The International Typographers' Secretariat (ITS) was a
global union federation
A global union federation (GUF) is an international List of federations of trade unions, federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic t ...
bringing together unions of printers around the world.
History
An International Typographical Congress was held in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in July 1889, and this led to a determination to form a permanent organisation. This was established in
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
in 1892, as the International Printers' Secretariat. It held further congresses in Geneva in 1896, Lucerne in 1901, Paris in 1907, and Stuttgart in 1912.
In 1939, the federation agreed to merge with the
Lithographers' International and the
International Federation of Bookbinders and Kindred Trades.
However, due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, no progress was made until 1946, when the British
Printing and Kindred Trades Federation
The Printing and Kindred Trades Federation (P&KTF) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom.
History
The federation was established at a conference in Manchester on 8 September 1890, organised on the initiative of George D. Kelley. The ...
established a committee which drafted a constitution for a merged organisation. This was established in 1949, as the
International Graphical Federation
The International Graphical Federation (IGF) was a global union federation bringing together unions of printing workers around the world.
History
Moved to establish the federation began in 1939, when the Lithographers' International, Internati ...
.
Affiliates
As of 1910, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:
General Secretaries
:1893:
Gottfried Reimann
:1896:
Friedrich Siebenmann
:1902: Pierre Stautner
:1921: Fritz Verdan
:1926: Hans Grundbacher
:1947: Gottfried Reinhard (acting)
References
{{Authority control
Trade unions established in 1889
Trade unions disestablished in 1949
Global union federations
Printing trade unions