Our History

Our global union federation, our movement, our members: together we make society happen. Public service workers run hospitals and emergency services, schools and universities, public administrations and local governments, water and electricity utilities. Imagine a world without us.

Four Danes, two Dutchmen, eight Germans, a Hungarian, a Swede and a Swiss met from August 25 to 27, 1907, in the Stuttgart (Germany) trade union building for the First International Conference of Workers in Public Services. The International Socialist Congress had just finished in Stuttgart’s Liederhalle.

The 17 delegates represented six unions with a combined membership of some 44,500. For three days, they talked mainly about the legal status, pay and working conditions of workers in public services in their respective countries.

Since then our movement has grown into a world-wide federation, with affiliated unions in over 153 countries. However our values remain the same.

"Fighting for Public Services: Better Lives, Better World," written for PSI's centenary in 2007, tells the gripping tale of how public service workers have improved our societies around the world. From the frontlines of the fight against Nazism, to bridging the divide during the cold war; from CIA spies to Marxist revolutionaries, the story of our Union Federation is a diverse and surprising thriller! Dig into our history - and learn about how the struggles of the past inform the ongoing fight.

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Names of PSI since 1907

1907 International Secretariat of the Workers in Public Services
1925 International Federation of Employees in Public Services
1935 International Federation of Employees in Public and Civil Services
1946 International Federation of Unions of Employees in Public and Civil Services
1958 Public Services International (PSI)

How did public sector workers around the world first unite? This fascinating historical research outlines the origins of PSI and shows that so many of the workers' key demands - for quality public services, fair pay for a days work and an end to inequality - remain relevant to our struggle today.