International Mercantile Marine Officers' Association

Last updated March 27, 2022

The International Mercantile Marine Officers' Association (IMMOA) was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing officers in merchant navies.

History

The federation was established on 16 June 1925, at a meeting attended by representatives of unions from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United States. It set up headquarters in Antwerp, and successfully negotiated representation on the Joint Maritime Commission of the International Labour Organization. From the start, it also represented navigators, engineers, and ships' doctors, and the International Federation of Radio Officers soon affiliated to the federation.^[1]

Omer Becu became the union's secretary in 1932. In 1940, he escaped to London, moving the IMMOA's headquarters there. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) had also evacuated to London, and it began working closely with the IMMOA. Becu was seconded to ITF work, and the British Navigators' and Engineering Officers' Union took over the leadership of the federation.^[1]

By 1946, the federation had decided to fully integrate with the ITF. It recommended that all its affiliates join the ITF, and refocused its activity on promoting friendship and co-operation among ships' officers. It undertook little activity, holding a conference in 1948, and the penultimate meeting of its board of directors in 1951, but remained in existence.^[1]

In 1964, the federation held one final directors' meeting, recommending that the organisation be wound up, and this was agreed at a final congress, held the following year. The IMMOA's assets were transferred to the ITF's Edo Fimmen Free Trade Union Fund.^[1]

Leadership

General Secretaries

1925: Alex Brandt

1932: Omer Becu

1940: Douglas Tennant

Presidents

1925: François Mas

1940: William Harry Coombs

1948: Pieter de Vries

Related Research Articles

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) to form the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Public Services International (PSI) is the global union federation for workers in public services, including those who work in social services, health care, municipal services, central government and public utilities. As of November 2019, PSI has 700 affiliated trade unions from 154 countries representing over 30 million workers.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership of 19.7 million transport workers in all industrial transport sectors: civil aviation, dockers, inland navigation, seafarers, road transport, railways, fisheries, urban transport and tourism. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers' unions in bodies that take decisions affecting jobs, employment conditions or safety in the transport industry.

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB) is a trade union in the United States and Canada. It is for boilermakers and related occupations, and is affiliated with both the AFL-CIO and CLC.

The Myanmar Maritime Trade Unions Federation, formerly known as Seafarers Union of Burma (SUB) is a trade union in Myanmar. It represents an estimated 20,000-30,000 workers in the international shipping industry, many of whom work on Flag of Convenience ships and suffer from poor work and pay conditions.

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand.

The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan Latino organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win federation. It was founded in 1972 to provide Latino trade union members in the United States with a more effective voice within the AFL-CIO, to encourage Latino participation in the democratic process, and to encourage the organization of Latino workers into labor unions.

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO (DPE) is a semi-autonomous "trade" department of the AFL-CIO, and serves as an advocate for professional workers within the federation, and before legislative bodies, the press and the public.

The Norwegian Seafarers' Union, NSU, is a trade union representing sailors in Norway.

The International Federation of Trade Unions was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU.

Omer Liévin Benjamin Becu was a Belgian trade unionist, who became General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Jacobus Hendrik Oldenbroek was a Dutch trade union leader and politician, who served as general secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Johannes Jahn was a German trade unionist, politician and anti-Nazi activist.

Paul Tofahrn was a Belgian and international trade union leader.

The Belgian Union of Transport Workers is a trade union representing transport workers in Belgium.

Roger Dekeyzer was a Belgian trade union leader.

Pieter de Vries was a Dutch trade union leader.

Charles Douglas Smith Tennant was a British trade union leader.

The General Union of Public Sector and Transport Workers was a trade union representing workers in various industries in Germany.

William Harry Coombs was a British sailor, insurance company founder, barrister and trade union leader.

References

1 2 3 4 "Ships' Officers' International to be dissolved" (PDF). International Transport Workers' Journal. No. 2. February 1964. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[history-1] 1 2 3 4 "Ships' Officers' International to be dissolved" (PDF). International Transport Workers' Journal. No. 2. February 1964. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

[1]