Trade unions in the United Kingdom

Trade unions in the United Kingdom were first decriminalised under the recommendation of a Royal Commission in 1867, which agreed that the establishment of the organisations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. Legalised in 1871, the Trade Union Movement sought to reform socio-economic conditions for working men in British industries, and the Unions' search for this led to the creation of a Labour Representation Committee which effectively formed the basis for today's Labour Party, which still has extensive links with the Trade Union Movement in Britain. Margaret Thatcher's governments weakened the powers of the unions in the 1980s, in particular by making it more difficult to strike legally, and some within the British trades union movement criticised Tony Blair's Labour government for not reversing some of Thatcher's changes. Most British unions are members of the TUC, the Trades Union Congress (founded in 1867), or where appropriate, the Scottish Trades Union Congress or the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which are the country's principal national trade union centres.

The decline in numbers of members, very steep in the 1980s (from 13million in 1979) seems to have stopped now, and numbers have stayed around 7.3 million since the year 2000. This means that trade unions remain among the biggest organizations in the country.

No doubt the majority of trade unionists now are office workers or shop workers - industrial workers have become a minority. Initially many writers considered that such white collar employees would necessarily be less militant than blue collar workers.Fact|date=May 2007 The rise in strike action by white collar workers in the 1970s contradicted this thesis.

History

Infobox Union by Country
country = The United Kingdom
national = TUC, STUC, ICTU
government = Department of Trade and Industry
legislation = Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
membership_number = 7.3 million
union_percentage1_title =
union_percentage1 =
union_percentage2_title =
union_percentage2 =
ILOmember = Yes
ILO-87date = 27 June 1949
ILO-98date = 30 June 1950Unions in Britain were subject to often severe repression until 1824, but were already widespread in cities such as London. Workplace militancy had also manifested itself as Luddism and had been prominent in struggles such as the 1820 Rising in Scotland, in which 60,000 workers went on a general strike, which was soon crushed. From 1830 on, attempts were made to set up national general unions, most notably Robert Owen's Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in 1834, which attracted a range of socialists from Owenites to revolutionaries. That organization played a part in the protests after the Tolpuddle Martyrs' case, but soon collapsed.

In the later 1830s and 1840s, trade unionism was overshadowed, to some extent, by political activity. Of particular importance was Chartism, the aims of which were supported by most socialists, although none appear to have played leading roles.

More permanent trade unions were established from the 1850s, better resourced but often less radical. The London Trades Council was founded in 1860, and the Sheffield Outrages spurred the establishment of the Trades Union Congress in 1868. The legal status of trade unions in the United Kingdom was established by a Royal Commission in 1867, which agreed that the establishment of the organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. Unions were legalized in 1871.

In "Principles of Political Economy" (1871) John Stuart Mill expressed some of the more liberal sentiment towards unions of the time.

"If it were possible for the working classes, by combining among themselves, to raise or keep up the general rate of wages, it needs hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished, but to be welcomed and rejoiced at. Unfortunately the effect is quite beyond attainment by such means. The multitudes who compose the working class are too numerous and too widely scattered to combine at all, much more to combine effectually. If they could do so, they might doubtless succeed in diminishing the hours of labour, and obtaining the same wages for less work. They would also have a limited power of obtaining, by combination, an increase of general wages at the expense of profits." ["Principles of Political Economy" (1871) [http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/mill/book5/bk5ch10 Book V, Ch.10] , para. 5]

It is notable that a similar theoretical stance is taken by orthodox economists to this day. [see, on the more conservative end of the spectrum, Richard Posner, "Economic Analysis of Law" (2001) 5th Ed., Ch.11, p.349 ff.]

The strongest unions of the mid-Victorian period were unions of skilled workers such as the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. Trade unionism amongst semi-skilled and unskilled workers made little progress until the emergence of the New Unions in the late 1880s. Unions played a prominent role in the creation of the Labour Representation Committee which effectively formed the basis for today's Labour Party, which still has extensive links with the trade union movement in Britain.

The years 1910-14 witnessed serious industrial unrest and an enormous increase in trade union membership, which affected all industries, though to differing extents. World War I resulted in a further increase in union membership, as well as widespread recognition of unions and their increased involvement in management.

Today's unions

Trade unions in Britain experienced a serious decline from the time of the election of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in 1979. At that point the level of union participation in the UK was around 80% of the workforce. By 1997, that number had declined to 30%, most of which was in the public sector. Union participation in the private sector hovers around 12% of the workforce.

ee also

*Trades Union Congress
*British labour law

Notes

External links

*The Trades Union Congress website [http://www.tuc.org.uk website]