The Christian Workers' Union is 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 ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. The union was founded in 1962 by Nicholas Pollard, bringing together former members of the Christian Democratic Union based in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

. In September, it was a founding affiliate of the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions, and it soon became its most important affiliate. Pollard moved to Trinidad in 1964, but returned to Belize in 1966 and took back leadership of the union. This caused resentment among its other leaders, and in 1968 he left, forming the short-lived rival union, Democratic Independent. In 1969, the other affiliates of the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions left, to form the National Federation of Workers. The federation was dissolved, and the CWU became independent. It retained its strength, being particularly prominent in the public sector. As of 2006, CWU claimed a membership of 2,500. It was a member of the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) a ...

, but withdrew in November 2009.

References

Trade unions in Belize International Trade Union Confederation Trade unions established in 1962 Christian trade unions {{christian-org-stub