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

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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 Association of Protestant Workers.[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

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Union Abbreviation Founded Left Reason not affiliated Membership (1963)[4]
Christian Agricultural Workers' Union of Switzerland CLB 1951 1988 Dissolved 794
Christian Chemical, Textile, Clothing, Paper and Staff Union CTB 1904 1994 Merged into CMV 10,315
Christian Metalworkers' Union of Switzerland CMV 1905 1998 Merged into Syna 28,797
Christian Transport, Commerce and Food Workers' Union CTHL 1908 1992 Merged into CMV 4,757
Christian Union of Transport, Military and Customs GCV 1919 2000 Merged into Transfair 6,150
Christian Wood and Construction Workers' Union of Switzerland CHB 1901 1998 Merged into Syna 29,160
Swiss Association of Protestant Workers SVEA 1920 1993 Merged into CMV 13,840
Swiss Graphical Union SGG 1965 1998 Merged into Syna N/A
Swiss Printers' Union SBG 1908 1965 Merged into SGG 1,763
Swiss Union of Christian Bookbinders, Paper and Cardboard Workers and Graphical Assistants SVCB 1908 1965 Merged into SGG 512
Swiss Union of Christian Postal, Telephone and Telegraph Personnel ChPTT 1923 2000 Merged into Transfair 6,036
Syna Syna 1998 2002 Transferred to Travail.Suisse N/A
Transfair Transfair 2000 2002 Transferred to Travail.Suisse N/A
Union of Christian Employees of Switzerland 1934 2,344
Union of Christian Government Personnel VCB 1929 2000 Merged into Transfair 453
Union of Christian State and Municipal Personnel of Switzerland VHCP 1922 1999 Merged into Syna 2,078
Union of Hungarian Christian Workers in Switzerland VUCAS 1959 2002 Transferred to Travail.Suisse 238

References

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  1. ^ a b "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.