The Industrial Union of Mining and Energy (german: Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau und Energie, IG Bergbau-Energie) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing the mining, energy and water industries in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. The union was founded in 1946 as the Industrial Union of Mining, a section of the new Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB). While most of the union was divided into districts based on location, a separate district was created for workers at Wismut, the uranium mining company, and in 1950 this was split away to form the

Wismut Industrial Union The Wismut Industrial Union (german: Industriegewerkschaft Wismut, IG W) was a trade union representing workers at the Wismut uranium mining company. From 1946, workers at Wismut were represented by the Industrial Union of Mining, part of the Fr ...

. In 1951, the FDGB created the Industrial Union of Metallurgy, to which ore miners were transferred, but the union was dissolved in 1951 and the ore miners returned to the mining union. In 1963, the Industrial Union of Energy, Post and Transport was dissolved, and energy workers were transferred to the mining union, which was renamed as the "Industrial Union of Mining and Energy". By 1964, the union had 375,000 members.) Internationally, the union was affiliated to the Trade Union International of Miners. The union was also involved in sports associations, their names starting with "SV Aktivist". The union's membership continued to grow, and by 1989, it had 472,039 members, with about 325,000 in mining, 87,000 in energy, and 38,000 in water. In April 1990, it became independent, and renamed itself as the Industrial Union of Mining, Energy and Water Management. It suspended its affiliation to the FDGB in May, and in October it dissolved, most of its members transferring to the West German Union of Mining and Energy, although those in water instead joined the

Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union The Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union (german: Gewerkschaft Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr, ÖTV) was a trade union representing transport and public service workers in West Germany. The union was founded in 1949, at a mee ...

Presidents

:1946: Paul Lähne :1949: Max Fritsch :1951: Karl Honisch :1954: Fritz Leiter :1955: Werner Lucas :1977: Erhard Ullrich :1982: Günter Wolf :1990: Peter Witte

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1946 Trade unions disestablished in 1990 Energy industry trade unions Mining trade unions Trade unions in East Germany