The Miners' International Federation (MIF), sometimes known as the International Federation of Miners, 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 ...

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 ( ...

History

The federation was established in 1890 at a meeting in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

by unions from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was initially one of the largest union federations, with membership reaching 1.2 million in 1913, and this grew slightly to 1.5 million in 1931.James C. Docherty and Sjaak van der Velden, ''Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor'', pp.183 From the 1950s, the MIF began to campaign for common international minimum working conditions. However, with reductions in the number of miners in its heartland of Western Europe, its overall membership began to fall, and was below one million by 1976. The union was based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for many years, with the British National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) as its largest affiliate. In 1983, Arthur Scargill, leader of the NUM, proposed dissolving the federation and forming a new one with the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

-affiliated

Trade Unions International of Miners The Trade Unions International of Miners was a trade union international affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions. History The union was founded at a Constituent Conference in Florence, Italy held July 16–19, 1949. In 1983 it expand ...

. This was opposed by a majority of members, but the NUM nevertheless withdrew, leaving the federation to relocate its headquarters to

and struggle with a shortage of funds.Ronald Payne and Gary Busch,
Scargill goes international
, ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', 30 November 1985 The MIF began recruiting unions in other parts of the world, and by 1994 consisted of 58 unions with 4.2 million members. In 1995, it merged with the

International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions The International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions (ICEF) was a global union federation of trade unions. History The secretariat was founded in August 1907, as the International Federation of General Factory Workers, but ...

to form the

International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) was a global union federation of trade unions. As of November 2007, ICEM represented 467 industrial trade unions in 132 countries, claiming a membership of o ...

Affiliates

In 1960, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:

Leadership

Secretaries

:1890: Thomas Ashton :1921: Frank Hodges :1927:

Achille Delattre Achille Delattre (24 August 1879 – 13 July 1964) was a Belgian politician and trade unionist. Born in Pâturages, in the Hainaut Province of Belgium, Delattre became a coal miner at the age of twelve. In 1902, he founded a branch of the Bel ...

:1934:

Ebby Edwards Ebby is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: * Ebby DeWeese (1904–1942), American football player * Ebby Edwards (1884–1961), English trade unionist * Ebby Halliday (1911– 2015), American realtor * Ebby Nelson-Addy (born ...

:1947:

Will Lawther Sir William Lawther (20 May 1889 – 1 February 1976) was a politician and trade union leader in the United Kingdom. Born in Choppington, in Northumberland, Lawther was educated at Choppington Colliery School, then became a coal miner. He becam ...

:1957: Ernest Jones :1960: Ted Jones :1963: Dennis Edwards :1976: Peter Tait :1984: Jan Olyslaegers :1989: Peter Michalzik

Presidents

:1910s: Robert Smillie :1921:

Herbert Smith Herbert Smith LLP was a multinational law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and merged with the Australian law firm Freehills on 1 October 2012, forming Herber ...

:1929: Joseph Dejardin :1932:

Fritz Husemann Friedrich Ernst Husemann (19 September 1873 – 15 April 1935) was a German trade union leader and politician. Husemann was born in Leopoldsthal (now part of Horn-Bad Meinberg) in the Principality of Lippe. In 1892, he moved to Dortmund, whe ...

:1934: Pierre Vigne :1945:

:1954:

Heinrich Imig Heinrich Gottlieb Imig (24 February 1893 – 24 February 1956) was a German trade unionist and politician. Born in Essen, Imig worked as a coal miner from the age of 19. He joined the Social Democratic Party, and also the Alter Verband union ...

:1956:

Nicolas Dethier Nicolas Dethier (29 September 1888 – 12 February 1976) was a Belgian trade unionist and politician. Born in Beyne-Heusay, Dethier left school at the age of twelve and became a coal miner. In 1906, he joined the Federation of Miners of Lie ...

:1963:

Heinrich Gutermuth Heinrich Gutermuth (18 June 1898 – 28 June 1977) was a German trade union leader. Born in Ilbeshausen (near Grebenhain), Gutermuth completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith, then served in World War I. After the war, he found work as a m ...

:1967: Walter Arendt :1969: :1971:

Adolf Schmidt Adolf Schmidt (18 April 1925 – 26 November 2013) was a German trade union leader and politician. Born in , Homberg, Schmidt became a mechanic at a coal mine, then in 1942 was drafted into the navy as a submarine mechanic. He was taken a ...

:1984: Anders Stendalen

References

{{Authority control Global union federations Mining trade unions Trade unions established in 1890 Trade unions disestablished in 1995