{ "system": "GoGuides Verified Text", "api_version": "verified-text-v1", "status": "ok", "response_type": "verified_text_record", "source_key": "britannica_1926", "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926)", "license_code": "public_domain", "attribution": null, "license_url": null, "chunk_id": "1926:trade unions:64992ecf6eda", "title": "TRADE UNIONS", "section": null, "hash_alg": "sha256", "hash_sha256": "cbdc6501c4c3bc804fc116022d20745c5bb018a11a00adb3c2a2e6bb84335d42", "normalizer": { "name": "ggnorm", "version": "1.0" }, "verified_text": "this article gives (1) an account of the british trade union movement since 1911, (2) par- ticulars of trade union growth in other countries and (3) an ac- count of the international organisation of the movement; a fur- ther section deals with the movement in the united states. i. the united kingdom the outstanding features of british trade unionism since 1911 have been:—_ | 4 806 (1) the improved organisation of and extension of trade unionism amongst “‘ general workers ’’ and women, in agriculture and on the railways, and in the public services and professions; (2) the increasing importance of the trade unions in the com- munity, and in the administration of legislation; (3) the consolidation of trade union forces through the processes of amalgamation and federation; (4) the growing authority of the executive body of the trade union congress. the policy of the trade unions and their attitude towards the problems of industry, have been influenced by many different factors, among them the abnormal conditions of war time and the post-war period (with its prolonged trade depression), the advent of a labour government, and developments of economic theory in the labour movement. growtit of membership trade union membership increased before and during the world war, especially among women, the curve rising rapidly during its later years, and culminating in the peak period of 1920, after which it progressively declined during the years of depres- sion, recovering during 1924. : trade union membership all trade unions, registered and unregistered, in great britain and northern ireland percentage increase no. of unions at end of year 1,266 1,256 1,226 1,221 1,234 1,254 1,346 1,358 i,241 1,190 1,135 1,155 the highest degree of organisation amongst women is to be found in the cotton industry, where about 62% of the women workers are in the unions. in the bleaching and dyeing trades, which are closely associated with the cotton industry, 50% of the women are organised; in the boot and shoe trade 48 %; in printing, paper and bookbinding, 36%; in the wool textile trades, 22%; in linen and jute 285%. amongst shop assistants and clerks, and in the food, drink and tobacco trades, on the other hand, which employ in all over 750,000 women workers, the degree of organisation is very small. only 8% of the women shop assist- ants and clerks are members of unions and 2% of the female employees in the food, drink and tobacco trades. before the war the battle for the recognition of trade unionism was really won and the principles of trade unionism, which had been laid down primarily by the craft unions, were applied on the one hand by the larger body of semi-skilled and unskilled work- ers, and on the other hand by the “ black-coated proletariat ’’— the salaried employees and professional people, such as puhlic servants, draughtsmen, actors, commercial travellers, teachers and journalists. after 1914 new organisations arose and others which existed precariously before the war were put upon a firm foundation. some of the new bodies, such as the bank officers’ guild, have not as yet affiliated with the ‘trades union congress, but they nevertheless exist for avowed trade union objects. the national federation of professional, technical, administrative and super- visory workers was established in order to bring together for consultation and common action the various organisations of non-manual workers. the steady growth in trade unionism before the war may be attributed partly to a trade prosperity and partly to a recognition amongst almost all grades and types of workers of the need for effective organisation. certain legislation, such. as the trade membership (000’s omitted) it) me ft = wl nwwin dtm doo oo = nathan ww che vo trade unions boards act, 1909, and the national insurance act, ro1r, strengthened the position of the trade union movement. the increased membership during the war was partly due to the influence of higher wages—which invariably result in en- larged trade union membership. as the war went on, high hopes were held out of a brighter future for the workers; the workers themselves, whose services, the community had realised, were es- sential to the prosecution of the war, and to the satisfaction of the nation’s needs, visualised more clearly their power in the state and saw in trade unionism a weapon to enable them to maintain in the time of peace the place their services had won for them in time of war. but there were other factors operating. particularly in the munition trades, trade union membership be- came virtually compulsory. the government itself, and a large number of employers actually encouraged workers in the larger industries to join a union. towards the end of the war, the pub- lication of the reports of the committee on emplovers and em- ployed (better known as the whitley committee) and their adop- tion by the government, gave a new importance to the organisa- tions of employers and workers, and in their desire to promote the establishment of joint industrial councils (and interim industrial reconstruction committees, when the joint industrial council was not possible), members of the government emphasised the im- portance of effective organisation. (sce innustrial relations.) as a consequence of these various influences, between the early days of the war and the year 1920, the membership of trade unions doubled, reaching the figure of 8,328,000, of whom 6,988,000 were men and 1,340,000 women. during this time the number of women trade unionists was actually trebled. similarly there had been phenomenal increases in the membership of unions catering for the less skilled workers. before the war, what are known as the general labour unions had already become factors of some importance in the trade union movement. during the war period, their strength increased rapidly. the number of or- ganiscd non-manual employes also rose much above the pre-war level, and included workers hitherto practically unorganised. but just as rising wages are closcly followed by a rise in the curve of trade union membership, so unemployment and falling wages are accompanied by a decline in it. the onset of the grave trade depression after the temporary post-war boom led to a de- cline of trade union membership amounting to 20%, in the first 12 months and a further 15.6% in 1922, the total roll of trade unionists falling in two years from 8,328,000 to 5,580,000. the net loss on the previous year’s figure was less than 4%, whilst during 1924 there was a net increase. the backwash of the trade depression, and the disillusionment which followed the shattered dreams of post-war ‘‘ reconstruc- tion”’ had spent themselves. the trade union movement had shed the temporary passengers, and those who entered its ranks through the abnormal influences of the war and early post-war periods; and a definite attempt to stem the tide and re-create a powerful trade union movement had begun to take effect. the established minimum trade union membership may be taken as being about 5} millions, an increase of over a million on the fig- ures of 1913. the year 1924 saw a beginning of a slow but steady increase on this minimum, though there was a further smal! de- crease in the number of women trade unionists. affiliated membership of trades union congress no, of trade unions no. of members 1911 127 1,645,507 i9i2 127 1,987,354 1913 135 2,217,836 iqi4 190 2,866,077 iqi5 192 2,6775357 1916 227 2,850,547 igt7 . 235 3,082,352 igi8 262 4,532,085 i9i9 266 5,283,676 1920 215 6,505,482 1921 213 6,417,910 1922 206 5,128,648 1923 194 4,369,268 1924 203 4,328,235 1925 203 4,342,982 trade unions the affiliated membership of the trades union congress fol- lowed the general trend of the aggregate tracdle union membership as will be seen from the preceding table. though in 1925 the affiliated membership was but two-thirds that of the peak year 1920, it was practically double that of ro13. the broad distribution of trade union membership amongst the industries of great britain is indicated in the following table:— . number of | membership at unions end of 1924 mining and quarrying. : 966,031 metal, engineering and ship- building . - ‘ : : textile ‘ building =. transport . ; : public employment . paper, printing, etc. . clothing. : : : woodworking, furnishing general labour . ; all other 678,974 609,968 3352334 1,028,348 318,765 187,087 165,111 94,380 511,206 639,930 from 1924 onward the general council has pursued a policy of propaganda, first by means of a national “ back to the unions ” campaign and then by special activities with a view to the spread of trade unionism amongst women agricultural workers respective- ly, whilst individual unions, though impoverished as the result of the long depression, renewed their efforts to secure an increasing membership. trade unions and the community the growth of trade unionism has meant that the trade unions have become an integral part of our social machinery. this de- velopment has taken two main lines. in the first place, the trade union is now regarded as the normal machinery for the prevention and settlement of disputes. the state itself regards trade unions as responsible representative bocies. they are called into con- sultation by the government in times of dispute, and their lead- ers are invariably the spokesmen and advocates of the workers before courts of enquiry set up under the industrial courts act. they express the workers’ point of view before royal commis- sions and government committees, and the labour members of such investigating bodies are drawn from the ranks of organised labour. on the whitley councils in the government services, the staff side is conducted by the representatives of the civil service unions. the joint industrial councils concerned with serv- ices in which local authorities are interested are, like all other such councils, composed on the workers’ side of trace unionists. the trade unions have won for themselves a definite place in the system of “ industrial government ”’ and they are partics to the industrial agreements which govern the relations between em- ployers and employed, lay down the methods of consultation and negotiation, and determine wages and working conditions. share in state administration.—in the second place, the trade unions play an important part in the administration of certain legislation. when the trade boards act, 1909, was passed it was applied to four trades in which trade unionism was weak, and at the outset the interests of the workers were in large measure in the hands of the national anti-sweating league and the women’s trade union league. but trade unions have since been extended to almost every industry. the trade boards act of 1918, which amended and broadened the original act, extended the minimum wage to trades to which hitherto the act of 1909 had not been applied. (see trade boarps.) the recent growth of the gencral labour unions is partly due to the opportunities which the establishment of more trade boards has given them to organise the workers; particularly in the case of women workers, where, however, the increased trade union membership has been obscured since the war by the with- drawal from industry and from the trade unions of women who came into the labour market to make good the shortage during the war. 807 the corn production act, 1917, set up agricultural wages boards on which the representatives of the unions catering for agricultural workers sat. the boards were, under the law, en- gaged in establishing binding rates of wages. the unions ob- tained a new status, and the corn production act gave a new im- petus to the difficult task of organising these workers. when the act was repealed in 1921 the trade unions had nearly 300,000 members employed in agriculture. in 1924 the labour govern- ment re-established the system of wages boards, and the unions concerned are represented on the boards, and participate in the administration of the act. the national insurance act of ror1 opened the door to trade union participation in its administration. part i. of the act dealt with health insurance and provided, in general, for the payment of state benefit under the scheme by approved societies. many trade unions formed trade union approved societies to administer the health insurance scheme, and these have become important agencies in the conduct of this vast system of social insurance. a national association of trade union approved societies exists to protect the interests of the constituent societies, and played a prominent part in the opposition to part i. of the economy act of 1926, which reduced the state contribution to health insur- ance. the insurance activities of the unions have not only asso- ciated them with the working of an important piece of legislation, but have consolidated, and in some cases strengthened, the posi- tion of the unions with their own members. part ii. of the national insurance act, 1011, dealt with unem- ployment insurance, but the scheme was a limited one. compul- sory insurance against unemployment was widely extended by the unemployment act of 1920 to cover nearly 12,000,000 work- ers. provision was made whereby trade unions which ordinarily distributed out-of-work pay to their members should, subject to certain conditions, be allowed to administer the state scheme, and pay the state benefit to their members, for which service the unions received an allowance. many unions applied this provi- sion of the act, but the reduction of the administration allow- ance from 1s. per week’s benefit paid to sixpence led to some unions ceasing to administer the act. in 1926, however, there were 15 unions with a membership of 1,126,700 still operating un- der sect. 17 the act of 1920, and in order to secure a common policy on matters affecting their position under the unemploy- ment insurance acts, the unions concerned set up a standing committee, which acts in co-operation with the trade union congress general council. on the local employment committees and juvenile advisory committees attached to the employment exchanges and on the juvenile choice of emplovment committees of local authorities, the trade unions are represented; whilst since the establishment of ‘‘ uncovenanted ” and “‘ extended ” benefit they have been actively associated with the employment exchange rota commit- tees for the administration of this form of benefit. war work of the unions during the progress of the war the trade unions were intimately connected with the conduct of certain phases of na- tional affairs. in march 1915 the government came to an agrce- ment (known as the treasury agreement) regarding the produc- tion of munitions, which included compulsory arbitration, the relaxation where necessary of trade union rules, and the limita- tion of profits in munitions industries. from then onwards, the unions were called upon to assist in accelerating the production of munitions, in administering certain of the controls which were in- stituted (such as those in the cotton and wool textile industries) and in the selection of men for war service. parts of the treasury agreement were embodied in the munitions acts, and offences under these acts, except such as were brought before the ordinary courts, were dealt with by specially appointed munitions tribu- nals. each tribunal consisted of a chairman, with either two or four assessors, drawn equally from panels representing employers and workers respectively. these bodies played a great part in the administration of the munitions of war acts, and dealt with many thousands of cases against both employers and employees. 808 a national labour advisory committee on war output was established early in the war, together with local labour advisory boards in each munitions area. the national committee was re- placed in 1917 by the ministry of munitions trade union ad- visory committee, which was divided into three sections repre- senting the engineering group, the shipbuilding group and the general labour group. a special women’s trade union advisory committee was also appointed in the same year to advise the ministers on all questions relating to women’s work. towards the end of the war, further steps were taken arising out of unoff- cial strikes in coventry and birmingham which, though speedily settled by the trade unions concerned, led to the appointment of a government committee (on which there was trade union repre- sentation). this committee, which was critical of the policy of the ministry of munitions, recommended the establishment of a joint committee of employers and trade unionists, and the closest possible consultation, both nationally and locally, upon changes and developments of policy—a proposal which the government accepted. the recruiting of men for the army was in the early stages of the war left entirely to the war office. but haphazard recruit- ment led to the crippling of essential industries, by the withdrawal of skilled men in considerable numbers, and to industrial un- rest. it was, therefore, found advisable to bring trade unions into consultation on questions of recruiting. the recruitment of miners for the army was dealt with by committees composed of representatives of the miners and mineowners, with a chairman appointed by the government. similarly, when the government imposed its control over cer- tain industries, the trade unions primarily concerned played an active part. the cotton and wool textile controls may be taken as an illustration. the cotton control board (set up in 1917) de- termined the amount of machinery which was to be run upon other than government orders, and imposed a levy upon con- cerns working full time to pay out of work benefit to workers em- ployed by firms suffering from the operation of the raw cotton order (which prohibited the purchase of cotton except under licence) and the control board. the wool control board, also in- stituted in 1917, consisted of eleven representatives of the trade unions, the employers and the war office contracts department respectively. all wool was purchased by the government and the board controlled the allocation of supplies and organisation of the civilian trade. when the consumers’ council was set up under the auspices of the ministry of food, the trade unions were officially represented on it, after the war, these various forms of organisation came to an end; but they had given a new standing to the trade union move- ment. since 1918 the chief administrative activities of the trade unions have been in connection with health insurance, unemployment insurance and trade boards. the consolidation of trade unions the movement towards consolidation of trade union forces which was very pronounced between rgit and 1926, was partly the outcome of the theoretical teaching of syndicalism ancl guild socialism, but it was largely due to experience and the hard facts of economic life. federations have changed from loose alliances to negotiating bodies acting on behalf of the constituent unions. this develop- ment is seen in the case of the engineering and ship-building trades federation and the miners’ federation of great britain, both of which have achieved responsibility for national negotia- tion. in nov. 1910, on the initiative of the dockers’ union, the national transport workers’ federation was formed comprising practically all the unions catering for workers employed in water- side transport, including seamen, dockers and carters. the triple alliance-—the triple industrial alliance which came into existence in r914 was, in effect, a federation consisting of the miners’ federation of great britain, the transport workers’ federation and the national union of railwaymen; it was thus composed of two bodies which themselves were federations and a large industrial union. the associated bodies were the unions trade unions concerned in the key industries of coal and transport, and the formation of the alliance created some consternation. but the only occasion when the triple alliance decided to embark upon industrial action was during the coal stoppage of 1921, when the alliance issued notices calling a strike in support of the miners. the notices, however, were postponed and then withdrawn on april 14 (black friday). the effect was to destroy the al- liance, but the association of the railway, transport and mining unions continued, as they formed one of the ‘ groups ”’ consti- tuted by the general council of the trades union congress. in 1925 attempts were made, largely on the initiative of the miners’ federation, to establish a new alliance on a broader basis than the triple alliance; but as membership of the new alliance in- volved in some cases an alteration of the rules of certain unions, and as the implications of the proposed association needed care- ful consideration, the completion of the alliance hung fire, and certain unions definitely decided against co-operation. textile trades.—in june 1916 the national association of unions in the textile trade was established. of the 36 unions of which the association is composed, 20 represent wool textile workers. the association, however, includes, besides workers engaged in manu- facturing and finishing processes, those engaged in the textile machinery trade, and the skilled workers engaged in the maintenance of plant. the association appoints the workers’ representatives on the joint industrial council of the wool textile industry. but the association also exists to promote trade union amalgamation in the industry, and to secure co-ordination in the case of disputes. in the summer of 1925, during the stoppage which occurred in the wool textile industry, the workers’ side of the dispute was handled by the association and not by the separate unions, and when the dispute was referred to an industrial court, the workers’ case was submitted by the association on bchalf of all the unions concerned, general workers-—the general labourer'’s national council (established in 1908) developed in 1917 into the national federation of general workers, composed of the seven chief unions of general workers with an aggregate membership of over 800,000, building trades,—the national building trades council (repre- sentative of the 13 chief unions in the building industry) formed the basis for the national federation of building trade operatives established in 1918. this body has become the recognised organ for consultation and negotiation with the national federation of build- ing trade employers. [in 1925, however, the amalgamated union of building trade workers withdrew from the federation, which thus no longer represented the whole of the organised workers in the industry. foundry trades.—early in 1918 the federation of foundry trades came into existence to promote amalgamation of the unions in the industry, deal with demarcation disputes, and secure joint action wherever possible. it included about a dozen unions with a total of between 50,000 and 60,000 members. three of the unions in the federation—the friendly socicty of ironfounders, the associated ironmoulders of scotland and the amalgamated society of core- makers, in 1922 merged to form the national union of foundry workers. the g. f. t. u-—the general federation of trade unions has changed its character. it does not now take any active part in trade union disputes and negotiations or in the work of promoting closer industria! organisation. the g.f.t.u. was formerly the medium of communication between the british and foreign trade union movements, but since 1920 the general council of the trades union congress has been the representative british organisation in the international federation of trade unions. the chief work of the g.f.t.u. is in connection with dispute pay. contributing asso- ciations pay contributions to the federation on the basis of their membership, and receive, when involved in a stoppage of work, benefit to be paid to their members. in 1925, there were 118 unions affiliated to the federation with a total membership of 830,316 members. ’ the following table gives the number and gross membership of federations in great britain and northern ireland at the end of each year :— approximate membership 125 4,370,000 137 4,730,000 134 9,896,000 114 10,744,000 108 8,623,000 93 6,232,000 90 5,654,000 ne aie 5,331,000 trade unions amalgamations trade union amalgamation was hampered by the trade un- ion act of 1876, which required that each of the organisations concerned should carry a motion for amalgamation by a two- thirds majority of the whole membership. in 1917, however, the legal requirement was reduced to a 50% vote. some important amalgamations followed upon this alteration of the law. the n. u. r.—one of the most striking amalgamations which was carried through prior to the act was that which resulted in the establishment of the national union of railwaymen. up to 1913, when it was formed by the merging of three independent unions, the railway unions had not yet won full recognition from the companies. the n. u. r. shares with the associated society of locomotive engineers and firemen, which is a craft union, and the railway clerks’ association, the representation of railway employees, and with certain other unions, the representation of the workers in the railway engineering workshops. the n. u. r. illustrates both the tendency towards larger scale organisation, for its object is ‘‘ to secure the complete organisation of all workers employed in or in connection with any railway in the united kingdom \"; and also the incomplete success it has achieved and the difficulties inherent in this policy. in time, the associated society of locomotive engineers and firemen and the railway clerks’ association may possibly merge into the national union of railwaymen; but the organisa- tions of the engineers, boilermakers, carpenters and other railway shopmen, for which other unions cater, is one which raises a conflict of principle which has not yet been settled. iron and steel trades.—a new method of consolidation was adopted in the establishment of the british iron and steel and kindred trades association and the iron and steel trades confederation in 1917. the former was, in effect, a new union, which the various participating unions influenced their members to join. these unions admitted no further members, all new members joining the b.i.s. k.t.a., and they transferred their powers to the iron and steel trades confederation, which conducts the work of organisation and negotiation, when all the members of the participating unions have been transferred to the b.i.s.k.t.a., it will assume the duties and powers of the confederation, which will then cease to exist. engineering trades.—the amalgamated engineering union, one of the largest post-war amalgamations, illustrates the consolidation of craft unions. the nucleus of the present union was the amal- gamated society of engineers, with which nine other craft unions engaged in engineering coalesced in 1920. the a.e.u. catered for skilled mechanics but has now opened its ranks to include other grades of workers. other trades.—jan. 1921 saw the establishment of the amal- gamated society of woodworkers, the nucleus of the new organisa- tion being the acnaiba tated society of carpenters and joiners. in the same year, the amalgamated union of co-operative and com- mercial employees and national warehouse and general workers’ union merged to form the national union of distributive and allied workers. the amalgamated union of building trade workers formed at the beginning of 1921 was an amalgamation of the opera- tive bricklayers’ society, the manchester unity operative brick- layers’ society and the operative stonemason’s society. in 1922, the dock-wharf, riverside and general workers’ union formed the nucleus of an amalgamation under the name of the transport and general workers’ union, uniting the national union of dock labourers, the scottish union of dock labourers, the national union of vehicle workers, the united vehicles (which was an amalgamation of the tramway workers and the licensed vehicle workers) and several other unions. originally established as the gasworkers’ and general labourers’ union, this union became the national union of general and municipal workers, when in july 1924 it absorbed the national amalgamated union of labour and the municipal employees’ association. in 1923 the national federa- tion of women workers was merged in the national union of general and municipal workers. discussions have since taken place with other unions, e.g., the workers’ union and the transport and general workers’ union as to the possibility of further amal- gamation. other post-war amalgamations include the united g;arment workers f 20) which unified several sectional! and local bodies, the union we post office workers formed (1920) by the combination of three unions, and subsequently enlarged by the absorption of half a dozen other organisations of post office em- ployees, the national union of blastfurnacemen (1922) which took the place of the national federation composed of five local unions of blast furnace workers, and the national union of sheet metal workers (1921) which combined a number of small federated societies of steel metal workers and brazicrs. federations are becoming more powerful; in some cases they pave the way to the amalgamation of some of their constituent bodies; in others the federations themselves become amalgama- tions. the following table shows that during the five years 1920-4, 809 there was a net reduction in the number of trade unions amounting to about 200, due in no small measure to the effect of amalgamation. new unions forme reductions due to aot year (other than net tica by amal- . : amalgama- | 27 f© uchon | gamation | dissolutions bens 1920 | 119 3° 82 +4 | 1921 45 73 85 = 113 | 1922 28 40 36 —48 192 16 42 16 — 42 | ro2g | 26 | tg these various amalgamations have been pursued with the def- inite object of securing unified organisation over an extending field, so as to render negotiations more comprehensive and possi- ble action more effective. the trades union congress has passed frequent resolutions dealing with the need for improved organisa- tion, and in 1924 adopted as its policy the reduction in the num-— ber of trade unions to “ an absolute minimum,” and “ as far as possible, organisation by industry with every worker a member of the appropriate organisation.” the central organisation in 1919, proposals were submitted to a special trades union congress for the replacement of the old parliamentary commit- tee of the congress by an enlarged executive body, for the crea- tion of a machinery of co-operation between the congress and the labour party, and for the establishment of joint administrative departments under the auspices of the congress and the labour party. these general proposals put forward in the interim report of a co-ordination committee, which had been appointed by the parliamentary committee, were accepted by the special congress. the full scheme was submitted to the congress in the following year. the parliamentary committee was superseded by the general council, a body composed of 32 members representing the 17 groups of trades and industries into which the affiliated membership of the congress was divided, including two women representing the women membership of the trades union congress. the following table shows the organisation of the general council into groups:— no. of mem- no. of e bers ‘ neue sroup on |no. off of affil- no. groups gen- |unions| — iated eral unions coun- (1925-6) cil 1 mining and quarrying 3 9 840,543 2 railways ; ; 3 3 454,924 3 transport (other than railways) 2 9 397,126 4 shipbuilding . : ; i 4 122,850 5 engineering, founding = and vehicle building . , 3 23 394,051 6 iron and steel and minor metal . trades ; ; , 2 21 153,932 7 building, woodworking and fur- nishing ; ; 2 16 349,658 8 printing and pape i 13 167,665 9 cotton . : , ; 2 a7 234,864 10 6‘fextiles (other than cotton) i 17 152,307 ir clothing a eee i fe 90,428 12 leather and boot and shoe i 5 86,868 13. glass, pottery, chemicals, food, etc. 5 ; ; ‘ : a i 16 186,534 14 agriculture i i 30,000 1§ public employees i io 150,627 16 non-manual workers . i 8 62,845 17. gencral workers 4 5 475,760 18 women workers 2 a pe totals 22 205 | 4,350,982 it will be seen that the mining and quarrying group is the largest in point of membership, the second being the group known as general workers. 810 trade this organisation is carried further by the establishment of group committees. for administrative purposes the 17 trade groups were formed into six group committees as follows:— (a) mining and quarrying, railways, transport; (b) shipbuilding, engineering, iron and steel, building; (c) cotton; other textiles, clothing, leather; (i) glass, pottery, etc., agriculture, general workers; (:) printing, public employees, non-manual workers; (f) the two women members and three members appointed by the general council from organisations with women members. the congress also accepted in 1920, as did the labour party conference of 1921, proposals for the establishment of a national joint council consisting of the chairman and secretary and three members of the general council of the trades union congress, the executive committee of the labour party and the parlia- mentary party, making 15 members in all. this body was set up to deal with questions affecting the labour movement as a whole. the congress and conference, further, agreed to the establish- ment of four joint departments—(a) research and information, (6) press and publicity, (c) international and (d) legal. this new central machinery resulted in a great expansion of activi- ties by the general council of the t. u. c. itself and by the council in conjunction with the political labour movement. in 1925 the standing joint committee of industrial women’s organi- sations included 25 national organisations, and represented over 1,000,000 organised working women. the general council of the t. u. c. deals with a wide range of questions andits authority continuestoincrease. it has instituted a standing trade boards advisory council, composed of repre- sentatives of organisations catering for workers covered by the trade boards acts. it has its education committee which has concerned itself with the problem of adult education, whose pro- posals, approved by the trades union congress in 1925, were de- signed to assist in the promotion of educational facilities for trade unionists, and had been arrived at in agreement with ruskin col- lege, the education department of the co-operative union, the labour college, the workers’ educational association and the national council of labour colleges. the object of the propo- sals was ‘ to provide working class education in order to enable the workers to develop their capacitics and to equip them for their trade union, labour and co-operative activitics generally, in the work of securing social and industrial emancipation.” early in 1926, the countess of warwick handed over her estate, easton lodge, dunmow, in essex to the general council of the trade union congress for use as a labour college and as a labour centre gencrally. the general council has taken an increasingly important part in large industrial disputes. at the hull congress of 1924, its hands were strengthened in this matter. in the event of a break- down of negotiations in a dispute, however, “ the deadlock being of suchacharacter as to directly or indirectly involve other bodies of work-people affiliated to the trades union congress in a stop- page of work or to imperil standard wages and hours and condi- tions of employment, the council may take the initiative by call- ing representatives of the unions into consultation, and use its influence to effect a just settlement of the difference.” before this resolution was carried, the general council had, in fact, inter- vened by mediation or the granting of moral and financial sup- port, in disputes in which affiliated societies were concerned. in the prolonged boilermakers’ dispute in 1924, in the dock work- ers’ dispute, the tramway dispute in the london area, the south- ampton shipyard dispute, and the building trade dispute in the same year, the general council used its good offices. but the adoption of the resolution of sept. 1924 placed greater authority in the hands of the council. on the occasion of the dispute in the coal industry in july 1925 the general council appointed a spe- cial industrial committee (which has since become a standing body) and took a very prominent part in the negotiations which led to the temporary settlement. the industrial committee in aug. 192s, intervened in the dispute in the wool textile industry which had culminated in a stoppage of work. in conjunction with the labour party and the miners’ federa- tion of great britain the general council established a commit- unions tce early in 1925 to prepare a policy for the coal industry, and the proposals of this joint committee were submitted to the royal commission on the coal industry set up by the government after the coal settlement in july 1925. after the publication of the royal commission’s report, the general council, through its industrial committee resumed its consultations with the miners’ federation and was associated closely with the federation dur- ing the course of negotiations. finally, it declared a large scale sympathetic strike (erroneously called a gencral strike) and for the first time in its history directly conducted an industrial stoppage. this, however, was called off in a few days (see strikes and lockouts). the council also takes active steps to deal with difficulties which arise between affiliated unions. for this purpose the gen- eral council acts through its disputes committee. in 1925 this committee held no less than 32 meetings. the disputes which occur between unions vary in their character. an important and developing side of the activities of the gen- eral council is the forging of closer bonds with the trades and la- bour councils which exist in large numbers up and down the coun- try. before 1895 trades councils were represented at the annual tradcs union congress. but from that date until 1924 there was no direct contact between these local representative bodies of trade union branches and the t. u. c., though the trades coun- cils (many of which are local labour parties) were affliated to the labour party anc may send delegates to its annual conferences. after the establishment of the general council, efforts were made to remedy this defect in organisation, and in 1925 a model form of constitution for trades councils was worked out, arrange- ments made for the publication and circulation of special litera- ture on trade unionism, and a regular monthly statement from the general council to the trades council was inaugurated. at the end of 1924, there were 476 trades councils known to be in exist- ence in britain, including industrial sections of local labour parties. in 1913 the number was 328. from 1913 to 1924 the aggregate affiliated membership rose from 1,481,000 to 2,219,000, the latter figure representing about two-fifths of the total membership of trade unions. but perhaps, the most significant amongst the activities of the general council, is its efforts under the instructions of the trades union congress to promote and assist trade union amalgamation on the lines of organisation by industry. though the general council has from time to time brought together unions for dis- cussion of the possibilities of amalgamation, it has realised that much more is needed than empirical action of this kind. judged by the results the efforts to bring about amalgamations of the general council cannot be regarded as successful, though it is still too early, having regard to the real difficulties of amalgama- tion, to pronounce this work as a failure. its real importance, however, lies in the persistent and painstaking labour to reach an ideal, and the certainty that, if need be, larger powers will ulti- mately be given to the general council to deal with the problem. it is significant that the consolidation of forces should be regarded as of paramount importance. finance—up to 1923, the affiliation fee of cach unton affiliated to the t. u. c. was 1d. per member per year. in that year the fee was raised to 3d., payable quarterly on the full membership, in- cluding probationary and free members. the increased fees were required principally for publicity purposes and to maintain the daily herald, the organ of the british labour movement. in ad- dition to the ordinary affiliation fees, each union contributes £1 per thousand members towards the fee payable to the interna- tional federation of trade unions. congress afliliation fees in 1924-5 amounted to £21,088. the affiliation fee to the interna- tional federation of trade unions was £4,450. tuk industrial and the political movements as the trades union congress really gave birth to the labour party, it is natural that close relations should always have existed between the industrial and political sides of the labour move- ment. from 190s onward there existed a joint board represent- ing the parliamentary committee of the t. u. c., the executive trade unions committee of the labour party and the management commit- tee of the g. f. t. u. (which also owed its existence to the t. u.c.). the members of the board were the secretary and three members from each of the three bodies. but in 1914 the con- gress decided to dissolve the tripartite joint board and-to estab- lish a new one representing the parliamentary committee of the trades union congress and the executive committee of the la- bour party. at the congress of 1917 steps were taken to ensure close co-operation between the two committees. regular joint monthly meetings were arranged, following the separate mect- ings of the two committees. these joint meetings continued, and joint action has been taken on innumerable occasions. large questions demanding considerable enquiry are usually referred to joint committees of the two bodies. the great developments which have taken place in the activities of the general council with all the implications they involve, led in 1926 to an under- standing whereby the council shall have research, press and international statfs under its direct control, but arrangements were made for the closest co-operation. general policy during the period from rorr to the outbreak of the war, there was considerable labour unrest due largely to the steadily rising cost of living, but receiving inspiration in some degree from the intellectual ferment in the world of labour. syndicalism, though never a potent force in the british trade union movement prompted and encouraged the movement towards militant indus- trial unionism. the persistent propaganda of the socialist societies had also begun to influence the outlook of the trade unionist. from about roto it is clear that the trade union movement, judged by the resolutions of the t.u.c. was socialist in temper. it was definitely in opposition to capitalism and to private owner- ship of the means of production. the socialism, however, to which trade unionism gave adhesion, was essentially collectivist; but a closer association with the problems of industry and a wid- ening knowledge of the world of industry led to a sense of dis- satisfaction with the arid doctrines of undiluted collectivism, which came indeed to be described as “ state capitalism.” syn- dicalism, whilst it never commanded a large measure of support, did, by its emphasis on the workers’ right to control, indicate the possibilities of a policy which whilst providing for public own- ership escaped the charge of ‘‘ state capitalism ”’ by the adop- tion of the principle of democratic control. shop stewards movement.— during the pre-war years, however, these ideas had not clearly emerged. the effects of state regula- tion during the war, however, powerfully assisted in swinging active trade union opinion round to a sympathetic appreciation of the essential doctrines of guild socialism. morcover, the new importance of the labour element in the community gave birth to new aspirations, and to the claim that the workers should enjoy increasing responsibility and power in the actual conduct of in- dustry. one of the most powerful groups of intluences which moulded the minds of organised labour were those connected with the conditions of war-time employment. in the chief indus- tries, the unions were parties to arrangements for the increase of output and the avoidance of stoppages of work. but the abnor- mal psychology of war time, unsympathetic and short-sighted ad- ministration in the munitions areas, and the knowledge that the union executives were in a position of great difficulty, led to un- official strikes and to the evolution by the workers of unofficial machinery for securing the removal of grievances. shop committees sprang up in the munitions industry, and in the engineering trades they became influential organisations. shop stewards became the real leaders of the rank and file in matters affecting the day to day lives of the workers in industry. this new re-organisation within the industrial labour movement—the creation of the circumstances in which the trade union executives were inevitably placed—proceeded swiftly and to a considerable extent effectively. it was unknown to the general public until it had established itself. it was spontaneous—an obvious method of satisfying the need for some rapi