The Miners' Federation () was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing mineworkers in France.

History

In 1947, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) suffered a major split, with those on the right of the federation leaving to form the rival

Workers' Force The General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force (, or simply , FO), is one of the five major union confederations in France. In terms of following, it is the third behind the CGT and the CFDT. Force Ouvrière was founded in 1948 by former ...

. The National Federation of Miners, a CGT affiliate, did not leave, but a minority led by assistant general secretary Noël Sinot split to form the Miners' Federation, which was constituted in 1948. By 1960, the union claimed 21,000 members.{{cite book , last1=Goldberg , first1=Arthur , title=Directory of International Trade Union Organizations , date=1960 , publisher=United States Department of Labour , location=Washington DC , pages=10.1–10.16 In 1963, it worked with the

French Confederation of Christian Workers The French Confederation of Christian Workers (; CFTC) is one of the five major French confederation of trade unions, belonging to the social Christian tradition. It was founded in 1919 as the Trade Union of Employees of Industry and Commerce ...

to lead a major strike. Membership of the union fell in line with employment in the industry, and in 2000, the union merged with the National Federation of Energy and Gas, to form the National Federation of Energy and Mines. The new union created an affiliate, the General Union of Mines, to represent former members of the Miners' Federation.

General Secretaries

:1948: Noël Sinot :1961: André Augard :1968: Charles Cortot :1980: René Mertz :1993: Roland Houp :1999: Bernard Fraysse

References

Mining trade unions Trade unions in France Trade unions established in 1948 Trade unions disestablished in 2000