The first factories were built in Germany some 150 years ago. The working conditions in them were often very bad. For this reason, many of the workers banded together to form self-help associations or "protective societies" to fight for humane working conditions and higher wages, and to combat child labour. They were convinced that they were stronger together than alone. The unions developed from these associations. They grew to become recognised as the official representatives of the workers. In Germany, this occurred in 1918. These days, there are unions for many different professions: for example, for train drivers, for engineers, for construction workers, for printers, for journalists, for police officers, postal workers, farmers etc.. These individual unions have joined together to form the German Confederation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB). It has around 7.3 million members. The DGB is, in its turn, a member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Although the situation of workers has improved since the founding of the "protective societies” and, later, of the trade unions, the main objectives of all independent unions in democratic countries have remained the same: employment for all, adequate wages and salaries so that everybody can live free from care, shorter working hours and worker participation in companies and businesses. To attain these aims, the unions negotiate with employers at certain intervals, and the result is set out in a wage settlement. If the unions cannot reach an agreement with the employers, an industrial dispute sometimes occurs.