The Civil Service Alliance was a

trade union federation Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

bringing together

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s in the United Kingdom.

Predecessors

The organisation's origins lay in the Civil Service Federation, established by nine unions in 1911. By the following year, it represented 102,000 civil servants. It focused on giving evidence to government commissions and discussing the possibility of political action. The unions representing clerical workers objected to this focus, and in 1916 all except the post office clerks' unions left the federation. In 1917, the Assistant Clerks' Association, Civil Service Typists' Association, Federation of Women Civil Servants and Second Division Clerks' Association established a new Civil Service Alliance. The Association of Superintendents and Deputy Superintendents of the Board of Trade Mercantile Marine Offices, Association of Tax Clerks and Boy Clerks' Association also joined before the end of the year, and by 1920 the alliance had 28 full members, 7 associate members, and also affiliations from the Irish Civil Service Association, Isle of Man Civil Service Association and

Jamaica Civil Service Association The Jamaica Civil Service Association is an Professional association, association representing the civil servants of Jamaica. History Approval was given by the government of the day to the Public Officers Memorial Committee for the formation o ...

. All the unions were small, and together they represented only 26,253 members. However, the alliance was able to employ a full-time general secretary, Hugh Shayler. Meanwhile, the Civil Service Federation was struggling. In 1919, the post office clerks' unions had formed the

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

, which did not affiliate to the federation. At the start of 1921, it agreed to merge with the Alliance, to form a new Civil Service Confederation, with Shayler as its leader. Initially, this represented 87 unions, with a total membership of 66,209. Many were members of the

Civil Service Clerical Association The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged ...

(CSCA), which became increasingly unhappy that it could be outvoted by a combination of smaller unions. As a result, it withdrew in 1937, and the next largest affiliates, the

Inland Revenue Staff Federation The Inland Revenue Staff Federation (IRSF) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The Union was born in the late 19th century, when a group of tax clerks met together to fight for higher pay, higher status and better conditions. At t ...

(IRSF) and Ministry of Labour Staff Association (MLSA), left the following year. Now short of members, the confederation dissolved in 1939.

Civil Service Alliance

Despite having caused the downfall of the confederation, the CSCA and MLSA wished to form a replacement, in part to reduce conflict between themselves. In 1939, they worked with the County Court Officers' Association (CCOA) and the IRSF to establish a new Civil Service Alliance, initially led by

Len White Leonard Roy White (23 March 1930 – 17 June 1994) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward. He is most notable for his time at Newcastle United, where he is the club's all-time third highest goalscorer. Biography ...

of the CSCA. This alliance proved far more enduring. The MLSA merged into the CSCA in 1973, followed in 1974 by the CCOA. This led the alliance to dissolve itself.{{cite web , title=Civil Service Alliance (CSA) , url=http://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/CAL , website=Modern Records Centre , publisher=University of Warwick , accessdate=19 June 2018

References

Trade unions established in 1939 Trade unions disestablished in 1974 Civil service trade unions