The Northern Carpet Trades Union (NCTU) was a

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 ...

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 ...

. It was first formed in 1892 in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, later expanding to cover all of Northern England. The NCTU was formed later than the Power Loom Carpet Weavers' and Textile Workers' Association, based in Kidderminster, and was considerably smaller. Approximately a fifth of eligible workers were members of the NCTU in 1939, compared to 50 percent for the Kidderminster union. Attempts to amalgamate all unions in the carpet trade failed, but in 1917 the National Affiliation of Carpet Trade Unions was established with equal representation from the NCTU, Scottish Carpet Workers' Union,

National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers The National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers (NUDBTW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1982. History The union was founded in 1936 with the merger of the N ...

and Power Loom Carpet Weavers' and Textile Workers' Union. The NCTU originally only represented carpet

weavers Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainment ...

, but later came to represent all employees in the carpet industry including a staff section for supervisors and management. It merged with the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

in 2000.

General Secretaries

:1915: Ellis CrowtherArthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.4, p.498 : :1950: H. H. Clee :1954: H. D. Pickles :1967: Reginald Townsend :1972: Leslie R. Smith :1980s: Keith Edmondson

General Secretaries

See also

References

Further reading