The Liberian Federation of Trade Unions (abbreviated LFTU) 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 ( ...

centre in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. In 1977 the Liberian president

William R. Tolbert Jr. William Richard Tolbert Jr. (13 May 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until 1980. Tolbert was an Americo-Liberian and trained as a civil servant before entering the House ...

had urged the different trade union centres to unite into a single body. Thus the Liberian Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) was founded, uniting the Labor Congress of Liberia and the Congress of Industrial Organizations of Liberia. Nevertheless the United Workers Congress of Liberia and the United Mine Workers Union refused to join LFTU. The LFTU president was A. Benedict Tolbert, son of president Tolbert. Amos Gray served as the secretary general of LFTU. LFTU was a member of 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 ...

. LFTU was given ICFTU membership at the 70th Executive Board meeting of ICFTU, held in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

in May 1978. ICFTU was represented at the inauguration ceremony of LFTU on October 12, 1977. ICFTU sponsored a number of organizational trainings for LFTU. As of January 1979 ICFTU estimated the LFTU membership at 10,000. In August 1979 LFTU and UWC signed an agreement to work towards a merger and draft a joint constitution. The two centres were due to merge before the end of 1979, but merger talks were delayed after the death of mother and niece of the LFTU secretary-general Gray. In 1980 LFTU and UWC merged, forming the Liberian Federation of Labor Unions (LFLU). The ICFTU membership of LFTU was passed on to LFLU.

References

{{reflist Trade unions in Liberia Trade unions established in 1977 Trade unions disestablished in 1980 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 1977 establishments in Liberia