Omer Liévin Benjamin Becu (21 August 1902 – 9 October 1982) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

trade unionist 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 Employee ben ...

, who became General Secretary 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 ...

. Born in

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

, Becu trained as a radio operator and joined the merchant navy. He soon became involved in trade unionism, and in 1929 became the full-time assistant general secretary of the

International Mercantile Marine Officers' Association The International Mercantile Marine Officers' Association (IMMOA) was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing officers in merchant navies. History The federation was established on 16 June 1925, at a meeting attended ...

. In 1932, he was elected as the union's general secretary, simultaneously becoming general secretary of the Belgian Union of Merchant Marine Officers. In this role, he gave support to the republicans in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Threatened by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Becu escaped to the UK in 1940, continuing in his trade union posts. The

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

(ITF) took an interest in his activities, and in 1941 invited him to New York, where he set up a special section of the federation for workers in countries which had been occupied by the Nazis. In support of this, he travelled to North Africa, and later to Italy. He next returned to London, where he continued his ITF activity, making plans for the end of the war. In 1944, Becu was able to return to Belgium, where he and some surviving comrades began re-establishing the trade union movement. He was elected as the president of the

Belgian Union of Transport Workers The Belgian Union of Transport Workers ( nl, Belgische Transportbond, BTB; french: Union Belge du Transport, UBT) is a trade union representing transport workers in Belgium. History The union was founded on 6 June 1913, with the merger of numerous ...

, and in 1947 also became the president of the ITF. In 1950, he was appointed as the ITF's general secretary, giving up his posts in Belgium, and in 1953 he was additionally elected as president of the

(ICFTU). His term of office ended in 1957, but he remained involved with the federation, and was elected as its general secretary in 1960, serving until his retirement in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becu, Omer 1902 births 1982 deaths Belgian people of World War II Belgian trade unionists General Secretaries of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions People from Ostend World War II refugees