The global trade union movement as a whole and I personally was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Heribert Maier at the age of 75 on November 6th in Graz, Austria, the town of his birth.

Heribert was one of the outstanding international trade union leaders of his generation . He worked first for the Austrian Trade Union Centre, the OGB, before joining the ICFTU in Brussels in 958 where he rose to the position of Assistant General Secretary until, 1973, he became General Secretary of FIET, the international trade union organisation for white collar and professional workers. He transformed FIET and led the International, recruiting along the way four UK trade unionists who went on to direct major global union organisations: John Evans who is General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, Guy Ryder which now directs the ITUC, Phil Jennings who succeeded him as General Secretary of FIET and later of UNI when he left in 1989 to become Deputy Director General of the ILO , and myself at the ITF.

Heribert played a major part in the development of the global trade union movement which exists today, which is far cry from the body dominated by cold war divisions when he entered it. He also represented the Austrian trade union movement in a variety of capacities within the ILO, where he was leader of the workers' group dealing with the Committee on Freedom of Association for many years.

He combined his dedication to the trade union movement with a wicked sense of humour and I had the privilege of spending an evening with him during the founding congress of the ITUC in Vienna last year when he regaled me with detailed tales of his retirement as a farmer in his original region of Steiernark and  the many problems he now encountered with his cows and chickens!

Philip Jennings and I represented the global unions at his funeral in Graz on 9th November and Kari Tapiola, Executive Director represented the ILO.  There will be other opportunities in the future for his many friends in and around the global labour movement to express their appreciation.

David Cockroft

Industry Section Secretary, FIET 1979-1985

ITF General Secretary
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Please see also:

We remember Heribert Maier
on the UNI website >>