The World Trade Union Conference was a conference that was held between 6–17 February 1945. The conference was participated by countries from all around the world, at the County Hall,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Regarded as a significant moment within the international labour movement, it was the first time that workers from around the world came together to influence international politics. Both

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

and

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

spoke to the audience at the conference. 204 representatives from 63 Unions around the world attended the conference including those from the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, in an attempt to have representation within the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and its

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. The conference, which was organised in the vein of the

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

movement, being much inspired by both union and state notions of a new world order and influenced by the interests of the allied nations. Anti-war, post war reconstruction post-war and Trade Union were on the conference agenda. The conference resulted in the Declarations of the World Trade Union Conference, which were published in San Francisco by the Trade Union Council in 1945 and inspired the Fifth

Pan-African Congress The Pan-African Congress (PAC) is a regular series of meetings which first took place on the back of the Pan-African Conference held in London in 1900. The Pan-African Congress first gained a reputation as a peacemaker for decolonization in ...

to be held later that same year in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. One of the purposes of the conference was to create a draft constitution for the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

, which was established at the first World

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

, which was convened 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 October 1945.

Attendees

The committee consisted of 45 voting members and one non-voting member while many other notable figures participated.

Asia

* China: Chu Hsueh Fan * India: Shripad Amrit Dange, R.A. Khedgikar, S.K. Pramanik, S. C. C. Anthony Pillai * Palestine: John Asfour, Bulus Farah, A Rabinovitz

Africa

* Nigeria: T.A. Bankole * The Gambia: I.M. Garba-Jahumpa * Ghana: J.S. Annan * Sierra Leone: I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson * South Africa: F.R. Swan

Europe

* Belgium: Jean Brodier, Joseph Bondas, Walter Schevenels * Bulgaria: T.L. Pranov * Cyprus: Andreas Ziartides * Czechoslovakia: Josef Kosina * Finland: Erkki Härmä * France: Benoît Frachon, Albert Gazier, Louis Saillant * Iceland:

Brynjólfur Bjarnason Brynjólfur Bjarnason (26 May 1898 – 16 April 1989) was an Icelandic communist politician and philosopher. Biography Bjarnason was born in Hæli in Gnúpverjahreppur. In 1918 he started studying philosophy at the University of Copenhage ...

* Ireland: Gilbert Lynch * Italy: Giovanni Canini * Netherlands: C.J. Van Lienden * New Zealand: Alec Croskery * Norway: Ingvald Haugen, Konrad Nordahl * Soviet Union: Vasili Kuznetsov, E.I. Sidorenko, Mikhail Tarasov * Spain: Amaro del Rosal * Sweden: Gunnar Andersson * United Kingdom: Walter Citrine, Ebby Edwards, Lincoln Evans, George Isaacs,

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minist ...

* Yugoslavia:

Đuro Salaj Đuro Salaj (1889 – 20 May 1958) was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and the first president of the United Labour Unions of Yugoslavia. Salaj was born in Valpovo and received secondary education as a tailor. In 190 ...

North America

* Canada: Pat Sullivan, James Ewart McGuire * Cuba: Angel Cofiño * Jamaica: Ken Hill, Una Marson * United States:

Sidney Hillman Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor ...

Philip Murray Philip Murray (May 25, 1886 – November 9, 1952) was a Scottish-born steelworker and an American labor leader. He was the first president of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), the first president of the United Steelworkers ...

, Reid Robinson, R. J. Thomas

Oceania

* Australia: Ernie Thornton

South America

* Columbia: Bernardo Medina * Uruguay: Luis Gonzalez Unknown: B. Goodwin, B. Locker, Jacobus Oldenbroek and

Vicente Lombardo Toledano Vicente Lombardo Toledano (July 16, 1894 – November 16, 1968) was one of the foremost Mexican labor leaders of the 20th century, called "the dean of Mexican Marxism ndthe best-known link between Mexico and the international world of Mar ...

External links

* https://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/TOF/WF/1

References

{{Reflist 1945 conferences World Federation of Trade Unions