Prominent Trade Unionists

Khurshid Ahmad is a veteran Pakistani trade union activist who has been working in the trade union movement for past half a century. He has been associated with the founders of labour movement in Bashir Ahmad Bakhtiar and Mirza Mohammad Ibrahim. He has been an elected member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) governing body representing the International Workers' Group since 1972. He was also elected as Vice President of the Annual International Tripartite Labour Conference (held at Geneva in 1986) and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific Regional Conference (held in Korea in 2006). The Lahore-born labour leader has also represented workers at various national tripartite such as the Pakistan Labour Commission, the Pakistan Manpower Commission and the National Tripartite Standing Labour Advisory Committee to highlight workers' problems and emphasize the need for raising their socioeconomic status.

This historical Mexican communist actively participated in the organization of the Mexican workers' movement during the first half of the 20th century, with an especially outstanding participation in the railroad movement of the 1950s.

ES: Comunista histórico de México tuvo una activa participación en la organización del movimiento obrero durante la primera mitad del siglo XX. Participación destacada en el movimiento ferrocarrilero de la década de los 1950.

Rafael Galván was one of the main defenders of workers' rights in Mexico from 1940 to 1970. He was the founder of the Tendencia Democrática Electricista y dirigente del Sindicato Único de Trabajadores Electricistas de la República Mexicana (SUTERM). He headed a great union democratization movement in the 1970s. 

ES: Fue uno de los principales defensores de los derechos de los trabajadores durante el periodo que media entre los años de 1940 y 1970 del siglo XX. Fundador de la Tendencia Democrática Electricista y dirigente del Sindicato Único de Trabajadores Electricistas de la República Mexicana (SUTERM). Encabezó un gran movimiento democratizador sindical en la década de los 1970.

Rosie Hackett was a prominent trade unionist and a veteran of the 1916 Rising, who dedicated her life to improving the working conditions of women in Dublin. She played a key role in the foundation of the Irish Women Workers Union and led strikes at Jacob’s Factory that were instrumental in securing better wages and working conditions for women. Hackett was also actively involved in the 1913 Dublin Lockout and fought alongside the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising. Despite her significant contributions, she remained relatively unknown until recent efforts to name a bridge in Dublin in her honour, recognising her lifelong dedication to workers’ rights and Irish freedom.

Contributed by Nico Kaschitzki (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)

Further Reading:

Reasons for Rosie, URL: https://womenworkersunion.ie/rosie-hackett/reasons-for-rosie/.

Qaid-i-Azam (Arabic: "Great Leader") Mohammad Ali Jannah was the founder and first governor general (1948) of Pakistan, and is also known as the Father of Pakistan. He was also a labour leader and supporter of the Pakistani workers' cause. In 1952, he was elected the President of the All India Postal Staff Union. 

Girija Prasad Koirala was the former Prime Minister of Nepal. He was the founder chairman of the Nepal Trade Union Congress, had organized workers in the Biratnagar Mills Area, and established the Nepal Mazdoor Sangh on March 4, 1947 to raise awareness for the rights to organize, increase wages, improve working conditions, and provide suitable housing for workers (this movement is recognized as the first labour movement Nepal). The Nepal Mazdoor Sangh holds a significant place in the Nepali democratic movement as well, as it brought awareness among the general workers and was instrumental to the success of the working class and, in turn, the democratic movement of 1951. 

James “Big Jim” Larkin was born on 28 January 1874 in Liverpool to an Irish working-class family living near the docks. Both of his parents were originally from the Newry area. Larkin left school at a young age to help support his family, working in various jobs before becoming a docker. These early experiences, along with a growing awareness of social injustice, led him to embrace socialism. With his powerful oratory skills and natural leadership, Larkin quickly gained prominence in the labour movement. His work with the National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL) brought him to Belfast in 1907, where he rose to fame during the dockers’ strike. In 1909, he founded the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) to provide a strong voice for unskilled workers.

A defining moment in Larkin's career came in 1913 during the Dublin Lockout. Not only was he a prominent leader on the ground, but he also played a crucial role in mobilising support in Britain. His speaking tours across England, Wales, and Scotland were vital in gathering the backing needed for the workers' cause. His passionate advocacy for workers’ rights drew many British workers to his side, fostering a deep sense of solidarity. However, despite this widespread support, tensions emerged between Larkin and key figures in the British labour movement, driven by both personal conflicts and fundamental political disagreements. A notable example of this friction occurred at the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) in December 1913, where financial support for Irish workers was withdrawn.

After the defeat of the Dublin strike, Larkin’s relationship with the ITGWU worsened. In search of new opportunities, he travelled to the United States in 1914. Upon his return to Ireland in 1924, he founded the Workers Union of Ireland (WUI), further deepening the divisions within the Irish labour movement. Despite later moderating his political stance and gradually stepping out of the spotlight, Larkin remained a significant and influential figure in the Irish labour movement until his death in 1947.

Contributed by Nico Kaschitzki (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)

Further reading:

Bill Moran, “1913, Jim Larkin and the British Labour Movement”, in Saothar 4 (1978), 35-49.

Emmet O’Connor,  “BIG JIM LARKIN: HERO AND WRECKER”, in History Ireland 21 (2013), 14-17.

Narayan Meghaji Lokhande founded the first labour organisation in India, “Mill Hands Association” in 1884.

Ricardo Flores Magón was an organizer and intellectual of the Mexican working class in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He promoted anarchism in the Mexican working class with his brothers Jesús and Enrique. 

ES: Organizador e intelectual de la clase obrera de finales de siglo XIX y principios del XX. Impulsó junto a sus hermanos, Jesús y Enrique, el anarquismo en la clase obrera mexicana.

Antonio García Moreno was a Mexican mining leader in the 1950s. He led one of the epic mining mobilizations of the 20th century, denoucning the poor working conditions and wages of coal miners in northeastern Mexico.

ES: Dirigente minero de la década de los 1950. Encabezó uno de las movilizaciones mineras épicas del siglo XX denunciando las malas condiciones de trabajo y salariales de los mineros del carbón en el noreste de México.

Cyril Ramaphosa is one of the most important personalities in South African politics. He was born in Soweto in 1952 and comes from a humble background. He began his political career as an activist in smaller groups until he finally founded the NUM, which also benefited him in his later presidential election. Ramaphosa 7 studied law and worked as a legal advisor before he was asked by the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) to found the NUM in 1982. Through his role as first secretary of the NUM, he played one of the key roles in the struggle for the workers. Thanks to his political activities, the NUM was able to organise the first black workers' strike under his leadership in 1984. His successes in negotiating skills include his negotiations with the colonial government for the first free elections in 1994 and also his negotiations in the convention that paved the way for a democratic South Africa. Following the democratisation of South Africa, Ramaphosa was elected Secretary General of the ANC (African National Congress, which has formed the government in South Africa since the end of apartheid) in 1991 and Chairman of the Constituent Assembly in 1994. He was also elected Deputy President of the ANC in 2012 Since the beginning of his career, however, Ramaphosa has repeatedly been criticised in public for his aggressive approach to strikes and for his shares in companies that have an influence on politics. He is one of the most important figures both for the path to a democratic South Africa and in the history of the NUM.

Contributed by Jannis Bonk (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)

Arun Kumar Roy was one of the founders of the social movement for trade unionism in India in the late 1960s.

Vicente Lombardo Toledano was a builder of Mexican working class institutions in the first half of the 20th century, highlighting the formation of the General Confederation of Mexican Workers and Peasants (CGOCM) in 1933 and the Confederation of Workers of Mexico (CTM) in 1936.

ES: Constructor de instituciones de la clase obrera en la primera mitad del siglo XX, destacando la formación en 1933 de la Confederación General de Obreros y Campesinos Mexicanos (CGOCM)y la Confederación de Trabajadores de México(CTM) en 1936.

Demetrio Vallejo was a dissident Mexican railroad leader in the second half of the 20th century. His labour militancy led to a crisis in Mexican corporate unionism. In the 1950s, he led one of the main labour movements that demanded union democratization. 

ES: Dirigente Ferrocarrilero disidente de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Su militancia obrera llevo a una crisis al sindicalismo corporativo mexicano. En la década de los 1950 encabezó uno de los principales movimientos obreros que demandaba la democratización sindical.

Ch. Muhammad Yaseen, Sitting General Secretary of the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF), plays a vital role in the trade union history of Pakistan. He joined a trade union in 1969 and was elected General Secretary of the Capital Development Authority Workers Union. He fought for workers' rights and achieved many demands from the government. He was arrested several times while protesting for the workers' cause, but continues to fight for the betterment of workers in Pakistan. He is famous as a Law Minister of workers amongst labour leaders and workers of Pakistan. He was elected as the undefeated General Secretary of the PWF and is still working to improve workers' rights.