The Scottish Farm Servants' Union 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 ...

. The organisation was founded in 1912, when a group of farm labourers from

Turriff Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is deriv ...

asked the

Aberdeen Trades Council Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC) is the body made up of affiliated trade union branches and organisations working in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area to promote the interests of workers in the region. The ATUC provides services to affiliate ...

to help them form a union. Joseph Forbes Duncan, secretary of the trades council, threw himself into this, organising meetings across the county, and within a few weeks, he established the union, with 1,000 members in nine local branches. Initially,

Gavin Brown Clark Dr Gavin Brown Clark (1846 – 5 July 1930) was the MP for Caithness (UK Parliament constituency), Caithness from List of MPs elected in the 1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 to 1900. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, the Un ...

served as the union's president, and Duncan was vice-president. In 1915, it was decided to appoint an honorary secretary, and Duncan won election to the post. Three years later, the headquarters were moved to

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, and Duncan became the full-time general secretary. The union was registered in 1913 with a membership of 7,477, increasing to 10,817 in 1926. Although its membership never amounted to more than one third of farm workers in Scotland, it became the leading voice for them. Membership of the union fell during the recession of the early 1930s, and it was decided to affiliate to the

Transport and General Workers Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900,000 members (a ...

(TGWU) in 1934. The union remained a separate section of the TGWU, with Duncan as its secretary until 1945. The union published a journal, ''Scottish Farm Servant''.

References

{{Reflist Defunct trade unions of Scotland Agriculture and forestry trade unions in the United Kingdom Transport and General Workers' Union amalgamations Trade unions established in 1913 1913 establishments in Scotland Trade unions disestablished in 1933 Agricultural organisations based in Scotland

See also

References