The Union of Mineworkers of Belgium (french: Centrale syndicale des travailleurs des mines de Belgique, CSTMB; nl, Nationale Centrale der Mijnwerkers van België, NCMB) 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 ( ...

representing coal miners in

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 ...

History

The union was established on 25 December 1889 as the National Federation of Belgian Miners, incorporating the four major regional unions, which represented

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, The Center, the

Borinage The Borinage () is an area in the Walloon province of Hainaut in Belgium. The name derives from the coal mines of the region, ''bores'' meaning mineshafts. In French the inhabitants of the Borinage are called Borains. The provincial capital ...

and

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

in its early years it focused on reducing working hours and obtaining pensions for elderly miners. Once these were achieved, it also obtained the provision of washing facilities at mines, and a ban on women or children working underground. Membership of the union grew steadily, from 6,966 in 1899, to 39,417 in 1913. On 1 March 1919, it was reconstituted as the "Union of Mineworkers of Belgium", and its membership increased dramatically, to 123,468 by the end of the year. However, its affiliation with the

Belgian Workers' Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist ...

led some miners to join the rival Revolutionary Union of Miners, a communist group, or the Union of Free Miners, a Christian trade union. The CSTMB's membership fell continuously until the 1950s, and by 1955 was only 27,500. It affiliated to the

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (french: Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB; nl, Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated ...

(ABVV).{{cite book , last1=Meyers , first1=Frederic , title=European Coal Mining Unions , date=1961 , publisher=Institute of Industrial Relations , location=Los Angeles In 1959, a major closure programme led the union to strike, but the ABVV opposed turning this into a general strike, and the action was lost. Closures continued, and by 1994 the union had fewer than 10,000 members remaining. It then merged into the

General Union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1935: Nicolas Dethier :1958: :1962: Joseph Dedoyard :1966: Robert Balesse :1970: ''Position abolished''?

Presidents

Joseph Dejardin Joseph Dejardin (21 March 1873 – 28 October 1932) was a Belgian trade unionist and politician. Born in Grivegnée, Dejardin worked at a coal mine from the age of eleven. He joined the Union of Mineworkers of Belgium and eventually rose to b ...

:1932: :1945: Achille Delattre :1958: :1962: Nicolas Dethier : :1974: Jan Olyslaegers :1988: :1990: Lucien Charlier

References

Trade unions established in 1889 Trade unions disestablished in 1994 Trade unions in Belgium Mining trade unions 1994 disestablishments in Belgium 1889 establishments in Belgium