The International Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers (IFPCW) was a global union federation bringing together trade union representing workers in the chemical and oil industries.

History

The secretariat was established in 1954 at a meeting in Paris, held on the initiative of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Oil Workers' International Union of the United States. It was formed in response to the growth of employment in the oil industry, and was initially named the International Federation of Petroleum Workers. Most of its founder members had previously been affiliated to the International Federation of Industrial Organisations and General Workers' Unions (IFF).[1][2]

The secretariat was based in Denver, and was the only global union federation to have headquarters outside Europe. By 1960, it had 43 affiliates, with a membership of more than 500,000. In 1963, the union began recruiting unions of chemical workers, and renamed itself as the "International Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers". This brought it into conflict with the IFF, which renamed itself as the "International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions" (ICF), and the ICFTU suspended grants to both organisations.[1]

By the late 1960s, it became known that the IFPCW was receiving regular grants from CIA funds, and it became regarded as a CIA front organisation. Faced with a loss of prestige, it discussed a potential merger with the ICF, but this did not occur, and it dissolved in 1976.[1]

Affiliates

In 1960, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:[2]

Union Country Affiliated membership
Autonomous Union of Italian Petroleum Workers Italy Unknown
Bengal Oil and Petrol Workers' Union India Unknown
Cartel of Unions of Research and Development Engineers in Hydrocarbons France Unknown
Central Islamic Labour Union of Indonesia Indonesia Unknown
Chemical, Paper and Ceramic Union West Germany 10,000
Consolidated Mobil Oil Workers' Union of Nigeria and Cameroons Nigeria Unknown
Federation of Petroleum and Related Industries' Workers of Peru Peru 1,000
Hind Oil Kamger Sabha India 600
Histadrut Israel 2,400
Gambia Workers' Union Gambia Unknown
General Union of Petroleum Workers Tunisia Unknown
General Union of Petroleum Workers United Arab Republic 20,000
General Union of Miscellaneous Industries Netherlands 1,400
Kenya Chemical Workers' Union Kenya Unknown
Kenya Petroleum and Oil Workers' Union Kenya 2,500
Lebanese Petroleum Company Employees' and Workers' Union Lebanon 75
Madras Kerosene Oil Workers' Union India Unknown
Mobil Oil Company Employees' Union Lebanon 140
Mobil Oil Workers' Union Lebanon 140
National Federation of Engineers and Supervisory Employees France 300
National Federation of Miners France 600
National Federation of Petroleum and Products Workers Cuba 10,919
National Federation of Workers in Commercial Distribution Companies of Mining Products and Combustible Materials Brazil 40,000
National Federation of Workers in the Chemical, Parachemical and Glass Industries France 4,000
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union Canada 10,000
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union United States 200,000
Oil Companies' Field Staff Association India 150
Oilfield Workers' Federation British West Indies Federation 12,000
Pakistan Petroleum Workers' Federation Pakistan 12,000
Panhellenic Federation of Petroleum Workers and Employees Greece 5,000
Petroleum Employees' Union India 800
Petroleum Employees' Union of Ceylon Ceylon Unknown
Petroleum Workers' Federation of Aruba Netherlands Antilles 3,000
Petroleum Workers' Federation of Curaçao Netherlands Antilles 6,200
Petroleum Workers' Trade Union Libya Unknown
Singapore Petroleum Workers' Union Singapore 989
Swiss Textile and Factory Workers' Union Switzerland Unknown
Turkish Petroleum Workers' Union Turkey 6,000
Union of Metal, Mining and Energy Austria Unknown
Union of Oil and Methane Gas Workers Italy 8,795
Union of Oil and Petroleum Workers Ghana 2,200
Union of Organised Petroleum Workers Venezuela 1,300
Union of Petroleum Workers of Colombia Colombia 20,000

Leadership

General Secretaries

1954: Loyd A. Haskins
1973: Curtis Hogan

Presidents

1954: Jack Knight
1967: Luis Tovar
1973: George Sacre

References

  1. ^ a b c Coldrick, A. P.; Jones, Philip (1979). The international directory of the trade union movement. Macmillan.
  2. ^ a b Goldberg, Arthur (1960). Directory of International Trade Union Organizations. Washington DC: United States Department of Labour. pp. 11.1–11.18.
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