The NSV was founded in June 1923 after a split in the National Labor Secretariat (Dutch: Nationaal Arbeids-Secretariaat, NAS), which later joined the communist Red International of Labor Unions (RILU), the trade union branch of the Comintern.

[1] In the early days of the NSV, there were difficulties in the organization due to the ongoing relationship with the NAS.

Part of the NSV was not in favor of this and founded the Syndicalist Federation of Business Organizations (Dutch: Syndicalistisch Verbond van Bedrijfsorganisaties, SVB).

Abroad, the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Fascists in Italy, and tensions were building up enormously in Spain.

The anarchists Arthur Lehning and Albert de Jong played an important role in the NSV.