57-405: [REDACTED] Trades Union Congress [REDACTED] Government of the United Kingdom Walter Citrine A. J. Cook Jessie Eden George V Stanley Baldwin The 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force
114-404: A few months before being forced, by their own economic needs, to return to the mines. By the end of November, most miners were back at work. However, many remained unemployed for many years. Those still employed were forced to accept longer hours, lower wages, and district wage agreements. The effect on British coal mines was profound. By the late 1930s, employment in mining had fallen by more than
171-414: A minute on the day." The Trades Union Congress responded to the news by promising to support the miners in their dispute. The Conservative government, under Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin , decided to intervene by declaring that a nine-month subsidy would be provided to maintain the miners' wages and that a Royal Commission , under the chairmanship of Sir Herbert Samuel , would look into the problems of
228-696: 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
285-595: 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
342-698: A national bargaining force until the establishment of the National Union of Mineworkers . The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 banned sympathy strikes , general strikes , and mass picketing , creating a system whereby trade union members had to 'opt-in' to paying the political levy to the Labour Party. In the long run, there was little impact on trade union activity or industrial relations. The TUC and trade union movement remained intact and did not change their basic policies. Keith Laybourn says that historians mostly agree that "In no significant way could
399-630: 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
456-399: A set of proposals designed to end the dispute. The Miners' Federation rejected the proposals. The British Worker was increasingly difficult to operate, as Churchill had requisitioned the bulk of the supply of the paper's newsprint so it reduced its size from eight pages to four. In the meantime, the government took action to protect the men who decided to return to work. On 8 May 1926, there
513-455: A televised debate. In August 2022, the TUC declared its support for a £15 an hour minimum wage. Sankey Commission The Coal Industry Commission Act 1919 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 5 . c. 1) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom , which set up a commission, led by Mr Justice Sankey (and so known as the "Sankey Commission"), to consider joint management or nationalisation of
570-571: A third from its pre-strike peak of 1.2 million miners, but productivity had rebounded from under 200 tons produced per miner, to over 300 tons by the outbreak of the Second World War . The split in the miners that resulted from Spencerism and the agreement of the Nottinghamshire miners to return to work, against the policy of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain divided the coal miners as
627-647: 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
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#1733085545679684-537: 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
741-416: Is a very much more difficult task to feed the nation than it is to wreck it". Baldwin wrote, "The general strike is a challenge to the parliament and is the road to anarchy". The British Worker , the TUC's newspaper, wrote: "We are not making war on the people. We are anxious that the ordinary members of the public shall not be penalized for the unpatriotic conduct of the mine owners and the government". In
798-469: Is being attacked. Let all good citizens whose livelihood and labour have thus been put in peril bear with fortitude and patience the hardships with which they have been so suddenly confronted. Stand behind the Government, who are doing their part, confident that you will cooperate in the measures they have undertaken to preserve the liberties and privileges of the people of these islands. The laws of England are
855-579: 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
912-513: The British government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners . Some 1.7 million workers went out, especially in transport and heavy industry . It was a sympathy strike , with many of those who were not miners and not directly affected striking to support the locked-out miners. The government was well prepared, and enlisted middle class volunteers to maintain essential services. There
969-544: 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
1026-729: The Pentonville Five . The Winter of Discontent was the period between November 1978 and February 1979 in the United Kingdom characterised by widespread strikes by private, and later public, sector trade unions demanding pay rises greater than the limits the Labour government had been imposing, against Trades Union Congress (TUC) opposition, to control inflation. Trades Union Congress Social democracy Socialism Communism Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other The Trades Union Congress ( TUC )
1083-866: 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
1140-779: 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
1197-473: The General Strike be considered a turning point or watershed in British industrial history." There have been no further general strikes in Britain, as union leaders such as Ernest Bevin , who had coordinated the strike, considered it a mistake; they decided that action by political parties was a better solution. However, the country came close to a one-day general strike on 31 July 1972 over the imprisonment of
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#17330855456791254-751: 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
1311-416: 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
1368-470: The TUC that a general strike "in defence of miners' wages and hours" was to begin on 3 May, a Monday, at one minute to midnight. The leaders of the Labour Party were troubled about the proposed general strike because they were aware of the revolutionary elements within the union movement and of the damage that they might do to the party's new reputation as a party of government. During the next two days, frantic efforts were made to reach an agreement between
1425-467: The appalling poverty which existed. If I had been aware of all the facts, I should not have joined up as a special constable". It was decided that fascists would not be allowed to enlist in the OMS without first giving up their political beliefs, as the government feared a right-wing backlash so the fascists formed the so-called "Q Division" under Rotha Lintorn-Orman to combat the strikers. On 6 May 1926, there
1482-577: 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
1539-506: The coal mines. It also considered the issues of working conditions, wage and hours. A royal commission , led by Sir John Sankey , was called to examine the future of the mining industry. Leo Chiozza Money , Sidney Webb and R.H. Tawney were the three economists on the commission, all broadly favourable to the miners. Others were appointed from business and the trade unions. The commission offered compromises on wages and hours, and also recommended nationalisation . The government rejected
1596-482: The dispute. In a rare political radio broadcast, Archbishop Francis Cardinal Bourne , the leading Catholic prelate in Britain, condemned the strike, knowing that many strikers were Catholic. He advised that, "It is a direct challenge to lawfully constituted authority.... All are bound to uphold and assist the Government, which is the lawfully constituted authority of the country and represents therefore...the authority of God himself." The government had been preparing for
1653-516: The early 1880s, coal production was at a peak of 310 tons per man annually, but in the four years preceding the war, this amount had fallen to 247 tons. By the 1920–1924 period, this had fallen further to just 199 tons. Total coal output had been in decline since 1914 as well. In 1924, the Dawes Plan was implemented. It allowed Germany to re-enter the international coal market by exporting "free coal" to France and Italy, as part of their reparations for
1710-457: The form of wage reductions for miners in their employment. Miners' weekly pay had been lowered from £6 to £3 18 s. over seven years. Coupled with the prospect of longer working hours for miners, the industry was thrown into disarray. When mine owners announced that their intention was to reduce miners' wages, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain rejected the terms: "Not a penny off the pay, not
1767-476: The government and the mining industry representatives. However, they failed, mainly because of an eleventh-hour decision by printers of the Daily Mail to refuse to print an editorial ("For King and Country") condemning the general strike. They objected to the following passage: "A general strike is not an industrial dispute. It is a revolutionary move which can only succeed by destroying the government and subverting
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1824-510: The grounds accompanied by a marching band. On 11 May 1926, the Flying Scotsman was derailed by striking miners at Cramlington , a short distance North of Newcastle upon Tyne . The British Worker , alarmed at the fears of the General Council of the TUC that there was to be a mass drift back to work, claimed: "The number of strikers has not diminished; it is increasing. There are more workers out today than there have been at any moment since
1881-585: 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 ,
1938-508: The meantime, the government put in place a " militia " of special constables called the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) of volunteers to maintain order in the street. A special constable said: "It was not difficult to understand the strikers' attitude toward us. After a few days I found my sympathy with them rather than with the employers. For one thing, I had never realized
1995-415: The mining industry and consider its impact on other industries, families, and organisations dependent on coal supply. The Samuel Commission published a report on 10 March 1926 recommending that national agreements, the nationalisation of royalties, and sweeping reorganisation and improvement should be considered for the mining industry. It also recommended a reduction by 13.5% of miners' wages, along with
2052-469: 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
2109-437: 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
2166-429: The number of strikers was about 1.5–1.75 million. There were strikers " from John o' Groats to Land's End ". The reaction to the strike call was immediate and overwhelming, surprising both the government and the TUC; the latter not being in control of the strike. On this first day, there were no major initiatives and no dramatic events except for the nation's transport being at a standstill. "Constitutional Government
2223-459: The people's birthright. The laws are in your keeping. You have made Parliament their guardian. The General Strike is a challenge to Parliament and is the road to anarchy and ruin". On 5 May 1926, both sides gave their views. Churchill commented as editor of the government newspaper British Gazette : "I do not agree that the TUC have as much right as the Government to publish their side of the case and to exhort their followers to continue action. It
2280-522: 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
2337-611: The report. No agreement was reached and, when the commission reported in June 1919, it offered four separate approaches ranging from full nationalisation to continued private ownership. The government cited this disagreement as a reason to reject nationalisation. The public impact of the report was such that, in Ben Travers ' comic novel A Cuckoo in the Nest (1921), the Rev. Cathcart Sloley-Jones, under
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2394-531: The rights and liberties of the people". Baldwin was now concerned about the TUC and printers' action interfering with the freedom of the press. King George V tried to stabilise the situation and create balance saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge them." The TUC feared that an all-out general strike would bring revolutionary elements to the fore and limited the participants to railwaymen , transport workers , printers , dockers , ironworkers , and steelworkers , as they were regarded as pivotal in
2451-409: The soldiers. Baldwin, however, had insisted otherwise. In Plymouth , tram services were restarted, with some vehicles attacked and windows smashed. However, not all strike actions in the city were confrontational; a football match, attended by thousands, occurs between a team of policemen and strikers, with the strikers winning 2–0. The supporters included a delegation of 4,000 strikers, which marched to
2508-632: The strike began". However, the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union applied for an injunction in the Chancery Division of the High Court to enjoin the General-Secretary of its Tower Hill branch from calling its members out on strike. Mr Justice Astbury granted the injunction by ruling that no trade dispute could exist between the TUC and "the government of the nation" and that except for
2565-565: The strike if the proposals worked out by the Samuel Commission were respected and the government offered a guarantee there would be no victimization of strikers. The government stated that it had "no power to compel employers to take back every man who had been on strike". However, the TUC agreed to end the dispute without such an agreement. Various strikes continued after this as their unions negotiated deals with companies for their members to return to work. The miners maintained resistance for
2622-544: The strike in the coal industry, the general strike was not protected by Trade Disputes Act 1906 . In addition, he ruled that the strike in the plaintiff union had been called in contravention of its own rules. As a result, the unions involved became liable, by common law, for incitement to breach of contract and faced potential sequestration of their assets by employers. On 12 May 1926, the TUC General Council visited 10 Downing Street to announce its decision to call off
2679-590: The strike over the nine months in which it had provided a subsidy by creating organisations such as the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies . It was ready and able to do whatever it could to keep the country moving. It rallied support by emphasizing the revolutionary nature of the strikers. The armed forces and volunteer workers helped maintain basic services. The government used the Emergency Powers Act 1920 to maintain essential supplies. On 4 May 1926,
2736-491: The then prime minister, offered reorganisation, which was rejected by the miners. After the Samuel Commission's report, the mine owners declared that miners would be offered new terms of employment, which included lengthening the work day and reducing wages depending on various factors. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain refused the wage reduction and regional negotiation. The final negotiations began on 1 May but failed to achieve an agreement, leading to an announcement by
2793-542: The war . This extra supply reduced coal prices. In 1925, Winston Churchill , the chancellor of the Exchequer , reintroduced the gold standard . This made the British pound too strong for effective exporting to take place from Britain. Furthermore, because of the economic processes involved in maintaining a strong currency, interest rates were raised, which hurt some businesses. Mine owners wanted to maintain profits even during times of economic instability, which often took
2850-482: The withdrawal of the government subsidy. Two weeks later, the prime minister announced that the government would accept the report if other parties also did. A previous royal commission, the Sankey Commission in 1919, had failed to reach an agreement, producing four different reports with proposals ranging from complete restoration of private ownership and control, to complete nationalisation. David Lloyd George ,
2907-418: Was a change of atmosphere. The government newspaper, British Gazette , suggested that means of transport into London began to improve compared to the first day with volunteers, car sharing, cyclists, private buses, as well as strikebreakers. A statement on the front page indicated 200 LGOC buses 'on the streets'. Only 86 LGOC buses, however were operating. On 7 May 1926, the TUC met with Samuel and worked out
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#17330855456792964-517: Was a dramatic moment on the London Docks . Lorries were protected by the Army. They broke the picket line and transported food to Hyde Park . That showed that the government was in greater control of the situation. It was also a measure of Baldwin's caution, in place of Churchill's more reactionary stance. Churchill had wanted, in a move that could have proved unnecessarily antagonistic to the strikers, to arm
3021-519: 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
3078-536: 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
3135-650: 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
3192-518: Was little violence and the TUC gave up in defeat. From 1914 to 1918, the United Kingdom participated in World War I . Heavy domestic use of coal during the war depleted once-rich seams . Britain exported less coal during the war than it would have in peacetime, allowing other countries to fill the gap. This particularly benefited the strong coal industries of the United States, Poland, and Germany. In
3249-432: 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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