CHAPTER 4 - THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL CENTRE: How and why the unions came together

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview on trade union centers. Trade unions need a national trade union center to which they can belong because there are issues on which coordinated trade union action is required. In Britain, the national center is the Trades Union Congress (T.U.C.). In a number of other countries, the various trade unions are divided among rival national centers according to their politics, their religion or whether they organize manual or nonmanual workers. The T.U.C. consists of affiliated trade unions. To promote good relations and to minimize the likelihood of disputes among unions—particularly disputes arising from inter-union competition for members—the T.U.C. has, by decisions taken at a number of Congresses, formulated a set of principles that are intended to serve as a guide to good trade union practice. Trades councils can also assist, in cooperation with affiliated unions, in the recruitment of new members. There are two principal international trade union centers. The one claiming the larger membership is the World Federation of Trade Unions. The second principal international trade union center is the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.