The General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) was established in 1989. It was initially an underground movement, because at that time trade unions were illegal in Nepal. Reforms implemented in 1995 legalized GEFONT. By 2014 GEFONT had twenty affiliates, in agriculture, industry, and services.
GEFONT and its members are dedicated to defending the rights, welfare, and dignity of all workers. It covers various sectors: manufacturing, textiles and garments, the carpet industry, transport, hotels, restaurants and catering, tourism, printing, food production, breweries, the chemicals and metals industry, rickshaw pullers, tea plantations, street vendors, hairdressers and beauticians, the security sector, thangka painting, tax advisers, courier and cargo services, gold and jewellery work, construction, and agriculture. As the largest trade union confederation in Nepal, GEFONT represents nearly 400,000 workers.
The GEFONT Collection The GEFONT collection includes notebooks, brochures, membership cards, badges, photos, posters, DVDs, banners, flags, T-shirts, and other textiles relating to GEFONT and its member unions, including the Nepal Independent Carpet Workers' Union, the Nepal Independent Food and Beverage Workers’ Union, the Independent Press Workers’ Union of Nepal, the Central Union of Painters, Plumbers, Electro and Construction Workers, and the Independent Transport Workers’ Association of Nepal. The collection covers the period 1989-2010.