In 1944, the groundwork was laid for an entirely new trade union organization, the Eenheidsvakbeweging (EVB), later renamed Eenheids Vakcentrale (EVC). This was an initiative of the underground leadership of the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN), which had played an important role in the resistance and hoped that it would be able to convert the respect gained as a result into key positions in postwar society. The EVC opposed the colonial war and unsuccessfully sought to organize a strike against it.
Besides participating in a progressive government, the CPN also envisioned a supporting role in a renewed trade union movement, in which the old philosophical divisions would be overcome for the sake of the common struggle for optimal working conditions.
For this purpose, 10 persons were interviewed:
- A. van den Berg and N. Oosterwijk, both strike leaders
- W. Drees, member of parliament and prime minister. See also an interview with him from the Indonesia Politics collection
- H. Drenth, active with the Dutch Trade Union Confederation and during his lifetime a member of several left-wing political parties, including the Revolutionary Communist Party
- J. van Es and E. Sip
- W. van Exter, former member of the CPN
- H. Gortzak, former chairman of the CPN factions in the Lower House and the Amsterdam City Council
- D. Kleinsma, a former chief executive of the EVC and E. Sip
- L. van Os, strike leader
For more information on the interviews and interviewees, see: SFW Working Edition no. 8 (1995), pp. 4, 15, 16, 18, 19, 24, 29, 35.
For further historical context see: Evert Smit, “Havenartiesten in actie. Het mobilisatieproces bij wilde stakingen in de Rotterdamse haven” in Amsterdams Sociologisch Tijdschrift 21:3 (1994)
Title: De Eenheidevakcentrale EVC 1943-1948
Authors: Paul Coomans, Truike de Jonge, Erik Nijhof
Originally: doctoral thesis
ISBN : 9789001390167