Voting Structures and the Square Root Law

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 short article details the little known links between the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and the Warwickshire town of Leamington Spa, from its formation in 1921 to the post-war activities of its future General Secretary, Jack Jones.

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

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.

Following the landslide victory of the Labour Party on 1 May of 1997, there was widespread interest amongst German Social Democrats in the achievements of Tony Blair. In the media there was much speculation about the search for a German Tony capable of ousting chancellor Kohl after seventeen years.1 The Labour Party was portrayed as a modern and up-to-date Social Democratic Party. The recent SPD election campaign for the Hamburg senate explicitly copied a Labour Party poster adorned with the slogan: ‘Law and Order is a Labour issue’. Leading Social Democrats were keen to be identified with the youthful party leader from across the Channel. So much so that for days on end Oskar Lafontaine, party chairman of the SPD, and Gerhard Schroeder, candidate in waiting for the chancellorship, proudly talked about their personal invivation by their ‘friend Tony’ to attend the victory celebrations of the Labour Party in London. However, when they got in touch with Labour Party headquarters they were in for a surprise: they found out that the whole thing was a hoax. No one from the Labour Party had ever invited them.

The article gives a survey of the basic problems which will be before the forthcoming UN Conference on the Law of the Sea - as seen from a Norwegian point of view. In examining the interrelationship between these problems, the author arrives at the con clusion that the only feasible solution would be a 'package deal' covering all the main issues. The juxtaposition of priorities of the various interest groups at the Conference- a majority of coastal states for whom the rights to the resources in an area adjacent to the territorial sea is the most burning issue, and a minority of maritime powers for whom the question of freedom of navigation is more important - indicates the nature of the possible overall compromise solution. Such a solution would, it seems, have to consist of a package deal which must reconcile and accommodate, the interests of maritime freedom on the one hand with on the other hand, the increasing need for management powers, both for the coastal state and for international regulatory bodies. The main elements of such a package would probably have to be the following: Firstly, a territorial sea limited to a maximum distance of twelve nautical miles from the baselines along the coast. There is already with the exception of a few Latin-Amer ican countries, broad agreement that a territorial sea limited to twelve nautical miles should constitute one of the main elements in the solution. Secondly, guaranteed rights of passage inside the territorial sea, including a special right of free or unimpeded passage through straits used for international navigation. Thirdly, extensive resource management rights for the coastal state in an adjacent area outside the territorial sea. In this adjacent area, which would be called the eco nomic zone and which would extend to a maximum of 200 nautical miles, the juris diction of the coastal state would be limited to matters pertaining to the exploitation of the area's natural resources - both its seabed resources and its fisheries resources. The coastal state would also have certain well-defined rights in the zone where mea sures to combat pollution are concerned, and the right to regulate scientific research. There would be freedom of navigation inside the zone. In addition to an overall package solution along the lines mentioned above, the new con vention will have to establish a legal regime for the exploitation of the natural resour ces on the seabed and ocean floor in areas outside national jurisdiction. It will also have to establish an international organization for the implementation of this legal regime. The author emphasizes the need for equipping the international organization with broad regulatory powers, in accordance with the basic approach taken by the UN General Assembly in 1970, when declaring the international seabed area as 'the common heritage of mankind'.

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.

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.

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.

This paper examines how leader-eviction rules affect the security of tenure of party leaders in the British Conservative and Labour parties. It sets out a framework for analysing and comparing eviction rules based on the political risks and institutional costs incurred by challengers and selectors alike in removing incumbents. Entering a contest entails mobilisation costs as challengers seek the backing of allies. Political risks are increased for the incumbent's rivals if they must stand directly against the incumbent in a contest. In contrast, rules that separate incumbent eviction and replacement enable rivals to freeride on the evicting efforts of other actors, significantly diminishing the incumbent's security of tenure. This paper looks at three systems: the Labour Party's electoral college, the Conservative Party's parliamentary ballot system and the Tories' new parliamentary mass-membership hybrid. High nomination barriers and the necessity to challenge the incumbent directly make Labour leaders secure. Eviction costs are lower in the two Conservative systems. This paper also argues that a party's eviction rules must be viewed in the context of its broader internal distribution of power: as party leaders gain more power over decision-making, raising barriers to challengers may simply encourage internal opponents to rebel or exit.

Since World War II, the British Labour Party has played a central role in dealing with complex international issues. Achieving real power in parliament for the first time, Labour governments have acted responsibly, and are usually in accord with the views of a substantial majority of the British people. Such was not always the case. In British Labour Seeks a Foreign Policy, 1900-1940, Henry R. Winkler synthesizes twenty years' study of the subject to offer the first full-scale treatment of the Labour Party's evolution in foreign affairs. The Labour Party came into existence at the beginning of the twentieth century to deal with the domestic problems of the working class, and it showed relatively little interest in foreign policy issues. In the aftermath of World War I, however, small groups of moderates made the case against the bitter rejection of the Versailles Treaty by many in the Labour Party and the trade union movement. Most of these argued that the League of Nations could be used to remedy some of the deficiencies of the settlement and that such a League must have the sanction of force behind it if it was to be at all effective. During the 1930s, the failures of the League - in the Far East, in Abyssinia, in Spain, and in Central Europe - compelled some of its advocates to conclude that, League or no League, the threat from Nazi Germany mandated support for a program of preparedness and rearmament even under the aegis of a hated National Government. The result, by 1937, was the final formal abandonment of many of the radical illusions of the twenties and thirties, as Labour reluctantly but formally assumed a posture that enabled it to share in the governance of wartime Britain and to take a key role in dealing with the international issues that emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War. This volume contains valuable lessons on the responsibilities of political parties as well as the pros and cons of specific policies. It is essential reading for understanding Britain's later stands as its leaders tried to adjust to Britain's diminished power in the post-World War II world.