The International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions (IFFTU) was a global union federation of trade unions representing teachers.
History The International Federation of Teachers' Trade Unions was founded after World War II, and affiliated to the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). When the large majority of Western trade unions left the WFTU, the teachers' trade secretariat was the only one to remain affiliated to the WFTU. To fill this gap, the new International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) held a meeting in Paris in 1951 to found a rival international secretariat, the "International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions".
By 1960, the secretariat had 12 affiliates in 11 countries, with a total of 229,500 members, and continued to grow rapidly. At the end of 1992, it merged with the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession, to form Education International.
Affiliates In 1960, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:
Union Country Affiliated membership American Federation of Teachers United States 55,000 Federation of Civil Servants Belgium 19,000 International Centre of Free Trade Unionists in Exile N/A Unknown National Federation of Education France 5,000 National Federation of Teachers Tunisia 2,500 National Union of Elementary Schools Italy 119,000 National Union of Teachers Israel 14,500 Spanish Federation of Teachers Spain 1,000 Trinidad and Tobago Teachers' Union British West Indies Federation 4,000 Union of Public Services Personnel Switzerland 850
Leadership General Secretaries 1951: Maurice van de Moortel 1965: Andre Braconier 1981: Fred van Leeuwen
Presidents 1951: Irvin Kuenzli 1956: Pierre Reymond-Sauvin 1965: Heinrich Roden 1972: Erich Frister 1981: Albert Shanker
References