History of Trade Unions

History of Trade Unions in Europe

Trade Unions was defined as “combinations for regulating the relations between workmen and masters, workmen and workmen, or masters and masters, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any industry or business.”

Trade Unions until 1911

Modern trade unionism has had its chief development in English-speaking countries, and especially in the United Kingdom, where the conditions necessary for its growth have been present to the fullest extent. With some exceptions, such unions as are found elsewhere are either derived or copied from English organizations, or are associations with political objects. It is therefore unnecessary to give more than a brief summary of the position of trade unions in some of the principal countries and colonies outside the United Kingdom.

Germany until 1911

In Germany the majority of trade unions are of a political character, being closely connected with the Social Democratic party. These Socialist trade unions, termed “Gewerkschaften,” were started by a congress held at Berlin in 1868, under the auspices of Fritscher and Schweitzer, two followers of Lassalle. In 1878 many of them were dissolved under the law prohibiting socialistic organizations, but shortly after their place was taken by local unions termed “Fachvereine,” which ostensibly abstained from politics, but which in various ways succeeded in evading the law and carrying on the work of the Gewerkschaften. In 1887 a general committee of the German Gewerkschaften was formed, and in 1890 the General Commission of Trade Unions in Germany was established. Later years of prosperous trade have been marked by a rapid growth in the strength of trade unions in Germany.

The Social Democratic (Gewerkschaften) trade unions included in 1907 a membership of 1,886,147 as compared with 743,296 in 1902 and 419,162 in 1897. Of the total number of members in 1907, 1,865,506 belonged to branches affiliated to central federations; the membership of non-federated local unions being returned as only 20,641. The income of the federated trade unions in 1907 was £2,569,839, or over 27s. per member as compared with £554,887 (or about 15s. per member) in 1902 and £204,185 (or about 10s. per member) in 1897, and the expenditure in the same years to £2,156,126, £500,276 and £177,140 respectively. Of the 61 federations in existence in 1907, 43 paid travelling benefit, 42 paid unemployed benefit, 47 paid sick benefit and 57 paid funeral, removal and special allowance.

Another group of trade unions in Germany, less important as regards number and membership than the above, are the “Gewerkvereine,” or non-political trade unions, sometimes known as “Hirsch-Duncker” unions, from the names of their founders. These unions were first formed in 1868, immediately after the Berlin congress referred to above. They were directly modelled on British trade unions. Since 1876 Social Democrats have been excluded. In their earlier years these unions suffered in membership from a series of unsuccessful strikes, and of late years they have been mostly benefit societies. In 1907 the Gewerkvereine embraced 108,889 members. Their income amounted to £77,068 in 1907 and their expenditure to £71,717.

Another group of unions, the Christian trade unions (Christliche Gewerkvereine), was formed in 1894. In 1907 the membership of this group was 354,760. The income of these unions in 1907 was £225,821, and the expenditure £167,867. Besides these groups of unions there were a number of independent societies with a membership of 96,684 in 1907.

German trade unions of one type or another included a membership of nearly two and a half millions in 1907, their membership were doubled in five years.

United Kingdom

See the UK Encylopedia of Law, specially the entries about Act of 1800, the Act of 1825, the Act of 1859 and the Acts of 1869-1876.

France until 1911

In France combinations of workmen as well as of employers were prohibited by the laws of the 14th of June and the 28th of September 1792, which overthrew the old gild or corporation system. They were also penalized under various articles of the Penal Code, and it was not till 1864 that the prohibition was modified by law. At present the status of trade unions in France is regulated by the law of 1884, which repealed that of 1791 and modified the articles of the Penal Code so far as regards professional syndicates of employers or workmen. Since then there has been a considerable growth of workmen’s unions, which in 1906 numbered 5322 with a membership of 896,012. Of the unions in existence in 1906, 3675 with a membership of 752,362 belonged to 187 federations. There is, however, some duplication owing to the fact that some unions belong to more than one federation. In 1906 there were 260,869 members of unions in the transport, warehousing, &c., groups of trades, 103,835 in the metal, 73,126 in the mining and quarrying, 78,854 in the textile, 66,678 in the building, 51,407 in the agricultural, forestry, fishing and cattle breeding, 48,353 in the food preparation trades and the remainder in various other trades.

United States

See History of trade unions in the United States.

Austria until 1911

Apart from the Austrian gilds, membership of which is compulsory for persons engaged in non-factory handicrafts and trades (under a law of 1883) and in mining (under a law of 1896), there are a certain number of trade unions in Austria, though freedom of combined action among workmen is less complete than in many other European countries. Such right of combination as exists rests on the law of 1870, which removed the restrictions imposed by the Penal Code on combinations for influencing the conditions of labour. The impulse given to the formation of unions by this law, and by the advantages gained for the workmen during the years of prosperous trade that immediately followed, received a severe check during the succeeding depression of trade, when these advantages were mostly lost. Trade unionism did not revive until 1888, from which time the unions formed have mostly been on a Social Democratic basis, the majority being affiliated to a central organization in Vienna.

Since 1901 statistics relating to the trade unions of Austria were published annually by the Central Trade Union Commission (Gewerkschafts-Kommission) at Vienna. In 1907 there were 5156 trade unions in particular trades, with a membership of 501,094, affiliated to the Social Democratic trade unions (Gewerkschaften). Of the total number of unions, 49 were central unions, 77 were district unions and 5030 were local unions. Of the total number of members 454,693 were males and 46,401 were females. The greatest membership, 84,085 in 1907, is shown to have been in the metal engineering and shipbuilding group of industries, the building trades coming next with 68,543 members. The transport trades showed a membership of 61,744, and the textile trades, 51,632. The chemical, glass and pottery trades included 54,469 members and the wood-working and furnishing group included 36,502 members. Food and tobacco trades accounted for 32,679, and mining and quarrying for 30,715 members.

The total receipts of the trade unions in 1907 amounted to £338,365 and the total expenditure to 297,822, excluding receipts and expenditure for disputes. The expenditure on account of disputes, for which £136,822 was collected by special free organizations of the branch unions, amounted to £76,066 in 1907.

There were besides these unions a number of general unions not confined to one trade, and trade-clubs — educational associations discharging to a greater or less extent trade union functions. These associations have, however, been excluded from the statistics published by the Gewerkschafts Kommission as not being trade unions proper.

Hungary until 1911

The trade union movement in Hungary ly started at the begining of the XX century. The membership of unions affiliated to the Central Federation at the end of 1907 is given in the Volkwirtschaftliche Mitteilungen aus Ungarn as 130,192, compared with 129,332 at the end of 1906. Independent local unions had a membership of 11,838 at the end of 1907. The largest groups of organized workers are :n the building trade (35,630), metal workers (27,732), railway employees (17,192) and wood-workers (14,665).

Italy until 1911

The Bolletino of the bureau of labour for August 1908 states that the membership of trade unions at the beginning of 1908 numbered 191,599 (in 2550 local unions). Included in the membership of 1908 are 48,877 building trades workers, 40,000 railway employés and 17,110 metal-trade workers. The agricultural labourers’ trade unions were stated to have a membership of 425,983 at the beginning of 1908 as compared with 273,698 at the beginning of 1907.

Denmark until 1911

In 1907 there were 99,052 members of 1249 trade unions in Denmark, and of these 78,081 were in unions affiliated to the National Federation. The largest unions in the Federation are those of the general labourers with 22,660 members; blacksmiths and machinists with 8000 members; masons, 5300 members; railway employés, 4990 members; carpenters, 3855 members; textile workers, 3700 members; and cabinet-makers, 3590 members.

Sweden until 1911

In Sweden there were, in 1906, 126,272 members of 1596 trade unions, and of these 30,645 were factory workers (trades not specified), 24,485 were in unions connected with the metal trades, 10,706 were in the transport trades, 17,862 were in the woodworking trades, 7132 were in the food, &c., trades, 6602 were in the building trades, and 6005 were in the clothing trades.

Norway

The trade union movement in Norway dates practically from 1884. At the end of 1906 there were 25,339 members of trade unions, as compared with 16,087 at the end of 1905. Of the membership in 1905, 5277 were iron and metal workers, 4910 journeymen (factory workers), and 1117 printers.

Holland

In 1893 a National Labour Secretariat was formed, to which, in 1899, 45 societies with 13,050 members were said to be affiliated. After a general strike in April 1903 the membership of trade unions in Holland decreased considerably, the Secretariat losing half its members and several trade unions dissolving. In 1906 it was stated in the International Report of the Trade Union Movement that a new national centre of unions had been formed with trade unions affiliated to it, having a membership of 26,227, while the old centre still continued with a membership of 5000. The Diamond Workers’ Federation, with a membership of over 8000, was affiliated with the new national centre.

The total number of members of trade unions at the end of 1906 was given as 128,845, 33,125 of these belonging to Christian organizations, while 95,720 belonged to other organizations.

Belgium

The status of trade unions in Belgium is regulated by the law of 1898, under which they can be incorporated, provided that their objects are non-political and are confined to the furtherance of the interests of particular trades. Belgian trade unions, nevertheless, are mostly political in character, the majority being connected either with the Socialist-Labour, Catholic or Liberal parties. The membership of the Socialist-Labour group of unions in 1905 was 94,151, of the Catholic unions 17,814, of the free trade unions 34,833 and of the Liberal unions 1685, making a grand total of 148,483.

Of the 94,000 members of the Socialist-Labour unions, 60,000 are employed in mining, 11,500 in the textile industry and 7800 in the metal industry. Of the 17,800 in the Catholic trade unions, 5300 are in the textile trades, and 3200 in the building trades. Of the 35,000 in the free trade unions, 11,000 are in the textile industry, 6000 in the glass industry, 3600 in the applied art trades and 3300 in the printing and bookbinding trades.

Several organizations, e.g. the diamond workers, the printers’ federation of Brussels, &c., are affiliated with the trade union committee without, however, joining the political organization. The Catholic and Liberal associations also do not affiliate with the other organizations.

British Dominions and Colonies

Trade unionism has only developed to any considerable extent in a few of the industrial centres of the self-governing dominions. A great number of the unions in Canada are branches of organizations having their headquarters in the United States or in England.

Canada

In July 1907 the Canadian Labour Gazette stated that of the 1593 local trade unions known to be in existence, 1346 were affiliated with central organizations of an international character. Besides these 1593 local trade unions, there were 8 congresses and national associations of labour, 49 trade and labour councils and 31 federations of trade unions known to be in existence.

Australian and New Zealand

Between 1876 and 1890 all the principal Australian states passed statutes more or less resembling the Trade Union Acts of the United Kingdom. A similar law was passed in New Zealand in 1878, but in this dominion and in some of the Australian states trade unions can now become incorporated and acquire a special legal status by registration as industrial unions under the laws relating to industrial conciliation and arbitration. In New Zealand there were, in 1906, 261 unions of workers with a membership of 29,869 and 133 unions of employers with a membership of 3276. In the years immediately preceding 1890 certain Australian unions, especially among the shearers and the seamen and wharf labourers, acquired great strength, and their determined attempts to secure a monopoly of employment for members of their organizations led to prolonged labour disputes in 1890 and 1891 (see Strikes and Lock-Outs), which resulted in the defeat of the unions and a consequent diminution of their membership and influence. Later, the unions have revived. They are encouraged by the laws relating to arbitration and conciliation, which (inter alia) permit preference for employment to be awarded to members of trade unions in certain circumstances.

Trade Unions between 1911 and 1922

The history of Trade Unionism in the United Kingdom and in the United States, during 1911-21, is dealt with in detail, in separate sections, below; and in the various articles under country headings information regarding foreign countries will be found. The industrial unrest of the years immediately preceding the World War was not by any means confined to Great Britain, and in the chief industrial countries notable developments took place in the growth of trade unionism. Trade unions in such countries as France, Germany, Belgium and Austria, where the movement was of comparatively early growth, received large accessions of membership, and trade unions arose in other countries where any form of labour association had been hitherto unknown. Even before the war, however, there were certain notable exceptions. In Russia and Japan, for example, every form of trade union was illegal, and persons participating in trade union organizations did so at the risk of death or imprisonment.

Trade unions, therefore, in those countries, either were secret associations working underground, or masqueraded under the guise of friendly societies or other bodies of a similar character. The war had many diverse effects on the various trade union movements. In the Central European countries the privations of the last two years of the war were reflected in a great falling-off in trade union membership. In Germany this was more than compensated for by the reliance of the Republican governments which followed the Armistice upon the help of the trade unions. This brought to the trade unions a great number of new members, with the result that in 1920 the German trade union movement was actually the largest in the world. In Hungary, on the other hand, the “White” government of the regent Horthy, which succeeded the short-lived Soviet republic of 1919, put down Trade Unionism with the utmost severity, some 70% of the leaders being executed.

In the new States created by the Treaty of Versailles, trade unionism was in 1921 generally weak, owing to the existence of strong nationalist movements which absorbed the energies of the population; but in some, such as Czechoslovakia, having a large industrial element, there was a trade union movement of some size. In Russia, on the other hand, the trade unions were an integral part of the Soviet Government, and hence the inducement to the average workman to become a trade unionist was greater than in any other country.

See Also

  • International Trade Union Associations
  • U.S. Labor law and movement history 2
  • U.S. Labor law and movement history

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