The Transport and General Workers’ Union in Leamington Spa

This article explores the paradox of the two large ‘general’ workers’ unions - the former Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (NUGMW) - which from their militant origins to within a comparatively few years were seen as undemocratic, moderate in industrial tactics and right-wing in labour politics - ‘pillars of conservatism’. In due time they moved from the fringes to centre stage, acquiring one in four of all trade-unionists, and dominating with their block votes the decisions of the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party conference. Even more dramatic was the apparent overnight conversion to left-wing views within the TGWU when Frank Cousins became general secretary in 1956. Then under his successor, Jack Jones, responding to the dynamic of shop-floor organization, the TGWU radically changed its ethos and government. The NUGMW, with David Basnett as general secretary from 1973, also moved away from its long-standing positions but its government remained unchanged. But in 1979 the economic and political environments within which the unions were operating completely changed.

This chapter analyses a traditional union, the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union of Uganda (ATGWU), that has successfully revitalised by crossing the divide and organising the new workers – boda boda riders – emerging in the informal economy. It shifts the narrative on trade unions as ‘victims of globalisation’, and instead shows their agency and power. The union has been transformed into a hybrid organisation – something between a traditional trade union and an informal association of micro-businesses. From 2,000 members 15 years ago, it now has nearly 100,000 members. Part I gives an historical account of the role of trade unions, particularly in Africa, and the distinctive nature of the African labour market. Part II turns to an examination of the move to cross the divide between formal and informal workers by focusing on the ATGWU as an example of the successful integration of formal and informal transport workers.

Ron Todd, my predecessor as general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, once told the British TUC conference that Europe is the only card game in town. I shared that view then and I share it now. However, only a radically recharged vision can secure the backing of the people and give 'Europe' the momentum to fulfil its mission.

Before assessing the process for the renewal of the Lib-Lab Agreement it is important to place it in the context of the wider political events of summer 1977. National Archives records for this period show the Cabinet grappling with a congested legislative programme. Meanwhile, it was attempting to maintain a credible economic policy in the face of trade union agitation. In response to the threat of the collapse of the Government’s pay policy, following the actions of the Transport and General Workers’ Union and National Union of Miners noted in the previous chapter, Callaghan concluded that a White Paper to be entitled The Attack on Inflation was to be produced and presented on 31 July 1977. In the event, the document was never published; nevertheless, for the period May–July 1977, much of Whitehall and the Parliamentary Labour Party was focused on the protracted discussions which took place, all of which took precedence over the Lib-Lab renewal. Indeed, it is important to remember when examining the Lib-Lab Pact that for Callaghan, as he later commented in his autobiography Time and Chance (1989), it was economic issues, and specifically trade union negotiations, which took up most of his energy, and not discussions with the Liberal Party.1

The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union and Labour Unrest in Ireland, 1911

As a member of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) 10/156 Road Transport Commercial branch, Fred Beach was a key activist in the hire and reward haulage strike, January–February 1979. Looking back in an interview on 21 November 1996, Beach reflected on the origins of the dispute, in particular the role of rank-and-file networks in driving the TGWU to call a strike to challenge the 5% pay increase imposed by the Labour government in the 1978–79 pay round. He outlined the role and nature of picketing and the support from other workers, especially Hull dockers, in closing down much of haulage distribution in the area. He explained the work of the branch’s dispensation committee, which supervised the movement of goods. This provoked anger among representatives of local haulage firms, which lasted many years. Beach argued that though a significant pay increase was won, other issues such as holiday leave and pay should have been agreed. Since the mid-1980s, pay and conditions have deteriorated.

This Note is concerned with the problem of how to distribute votes in an assembly so that all interested groups are ‘fairly’ represented. It is clear that in many cases present arrangements are open to criticism. For example, in the United Nations General Assembly both China (population 732 million) and Norway (4 million) are represented by one vote. The situation at the British Labour Party annual conference is in direct contrast to this. Here votes are allocated to the individual unions and constituency Labour parties in proportion to their membership (rounded up to the nearest thousand), so that the Transport and General Workers' Union (membership 1,000,000) exercises 1,000 votes, whereas the 25,000 members of the National Union of Seamen are represented by only twenty-five votes. Since the total number of votes at the conference is about 6,000, it might be felt that the large unions exercise a disproportionate amount of influence.

Turner, Peter William, (died 20 Nov. 2012), District Secretary, Hereford and Worcester, Transport and General Workers’ Union, 1969–91

The docks are one of the most academically scrutinised sectors of the British economy and, due to the industry’s historical reputation for strike-proneness, episodes of workplace conflict are generally popular sources for research. Nevertheless, one dispute remains curiously under-examined – the 1970 national dock strike. This is particularly remarkable since it constituted the first national strike in the industry for nearly half a century, lasted almost three weeks, led to the declaration of a State of Emergency and required a government-sponsored inquiry to reach a resolution. On the surface, it was provoked by disagreement between the national employers’ association and the union over basic weekly wage bargaining. Behind the scenes, however, the course, nature and outcome of the dispute is best understood in the context of the relationship between the membership and officialdom of the union, which was rooted in a history of antagonism, and the revolutionary technological changes taking place in cargo handling at this time. What follows is a detailed account of the 1970 national dock strike and the events surrounding it, considered in the context of the literature relating to hierarchical divisions in trade union organisations. Abbreviations LMC: Local Modernisation Committee NAPE: National Association of Port Employers NASDU: National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers Union NDLB: National Dock Labour Board NDLS: National Dock Labour Scheme NJC: National Joint Council for the Port Transport Industry NPSSC: National Ports Shop Steward Committee TGWU: Transport and General Workers’ Union TUC: Trades Union Congress TUR: Temporary Unattached Register

Conceived and written as a sociological analysis of contemporary workplace relations, Huw Beynon’s Working for Ford remains a vivid and now historical account of workers’ contestation of the work–effort bargain and the construction of union organization at Ford’s Halewood factory. Two factors are discussed: the development and dissolution of the ethnic-sectarian fault line within Liverpool’s working class and the resulting ‘release of energy’ in the creation of union organization and the radical changes under way in the Transport and General Workers’ Union by the early 1960s. Given the material that became available after the publication of the first edition of Working for Ford in 1973 there is more to say on the TGWU. Workplace trade-unionism was built at Ford Halewood in the context of the shadow of Liverpool’s ethnic-sectarian divide, which was by then irrelevant as a motive force in workers’ lives, and the ongoing changes in the TGWU, which removed a major impediment to the autonomy of the joint shop stewards’ committee as the focus of workers’ collective power.

The aim of this paper is to trace two processes, interconnected in a large measure, in the labour relations of the British shipping industry from 1911 to 1929. One is the gradual transformation of the policy of the Sailors' and Firemen's Union under Havelock Wilson from aggressive militancy to one of accommodation to the shipowners' point of view. The other process to be considered is the rise and fall of four rival organisations: the Cooks' and Stewards' Union, the British Seafarers' Union, the Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union, and finally the seamen's section of the Transport and General Workers' Union.

Todd, Ronald, (11 March 1927–30 April 2005), General Secretary, Transport and General Workers’ Union, 1985–92

A survey has been carried out on the transport of radioactive materials by road and rail in the UK by the Health Protection Agency's Radiation Protection Division. This survey, carried out in 2004, is the latest in a series of periodic studies on the transport of radioactive materials by all modes of transport. Questionnaires were sent to hospital departments, radionuclide manufacturers, suppliers, and carriers, and to the nuclear and other industries, in order to obtain data on shipments of radioactive materials. Visits were made to hospitals, suppliers, carriers and some railway premises in order to observe working practices and radiological surveys were made while packages were handled. Assessments of individual doses to workers and members of the public were made, and occupational dosimetry data were also obtained. It was found that ∼500 000 package movements take place by road annually in the UK, with ∼4000 package movements annually by rail. Radiation doses to most transport workers are low, with an average dose of 0·6 mSv to general workers transporting medical and industrial sources. Doses to individual members of the public are very low, with average annual doses of less than 0·02 mSv.

Wright, George Henry, (born 11 July 1935), Vice-Chairman, Wales Co-operative Development Centre, since 1985 (Chairman, 1983–85); Regional Secretary, Wales, Transport and General Workers Union, 1972–99

For this study I have selected for investigation the Transport and General Workers Union. I do not suggest that this Union is representative of the British Trade Union Movement, though many of the problems it confronts are common to most Trade Unions.