The first serious effort to break the formal ties between African labour centres and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the non-Communist labour international, occurred at the All-African People’s Conference (AAPC) in December 1958. The disaffiliation movement disproportionately affected the ICFTU, since as one result of colonial rule, most African labour centres were ICFTU members. Therefore, the Communist-run World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) viewed the disaffiliation movement as a welcome change in direction. African-American labour leaders understood, however, that the disaffiliation movement did not simply reflect Africans’ desire to move toward Communist systems. Whether members of the ICFTU or embracing positive neutrality, Africans pursued strategies within the context of the Cold War that they believed would benefit their labour movements, their independent nations, or aid in their own personal advancement. Although African-Americans originally helped to defeat the disaffiliation proposal, their support within African labour circles could not withstand the combined effects of the Cold War, the rise of neocolonialism, continued ICFTU marginalization of African unions, the political ambitions of Nkrumah’s Ghana, and the structural changes that independent governments brought to the labour movement. Ultimately, the affiliation issue damaged the professional and sometimes the personal relationships between African and African-American labour leaders and contributed to power struggles between rival labour leaders. Notes, ref.
