Christian National Union Confederation

The Christian National Union Confederation (German: Christlichnationaler Gewerkschaftsbund der Schweiz, CNG; French: Confédération des syndicats chrétiens de Suisse) was a trade union federation bringing together Christian democratic trade unions in Switzerland.

History

The federation was founded in 1907, as the Christian Social Union Federation of Switzerland, with about 4,500 members. After almost collapsing, it began co-operating with the Swiss Trade Union Federation during World War I, but withdrew this in 1918 due to it opposition to the possibility of a general strike. It spread into Romandy from 1916, and Ticino from 1918. In 1921, it renamed itself as the CNG, and grew steadily, reaching 36,000 members by 1941, 84,000 in 1961, and peaking at 116,000 in 1990. While the federation was open to all Christians, the vast majority of members were Catholics, with some Protestants instead forming the Swiss Federation of Protestant Trade Unions.[1][2]

During the 1990s, the federation's affiliates rapidly lost members, and by 1997, it was down to 93,100.[1] In 2002, it merged with the Confederation of Swiss Employees' Associations, to form Travail.Suisse.[3]

Affiliates

UnionAbbreviationFoundedLeftReason not affiliatedMembership (1963)[4]Membership (1989)[5]
Christian Agricultural Workers' Union of SwitzerlandCLB19511988Dissolved794N/A
Christian Chemical, Textile, Clothing, Paper and Staff UnionCTB19041994Merged into CMV10,3156,644
Christian Metalworkers' Union of SwitzerlandCMV19051998Merged into Syna28,79723,896
Christian Transport, Commerce and Food Workers' UnionCTHL19081992Merged into CMV4,7572,500
Christian Union of Transport, Military and CustomsGCV19192000Merged into Transfair6,1507,509
Christian Wood and Construction Workers' Union of SwitzerlandCHB19011998Merged into Syna29,16047,039
Swiss Federation of Protestant Trade UnionsSVEA19201993Merged into CMV13,8403,604
Swiss Graphical UnionSGG19651998Merged into SynaN/A4,286
Swiss Printers' UnionSBG19081965Merged into SGG1,763N/A
Swiss Union of Christian Bookbinders, Paper and Cardboard Workers and Graphical AssistantsSVCB19081965Merged into SGG512N/A
Swiss Union of Christian Postal, Telephone and Telegraph PersonnelChPTT19232000Merged into Transfair6,0369,887
SynaSyna19982002Transferred to Travail.SuisseN/AN/A
TransfairTransfair20002002Transferred to Travail.SuisseN/AN/A
Union of Christian Employees of Switzerland19342,344N/A
Union of Christian Government PersonnelVCB19292000Merged into Transfair4531,133
Union of Christian State and Municipal Personnel of SwitzerlandVHCP19221999Merged into Syna2,0782,717
Union of Czech and Slovak Christian Workers in Switzerland2002Transferred to Travail.SuisseN/A150
Union of Hungarian Christian Workers in SwitzerlandVUCAS19592002Transferred to Travail.Suisse238787

References

  1. 1 2 "Christlichnationaler Gewerkschaftsbund der Schweiz (CNG)". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Christlichnationaler Gewerkschaftsbund der Schweiz CNG, Confédération des syndicats chrétiens de la Suisse CSC". Schweizerisches Sozialarchiv. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "Gewerkschaften fusionieren". Suisse.info. 28 June 2002. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Directory of Labor Organizations: Europe. Vol. 2. Washington DC: United States Department of Labor. 1965. p. 28.12–28.17.
  5. ↑ Foreign Labor Trends: Switzerland. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor. 1989.