The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN) was a

national trade union federation A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

in Nigeria.

History

The federation was established in 1942, as the Federated Trade Union, becoming the TUCN the following year. It was the first federation to receive government approval or to operate on a national basis. T.A. Bankole and M.A. Tukonboh attended the

World Trade Union Conference The World Trade Union Conference between 6–17 February 1945 was participated in by countries from all around the world, at County Hall, London. Regarded as a significant moment within the international labour movement as it was the first time tha ...

in London on behalf of Nigeria in 1945. In 1949, a group led by

Michael Imoudu Michael Athokhamien Omnibus Imoudu was a Nigerian labour union leader. Early life and education Imoudu was born in 1902, in Afemai division of Edo State. His father was a soldier in the West African Frontier Force and had served in East Africa ...

split away to form the Nigerian National Federation of Labour, but the two reunited in 1950 as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The NLC soon ceased to operate, but was re-established in 1953 by Imoudu, as the All Nigeria Trade Union Federation. The National Council of Trade Unions split away in 1957, but rejoined in 1959, with the merged union re-adopting the TUCN name. In 1960, Imoudu travelled to the Soviet Union and to China without the approval of the federation, and was suspended. The federation split over the question of whether to affiliate to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) or to 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 ...

(WFTU), with the WFTU-supporting minority forming the

Nigeria Trade Union Congress The Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC) was a national trade union federation in Nigeria. History The union was founded in 1960, as a split from the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN) by members who wished to align with the World Federation of ...

(NTUC). In 1962, the federation merged with the NTUC to form the

United Labour Congress The United Labour Congress (ULC) was a national trade union federation in Nigeria. History The federation was established in 1962, when the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria merged with the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC). The federation deci ...

Leadership

Presidents

:1943: T. A. Bankole{{Cite book , last1=Adi , first1=Hakim , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7mfAAAAMAAJ , title=The 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress Revisited , last2=Sherwood , first2=Marika , date=1995 , publisher=New Beacon Books , isbn=978-1-873201-12-1 , language=en :1950:

:1960: H. P. Adebola

General Secretaries

:1943: M. A. Tukonboh :1950: Nduka Eze :1953:

Gogo Chu Nzeribe Gogo Chu Nzeribe was a Nigerian trade unionist and a leader of the nation's communist movement during the drive towards independence in the 1950s. He was the secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, which at the time was led by pre ...

:1959: L. L. Borah

References

National trade union centres of Nigeria Trade unions disestablished in 1962 Trade unions established in 1942