The National Federation of Professional Workers (NFPW) 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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

The federation was founded on the initiative of G. D. H. Cole and

Robin Page Arnot Robert "Robin" Page Arnot (15 December 1890 – 18 May 1986), best known as R. Page Arnot, was a British Communist journalist and politician. Early years Robert Page Arnot, known to his friends as "Robin", was born in 1890 at Greenock, the so ...

as the Federation of Professional, Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Workers.

Jim Mortimer James Edward Mortimer (12 January 1921 – 23 April 2013) was a British trade unionist and the Labour Party General Secretary between 1982 and 1985.

, ''A History of the Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen'', p.74Malcolm Wallace, ''Single or Return?: The History of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association'', pp.112-113 It aimed to encourage professional, clerical and government workers to join

trade union 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 ...

s, and for those unions to co-operate where possible. This was principally through co-ordinated lobbying of Parliament, particularly on issues of pension rights and health and safety; and also through the co-ordinated production of relevant statistics.

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

,
National Federation of Professional Workers
While an earlier National Clerical and Administrative Workers' Joint Committee had filled a similar role, it had collapsed during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In November 1919, Cole persuaded Alexander Walkden to organise a meeting at the Essex Hall in London, with representatives of all eligible unions invited. This was held on 7 February 1920, and established the federation. In 1927, the Trades Disputes Act banned civil service unions from membership of any federation containing other organisations. Those unions therefore had to disaffiliate and focus on activity in the

Civil Service Alliance The Civil Service Alliance was a trade union federation bringing together civil servants in the United Kingdom. Predecessors The organisation's origins lay in the Civil Service Federation, established by nine unions in 1911. By the following ye ...

and Civil Service Federation. The law was repealed in 1946, and total membership of affiliated unions soon doubled to 500,000. Most remaining unions which were eligible for membership joined in the 1960s, notably including the

National Association of Local Government Officers The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...

, the Institution of Professional Civil Servants, the

National Association of Schoolmasters The National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS) was a trade union representing male schoolteachers in the United Kingdom. History The origins of the NAS can be traced back to the formation of the National Association of Men Teachers (NAMT) in 1919 ...

and the Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.1, p.149 By the end of the 1970s, 41 unions were affiliated, representing more than 1,500,000 workers, but the federation was in a very poor financial position. Its members were unwilling to increase their affiliation fees, most believing that the NFPW's services were now better provided by 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 ...

, so the organisation dissolved in 1982.

General Secretaries

:1920: William C. Keay :1929: Stephen W. Smith :1950: P. H. M. Hoey :1962: John Fryd

Presidents

:1920: E. H. Walker :1921:

George Lathan George Lathan (5 August 1875 – 14 June 1942) was a British trade unionist and politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Park from 1929 to 1931 and from 1935 until his death. Lathan worked on the railways where he became ...

:1937: George Walker Thomson :1948:

Anne Godwin Dame Beatrice Annie Godwin DBE (6 July 1897 – 11 January 1992), known as Anne Godwin, was a British trade unionist. Early life Born in July 1897 in Farncombe, Surrey, Godwin's father was a draper. She attended school in Godalming until age 1 ...

:1956: Jim Bradley :1960:

Jim Mortimer James Edward Mortimer (12 January 1921 – 23 April 2013) was a British trade unionist and the Labour Party General Secretary between 1982 and 1985.

:1962: Laurence Welsh :1964: Arthur Palmer :1966: John Dryden :1969: Eric Winterbottom :1971: Terry Casey :1973:

Geoffrey Drain Geoffrey Ayrton Drain CBE (26 November 1918 – 2 April 1993) was a British trade union leader who was General Secretary of NALGO (the National and Local Government Officers Association) from 1973 to 1983, when it was the third largest trade uni ...

:1975:

Treasurers

:1947: Percy Heady :1949: James Haworth :1956:

Ray Gunter Raymond Jones Gunter (30 August 1909 – 12 April 1977) was a British Labour Party politician. He was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement – specifically his union, the Transport Sal ...

:1960: Lord Lindgren :1963: Tom G. Bradley :1967:

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Ba ...

:1979: Jim Mills

References

External links

Catalogue of the NFPW archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collect ...

National federations of trade unions Trade unions established in 1920 Trade unions in the United Kingdom