The Norwegian Union of General Workers (, NAF) 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 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It has a membership of 33,000 and is affiliated with the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almo ...

(LO). The union was founded on 13 April 1895, by 12 transport workers, as the Norwegian Road and Railway Union. However, the union decided to accept all unskilled workers, and in 1900 became the NAF. The union was an early affiliate of the

, and was initially its largest member, with 25,000 members by 1907. However, the federation wished to establish

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organising method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ba ...

s, and so numerous industry groups were split out of the NAF as independent unions. The Norwegian Sawmill, Site and Planing Workers' Union was formed in 1911, the

Norwegian Union of Paper Industry Workers The Norwegian Union of Paper Industry Workers (, NPF) was a trade union representing workers involved in manufacturing paper in Norway. The union was founded in 1913, as a split from the Norwegian Union of General Workers. It affiliated to the N ...

in 1913, and the

Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees The Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees (, NKF) was a trade union in Norway, organized under the national Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. It was founded in 1920 as the Norwegian Municipal Workers' Union, a split from the Norwegian Uni ...

in 1920. The process was stepped up in 1923, when the

Norwegian Union of Building Industry Workers The Norwegian Union of Building Industry Workers (, NBIAF) was a trade union in Norway, organized under the national Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. It was founded in 1923 as the Norwegian Union of Building Workers (). It was a merger bet ...

, Norwegian Union of Chemical Industry Workers, Norwegian Union of Food, Beverage and Allied Workers, and Norwegian Union of Textile Workers were all split out. By 1924, the union had only 5,500 members remaining, mostly in the mining industry and sections of the railway industry. However, it rapidly built up membership in road construction, and by 1939, they formed half of its total membership of 29,000. By 1996, the union had 32,032 members, of whom 40% worked in the metal industries, 30% in production, 20% in constructions, and the remainder mostly in mining and quarrying, and utilities. Its membership has remained steady, and in 2019 was 34,072.

Presidents

:1895: Olav Strøm :1903: Richard Hansen :1918:

Elias Volan Elias Karelius Johansen Volan (10 March 1887 – 26 December 1974) was a Norway, Norwegian trade unionist. He was born in Inderøy Municipality as a son of Croft (land), crofter Johan Berent Johannessen Volvollan and Lise Eliasdatter Kjærbo. He ...

:1920: Johs. M. P. Ødegaard :1948: Christian Henriksen :1955: Adolf K. Lien :1961: Walter Kristiansen :1966: Paul Sundt :1966: Øystein Larsen :1980: Ole Flesvig :1981: Harald Øveraas :1991: Arnfinn Nilsen :2003: Erna Hagensen :2019: Anita Paula Johansen :2023: Brede Edvardsen

References

External links

* Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions 1895 establishments in Norway Trade unions established in 1895 {{Europe-trade-union-stub