Jenkin Jones (1859 – 7 December 1929) was a Welsh

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Born in

Cadoxton-juxta-Neath Cadoxton (or in full Cadoxton-juxta-Neath) () is a village situated in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Cadoxton is located just outside the town of Neath and borders the villages of Cilfrew and Bryncoch. The village has 1,684 residen ...

in South Wales, Jones was educated until he was sixteen, then served as a

pupil-teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

for a year. Although he hoped to become a teacher, his father disapproved of this, and Jones instead completed an apprenticeship as a patternmaker with the Neath Abbey Ironworks Company. He continued to study science, maths and art at evening classes. By this time, the economy was in recession, and he struggled to find work, eventually finding a job manufacturing tin plate. When the economy picked up, he returned to the Neath Abbey Ironworks, becoming a supervisor, and also spending time as a boilermaker. In 1879, he joined the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

(ASE). When the next trade depression hit, he was again out of work, and moved to Monmouthshire to find a new role. In 1881, Jones settled in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, where he continued in his trade. He became increasingly prominent in the ASE, winning election to its general council in 1891. In 1892, this was replaced by an executive council, and Jones narrowly won election as a district delegate. He was also active on the

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of trade union, labour unions or local union, union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, ...

, and represented his union at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

. Jones ran for the general secretaryship of the union in 1909, and narrowly defeated David Gardner, the union's chairman, by somewhat more than 18,000 votes to 15,000. His time in office was not a success, and has been described as "five of the most disruptive years in the history of the union".V. L. Allen, ''Power in Trade Unions: A Study of Their Organization in Great Britain'', p.217 Late in 1912, the union's executive suspended him, but he persuaded the union's trustees to dissolve the executive and hold new elections for the general secretary post. This was the subject of a court case, which ultimately concluded that this action was within the powers of the trustees. Jones stood in the new election and placed second in the first round of voting, defeating

Tom Mann Thomas Mann (15 April 1856 – 13 March 1941) was an English trade unionist and activist. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a popular public speaker in the British labour movement. Early years Mann was born on 15 ...

and three minor candidates (J. Gorman, J. Gradwell and H. Sladdin). In the run-off, he again came second, defeated by Robert Young, who described Jones as "unfit on the grounds of inefficiency to hold office". Jones died in 1929, by which time he was living at his sister's house near

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

."News in brief", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 12 December 1929

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jenkin 1859 births 1929 deaths General secretaries of the Amalgamated Engineering Union People from Neath Port Talbot Welsh trade unionists