The Lithuanian Labour Federation (), also known as the Christian Labour Party in 1934–1942, is a

national trade union center Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It was founded in 1919, but was subsequently dissolved at the time of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupation. It was recreated in 1991. The LDF is affiliated with 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 ...

, and the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

History

The party was established on 28 September 1919 during the

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

convention of the Lithuanian Christian Workers Association.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p476 It won 15 seats in the

1920 elections Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

and became part of the Christian Democratic Bloc alongside the

Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party (, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was established in Lithuania in 1890 by a group of Ro ...

and the Farmers' Association.McHale, p477 Together the Bloc held a majority in the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

, and formed a government with the Peasant Union.McHale, p487 The DF won 11 seats in the

1922 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1922. Africa * 1922 Southern Rhodesian government referendum Asia * 1922 Philippine House of Representatives elections * 1922 Philippine Senate elections * 1922 Philippine legislative election Europe ...

, with the Bloc just short of a majority. After governing with the support of independents, early elections were held in 1923 which saw the DF win 12 seats and the Bloc gain a parliamentary majority, allowing it to govern alone. The

1926 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1926. Africa * 1926 Egyptian parliamentary election * 1926 Lagos by-election * 1926 Northern Rhodesian general election * 1926 South West African legislative election Asia * 1926 Hong Kong sanitary boa ...

saw a significant loss of support for the DF, as its vote share fell from 15% in 1923 to 8%, with the party winning just five seats. As a result, the Christian Democratic Bloc lost its majority and control of the government. Following the 1926 coup, the DF joined the opposition to the

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Occu ...

government. It was subsequently dissolved by decree in 1932. It was later resurrected as a non-partisan organisation under the name Association of Christian Workers on 15 April 1934, and grew to have 6,000 members by 1938.

References

* Political parties established in 1919 Political parties established in 1991 Trade unions in Lithuania International Trade Union Confederation European Trade Union Confederation Organizations based in Vilnius Trade unions established in 1991 1991 establishments in Lithuania 1919 establishments in Lithuania Christian democratic parties in Lithuania Catholic trade unions {{Lithuania-stub