General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) explained
| General Federation of Trade Unions |
| Location Country: | United Kingdom |
| Members: | 214,000 |
| Full Name: | General Federation of Trade Unions |
| Founded: | 1899 |
| Headquarters: | 86 Wood Lane, Quorn, Leicestershire |
| Key People: | Gawain Little, General Secretary |
The General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) is a national trade union centre in the United Kingdom. It has 35 affiliates with a membership of just over 214,000 and describes itself as the "federation for specialist unions".
History
In the 1890s, the development of socialist organisations and socialist thinking also found expression in the British trade union movement. Many of the new unions formed during that period were committed to the socialist transformation of society and were critical of the conservatism of the craft unions. The debate revolved around concept of building "one-big-union" which would have the resources to embark on a militant course of action and even change society. This thinking gained strength after the 1897 Engineering Employers Federation lockout which resulted in a defeat for engineering workers.[1] [2]
The view that it was necessary to develop a strong, centralised trade union organisation by forming a federation, which had been rejected only two years earlier, was now endorsed at the Trades Union Congress of September 1897. This resulted in the establishment of the General Federation of Trade Unions at a special Congress of the TUC in 1899, the principal objective of which was to set up a national organisation with a strike fund which could be drawn upon by affiliated trade unions.
GFTU participated in the foundation of the International Federation of Trade Unions at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam in July 1919.
The federation has seen a large turnover of members, due largely to mergers in the movement. In 1979, its members were:[3]
By 2016, none of the 1979 members remained as independent unions.
Current role
The GFTU now concentrates on servicing the needs of specialist unions. It does this by providing courses, undertaking research for its affiliated Unions and administering a Pension Scheme for officials and staff of affiliated Unions. In keeping with its original objectives, the Federation pays dispute benefit in appropriate cases to affiliated Unions.
The Governing Body is the Biennial General Council Meeting, attended by delegates from affiliated Unions, at which policy and rule changes are debated and an Executive Committee of 14 members elected to meet on a monthly basis between Biennial General Council Meetings.
The Federation undertakes its Parliamentary activities by working closely with John Mann MP, Member of Parliament Bassetlaw constituency, particularly in respect of proposed legislation.
Affiliated unions
General Secretaries
1899: Isaac Mitchell
1907: William A. Appleton
1938: George Bell
1953: Leslie Hodgson
1978: Peter Potts
1991: Michael Bradley
2010: Doug Nicholls
2023: Gawain Little
Chairs
| Year | Name | Union |
|---|
| 1899 | | National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers |
| 1910 | | General Union of Weavers and Textile Workers |
| 1912 | | National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association |
| 1918 | | Amalgamated Weavers' Association |
| 1920 | | Amalgamated Society of Journeymen Felt Hatters |
| 1922 | | National Union of Docks, Wharves and Shipping Staffs |
| 1924 | | Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners |
| 1926 | | National Union of Stove Grate Workers |
| 1928 | | Dundee and District Union of Jute and Flax Workers |
| 1930 | | Wallpaper Workers' Union |
| 1932 | | National Society of Pottery Workers |
| 1934 | | Amalgamated Machine, Engine and Iron Grinders' and Glazers' Society |
| 1936 | | Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing and Ring Room Operatives |
| 1938 | | Amalgamated Weavers' Association |
| 1940 | | Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association |
| 1942 | | Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives |
| 1944 | | National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers |
| 1946 | | Yorkshire Association of Power Loom Overlookers |
| 1948 | | Felt Hatters' and Trimmers' Unions of Great Britain |
| 1950 | | Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners |
| 1952 | | National Association of Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives |
| 1954 | | Wallpaper Workers' Union |
| 1956 | | Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association |
| 1958 | | Iron, Steel and Metal Dressers' Society |
| 1959 | | National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives |
| 1961 | | Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives |
| 1963 | | General Union of Associations of Loom Overlookers |
| 1964 | | National Society of Pottery Workers |
| 1965 | | Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners |
| 1966 | | Yorkshire Association of Power Loom Overlookers |
| 1967 | | Union of Jute, Flax and Kindred Textile Operatives |
| 1968 | | Waterproof Garment Workers' Trade Union |
| 1969 | | Amalgamated Weavers' Association |
| 1970 | | National Union of Textile and Allied Workers |
| 1971 | | General Union of Associations of Loom Overlookers |
| 1972 | | Ceramic and Allied Trades Union |
| 1973 | | Associated Metalworkers' Union |
| 1974 | | National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers |
| 1975 | | Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives |
| 1976 | | Union of Jute, Flax and Kindred Textile Operatives |
| 1977 | | Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers and Engravers |
| 1978 | | Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union |
| 1979 | | National Union of Lock and Metal Workers |
| 1980 | | Amalgamated Union of Asphalt Workers |
| 1981 | | Northern Carpet Trades Union |
| 1982 | | Amalgamated Textile Workers Union |
| 1983 | | National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers |
| 1984 | | National Society of Metal Mechanics |
| 1985 | | National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers |
| 1987 | | GMB Union |
| 1989 | | Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives |
| 1991 | | Northern Carpet Trades Union |
| 1993 | | Amalgamated Society of Textile Workers and Kindred Trades |
| 1995 | | Associated Metalworkers Union |
| 1997 | | National Union of Domestic Appliances and General Operatives |
| 1999 | | Manufacturing, Science and Finance |
| 2001 | | Community |
| 2003 | | GMB Union |
| 2005 | | Ceramic and Allied Trades Union |
| 2007 | | Community and Youth Workers' Union |
| 2009 | | Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union |
| 2011 | | Community |
| 2013 | | National Union of Journalists |
| 2015 | | Prospect |
| 2017 | | Musicians' Union |
| 2019 | | Professional Footballers' Association |
| 2021 | | Community |
| 2023 | | Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union | |
See also
References
- Book: 1971 . The Workers' Union . Hyman, Richard . Clarendon Press . Oxford, UK .
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Thelen, Kathleen . How Institutions Evolve: The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan . 2004 . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-54674-4 . 107–109 . en.
- Todd . Nigel . 1975 . Trade Unions and the Engineering Industry Dispute at Barrow-in-Furness, 1897–98 . International Review of Social History . en . 20 . 1 . 33–47 . 10.1017/S002085900000482X . 1469-512X. free .
- Jack Eaton and Colin Gill, The Trade Union Directory (1979), pp.2-3
