ABSTRACT
In the last year of the decade the General Federation had much useful work to do. The government in making its plans for postwar reconstruction called for a stream of advice from labour representatives. The Gftu played its part, even though it had been clear since before the war that ministers were prone to regard the Tuc as the proper body to consult first when it wanted the advice or co-operation of trade unionists. The General Federation did not lose its position in the international movement, however, until the end of the First World War. It had several active years ahead on the international scene. The General Federation therefore went ahead with plans for reconstituting the old International Federation of Trade Unions. In January 1919 the president and secretary of the Dutch trade union federation, Jan Oudegeest and Edo Fimmen, visited London to discuss the arrangements for a conference where this could be done.
