The International Graphical Federation (IGF) was a

global union federation A global union federation (GUF) is an international federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic tradition described as international t ...

bringing together unions of printing workers around the world.

History

Moved to establish the federation began in 1939, when the Lithographers' International,

International Typographers' Secretariat The International Typographers' Secretariat (ITS) was a global union federation bringing together unions of printers around the world. History An International Typographical Congress was held in Paris in July 1889, and this led to a determinati ...

, and

International Federation of Bookbinders and Kindred Trades The International Federation of Bookbinders and Kindred Trades was a global union federation representing unions of bookbinders. History In 1902, the Austrian bookbinders' union suggested organising an international conference of bookbinders, and ...

, agreed to merge. However, due to

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, no progress was made until 1946, when the British

Printing and Kindred Trades Federation The Printing and Kindred Trades Federation (P&KTF) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom. History The federation was established at a conference in Manchester on 8 September 1890, organised on the initiative of George D. Kelley. Th ...

established a committee which drafted a constitution for a merged organisation. The federation was established at its first meeting, in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1949. It agreed to operate on a non-political basis, instead focusing on responses to technical developments in the industry, and sharing information on industrial disputes, employment and health and safety standards in each country. The federation had three boards, covering typography, lithography and bookbinding, and each agreed policies which were put to the body's congress. An executive committee with fifteen members co-ordinated the federation's activities, while a bureau of the general secretary, president, and four representatives of the country in which the headquarters were located, ran the organisation between executive committee meetings. The IGF affiliated to the

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), but its membership was suspended in 1967, as it had permitted the

French Federation of Book Workers The French Federation of Book Workers (french: Fédération française des travailleurs du livre, FFTL) was a trade union representing printing workers in France. The union was founded in 1881 at a conference in Paris. Initially, it struggled, b ...

, a communist union from France, to affiliate. At the end of 1999, the federation merged with the

Communications International The Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International (PTTI) was a global union federation bringing together unions of communications workers worldwide. History While a meeting of unions of communication workers was held in Paris in 1911, no lasting ...

, the International Federation of Employees, Technicians and Managers, and the Media and Entertainment International, to form

Union Network International UNI Global Union, formerly Union Network International (UNI), is a global union federation for the skills and services sectors, gathering national and regional trade union. It has affiliated unions in 150 countries representing 20 million workers ...

Affiliates

In 1979, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:

Leadership

Secretaries

:1949: Karl Woerler :1964: Heinz Göke :1981: Alfred Kaufmann :1990: Bob Tomlins :1994: Chris Pate :1997: Olav Boye

Chairs

:1949: Adolf Schäfer :1955:

Friedrich Segessenmann Friedrich Segessenmann (18 February 1897 – 20 February 1972) was a Swiss trade union leader and politician. Born in Uttigen, Segessenmann completed an apprenticeship as a lithographer, and worked in various cities in Switzerland, then from 19 ...

:1958: Ernst Leuenberger :1967:

John Bonfield John Martin Bonfield (1 May 1915 – 9 January 1976) was a British trade unionist. Bonfield grew up in Hitchin in Hertfordshire before becoming a printer. He joined the Typographical Association, becoming its National Assistant Secretary ...

:1976: Leonhard Mahlein :1983:

Erwin Ferlemann Erwin Ferlemann (16 March 1930 – 24 September 2000) was a German trade unionist. Born in Wuppertal, Ferlemann's father was interned by the Nazi government for several years in the 1930s. Ferlemann attended school during World War II, then c ...

:1994: Rene van Tilborg

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1949 Trade unions disestablished in 1999 Global union federations Printing trade unions