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34-650: The issue of political representation for workers had become increasingly important for the Trades Union Congress (TUC). At the 1885 congress, there was unanimous support for James Stafford Murchie's motion, introduced on behalf of the International Working Men's Association , that candidates who were members of trade unions should be welcomed, as should the establishment of Labour Associations in London and Birmingham, which aimed to support their election. At

68-489: A dozen" local associations established in its first year, these generally being linked to a trades council . However, it was hampered by a lack of any programme, disagreements over whether it should support candidates in local elections, and whether it could support Conservative Party or independent candidates, or only Liberal Party ones. Although this was not officially resolved, its local associations did start supporting local candidates. The committee frequently debated

102-696: A more centralised trade union structure that would enable a more militant approach to be taken to fighting the employer and even achieving the socialist transformation of society. The result was the General Federation of Trade Unions which was formed in 1899. For some years it was unclear which body (the GFTU or the TUC) would emerge as the national trade union centre for the UK and for a while both were recognised as such by different fraternal organisations in other countries. However, it

136-595: A motion "calling for a special conference to establish a voice for working people within parliament. Within the year the conference had been held and the Labour Representation Committee established (the forerunner of the Labour Party)." The major TUC affiliated unions still make up the great bulk of the British Labour Party affiliated membership, but there is no formal/organisational link between

170-630: A new system. The Parliamentary Committee became the General Council, representing thirty groups of workers. The General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress became chief permanent officer of the TUC, and a major figure in the British trade union movement. The system was successfully implemented by Fred Bramley and Walter Citrine . By 1927 the TUC had the making of a trade union bureaucracy similar to

204-589: A pit checkweighman in 1875 and became strongly involved in trade unionism, joining the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation in 1881. When this merged into the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) in 1889, Woods became the organisation's first vice president. In the 1892 general election , Woods was elected as a Lib–Lab MP for Ince . In Parliament, he agitated for the Eight Hours Bill , and in 1894 he

238-454: A televised debate. In August 2022, the TUC declared its support for a £15 an hour minimum wage. Sam Woods (politician) Sam Woods (10 May 1846 – 23 November 1915) was a British trade unionist and politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1890s. Born at Peasley Cross in St Helens , Woods began working in coal mining at the age of seven. He was elected as

272-647: A wide range of issues relating to the experience of people at work. The TUC succeeded in forcing Sports Direct to undergo an independent review into their treatment of workers in September 2016. In October 2016, the TUC's campaign against the Trade Union Act 2016 won 'Best Public Affairs Campaign' at the PR Week Awards. In August 2022, the TUC declared its support for a £15 an hour minimum wage, which it says should be implemented "as soon as possible". The TUC

306-537: Is a national trade union centre , a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales . There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of about 5.5 million members. Paul Nowak is the TUC's current General Secretary, serving from January 2023. The TUC's decision-making body is the Annual Congress, which takes place in September. Between congresses decisions are made by

340-579: Is not affiliated with the Labour Party . At election time the TUC cannot endorse a particular party by name. However it can point to policies that it believes would be positive for workers' rights , or to social cohesion and community welfare. It can also politically campaign against policies that it believes would be injurious to workers. The TUC also runs the Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum and annual Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and Rally commemorating

374-544: The General Council , which meets every two months. An Executive Committee is elected by the Council from its members. Affiliated unions can send delegates to Congress with the number of delegates they can send proportionate to their size. Each year Congress elects a President of the Trades Union Congress , who carries out the office for the remainder of the year and then presides over the following year's conference. The TUC

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408-866: The Tolpuddle Martyrs and their impact on trade unionism. The TUC Library preserves documents related to labour history in Britain and other countries, especially Europe and the Commonwealth . It was established in 1922 and now focuses on expanding the online and digital collections. The TUC archives are held at the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick Library. The archive contains files from about 1920 up to 2000 consisting of correspondence, internal and external documents, minutes, reports, printed material and press statements. The TUC campaigns on

442-730: The "General Staff of the Labour Movement" it incorporated the Trades Councils who had given birth to it, eventually becoming the body which authorised these local arms of the TUC to speak on behalf of the wider Trade Union Movement at local and County level. Also, as the TUC became increasingly bureaucratised, the Trades Councils (often led by militant and communist-influenced lay activists) found themselves being subject to political restrictions and purges (particularly during various anti-communist witch-hunts) and to having their role downplayed and marginalised. In some areas (especially in London and

476-552: The 1886 TUC congress, George Shipton called for the establishment of funds to support trade union candidates, and T. R. Threlfall , who had himself stood unsuccessfully for Parliament at that year's general election . successfully proposed that a Labour Electoral Committee be established. The initial committee consisted of John Wilson (President), William Abraham and James M. Jack (Vice-Presidents), Stuart Uttley (Chairman), Edward Harford (Treasurer), and Threlfall (Secretary). The committee had some initial success, with "over

510-482: The 1888 congress, Charles Fenwick , complained that the Association was working to discredit him and other existing Lib-Lab MPs, and an attempt by John Hodge to restrict its support to independent candidates failed. The Local Government Act 1888 created county and county borough councils throughout England and Wales , to take over many local functions until then carried out by the unelected Quarter Sessions , and

544-845: The Bradford Labour Institute, the premises of the Labour Church . The Independent Labour Party was established, with Keir Hardie as its first chairman. The LEA declined rapidly in importance, held its final congress in 1895, and dissolved the following year. However, some of its former local associations remained in existence; for example, the Dublin Labour Electoral Association finally achieved some local electoral success in 1898. Trades Union Congress Social democracy Socialism Communism Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other The Trades Union Congress ( TUC )

578-751: The South East) the Regional Councils of the TUC (dominated by paid officials of the unions) effectively took over the role of the County Associations of Trades Councils and these paid officials replaced elected lay-members as the spokespersons for the Trade Union Movement at County and Regional level. By the end of the 20th century local Trades Councils and County Associations of Trades Councils had become so ineffective and weak that many had simply faded into effective dissolution. The 1899 Congress saw

612-416: The TUC and the party. The Scottish Trades Union Congress , which was formed in 1897, is a separate and autonomous organisation. The Parliamentary Committee grew slowly, confining itself to legal matters, and ignored industrial disputes. In 1916 Harry Gosling proposed that organised labour needed an administrative machine. Following the railway strike of 1919, Ernest Bevin and G. D. H. Cole proposed

646-400: The TUC congress. However, the organisation's candidates were not particularly successful at the 1892 general election – although eight of nine parliamentary seats were held, and Joseph Arch and Sam Woods gained seats, the majority were not elected. By 1892, the socialists who favoured independent candidatures had gained strength, and Ben Tillett and John Hodge successfully proposed that

680-565: The TUC would set up a new fund to support independent labour candidates. Although they claimed that this would complement the LEA, it was generally seen as being an attempt to undermine its continued support for Lib-Lab candidates. At a TUC meeting in September 1892, an arrangements committee was formed with a view to creating an independent labour organisation. A conference chaired by William Henry Drew took place in Bradford from 14 to 16 January 1893 at

714-632: The civil service. During the First World War, the Trades Union Congress generally supported the aims of the British Empire. However, in 1915, national conference voted against the introduction of military conscription. The TUC played a major role in the General Strike of 1926 , and became increasingly affiliated with the Labour Party in the 1930s, securing seven of the thirteen available seats on

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748-527: The committee renamed itself as the "Labour Electoral Association" (LEA). It also described itself as "the centre of the National Labour Party", and its candidates sometimes described their affiliation as to the National Labour Party . The TUC congress agreed to support the formation of further local associations, and (through an amendment of Robert Knight ) to call for the payment of MPs. At

782-573: The first elections to them took place in January 1889. By this point, Threlfall had moved from support for the independents to the Lib-Labs. The local associations saw some success in the local elections – for example, four working men were elected to Sheffield City Council , while, by 1890, William Matkin claimed that more than seventy trade unionists had been elected at the local level. However, more trades councils were developing socialist majorities, and

816-515: The local labour associations would then either leave the LEA, or split between supporters of the Lib-Lab movement and those who called for independent labour candidates. The LEA, therefore, became increasingly dominated by supporters of the Liberal Party. In 1890, James MacDonald argued that the association should only support candidates who favoured nationalisation , but this policy was rejected by

850-585: The local trade union activists. The TUC leadership subsequently tried to distort the result of the survey to justify its own opposition toward unauthorised marches. In 1945, the World Trade Union Conference took place in February at County Hall, London , before the first World Trade Union Congress was convened in Paris, October of the same year. In 1958, the TUC's current headquarters, Congress House ,

884-399: The merits of Liberal-Labour and independent labour candidacies; its position was generally to support only candidates who were thought to have widespread local backing, and never stand propaganda candidates in the hope of building support. Where trades councils had socialist majorities, independent candidates were sometimes given support, but elsewhere, only Liberals were endorsed. In 1887,

918-469: The most prominent union leaders of the day) was taking a dominant role in speaking for the Trade Union Movement as a whole. The second TUC meeting took place in 1869 at the Oddfellows Hall, Temple Street, Birmingham where delegates discussed the eight-hour working day, election of working people to Parliament and the issue of free education. Arising out of the 1897 Congress, a decision was taken to form

952-437: The newly created National Council of Labour in 1934. The TUC pressured the Labour Party into rejecting Ramsay MacDonald 's National Government formed to implement spending cuts, and no major trade unions joined his breakaway National Labour Organisation . A TUC survey of local trades councils who were approached by unemployed marchers for support in 1936 shows widespread support for unemployed workers' protest marches among

986-522: The public as a competition, which David Du R Aberdeen won. From 1979 to the end of the 20th century, the TUC's membership declined from about 12 million to about 6.6 million. This took place during and after the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher , among other contributing factors. Frances O'Grady became elected to be the leader of the TUC in 2012. The TUC endorsed a remain vote at the 2016 European Union membership referendum , and O'Grady participated in

1020-519: Was built. It was proposed at the 1944 Congress in Blackpool as a tribute to the lives of trade unionists that were lost in World War II . The idea was quickly expanded on to include conference and meeting facilities now known as Congress Centre. The building was also seen as an opportunity to raise interest in arts and culture, architecture in particular and the chance to design the building was left open to

1054-667: Was elected as the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). He lost his seat at the 1895 general election , but was re-elected for Walthamstow at a by-election in 1897 . However, he lost the seat in 1900 following confusion over his stance on the Second Boer War . While broadly supportive of the Labour Representation Committee , Woods remained a Liberal and joined

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1088-536: Was founded in the 1860s. The United Kingdom Alliance of Organised Trades , founded in Sheffield , Yorkshire, in 1866, was the immediate forerunner of the TUC, although efforts to expand local unions into regional or national organisations date back at least forty years earlier; in 1822, John Gast formed a "Committee of the Useful Classes", sometimes described as an early national trades council. The first TUC meeting

1122-650: Was held in 1868 when the Manchester and Salford Trades Council convened the founding meeting in the Manchester Mechanics' Institute (on what is now Princess Street and was then David Street; the building is at no. 103). The fact that the TUC was formed by Northern Trades Councils was not coincidental. One of the issues which prompted this initiative was the perception that the London Trades Council (formed in 1860 and including, because of its location, many of

1156-432: Was soon agreed among the major unions that the TUC should take the leading role and that this would be the central body of the organised Labour Movement in the UK. The GFTU continued in existence and remains to this day as a federation of (smaller, often craft-based) trade unions providing common services and facilities to its members (especially education and training services). As the TUC expanded and formalised its role as

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