

General unions Trade unions in Ghana Trade unions established in 1960