A Summary Description of the Papers of the Trades Union CongressTABLE OF CONTENTS |
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A Summary Description of the Papers of the Trades Union CongressCataloguing of the TUC Archive (MSS.292) in 1991 was made possible by a generous grant from the Leverhulme Trust, which also enabled the publication of the accompanying 'Sources Booklets'. Conversion of the catalogue into EAD format was made possible by a grant from the Research Support Libraries Programme, as part of 'A Mine of Information: Cataloguing the South Wales Coalfield', a project led by the University of Wales, Swansea. The cataloguing work of 1997-98 was made possible by a grant under the Higher Education Funding Council for England non-formula funding for specialised research collections in the humanities scheme. Conversion of the resulting two catalogues (MSS.292B and MSS.292C) into EAD format was made possible by a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation with the help of the Research Libraries Group. The cataloguing of MSS.292D was made possible by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Board. The support and contributions of all these institutions is gratefully acknowledged by the Modern Records Centre.
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative/Biographical HistoryThe Trades Union Congress is a voluntary association of trade unions which was formed in Manchester in 1868. It forms the largest pressure group in the United Kingdom and works to improve the rights and conditions of working people. In achieving its aims the TUC has played a role both in many Government organisations and in the political wing of the Labour movement. Such a history has resulted in its archives being a rich source for the study of the political, economic and social history of the United Kingdom in the twentieth century. The TUC is governed by an annual Congress at which representatives of affiliated trade unions meet to determine policy and to elect the executive body of the organisation. Between 1869 and 1921, the executive work of the Congress was carried out by the Parliamentary Committee. In 1920, the Committee was composed of sixteen members who dealt with a relatively narrow range of labour affairs. Changes in society during the First World War led to a widening of the TUC's functions and consequently the formation of the General Council in 1921, which was composed of a representative sample of trade unionists. The General Council is assisted by a number of committees, including Finance and General Purposes, Disputes, Education, Organisation, Social Insurance, International, Economic and Production. These in turn are served by departments, the number and nature of which varies according to the needs and priorities of the time. The responsibility for the everyday work of the General Council lies with the General Secretary who is assisted by a Deputy General Secretary and one or two Assistant General Secretaries. In the regions, the TUC is organised into Regional Councils which cover England and Wales. Trade union activity in Scotland and Northern Ireland is co-ordinated by the Scottish TUC and the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, both of which are separate organisations with close working relationships with the TUC. At a local level branches of affiliated trade unions unite to form trades councils. Reference: Ross M. Martin, TUC: The growth of a pressure group, 1868-1976 (Oxford, 1980). Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentPredominantly includes the files of the TUC's central registry, 1920-1991, comprising correspondence, internal and external documents, minutes, reports, printed material and press statements. Return to the Table of Contents System of ArrangementThe TUC kept its records in a central registry which was developed in the early 1920s. It was during this period that it started to keep detailed subject files. These files record the growth and development of the TUC, its relationship with affiliated unions, government, employers and unions in other countries. They were arranged by subject according to a decimal classification scheme. This scheme forms the basis of the catalogue of the archives :
These were further sub-divided into smaller units, e.g. 966 is the classification for West Africa and 966.1 for the Gambia. The Centre's catalogue combines these references with its own prefix, so that a file on the Gambia dating from 1960-5 would become MSS.292B/966.1/1. The prefix MSS.292B identifies the records as belonging to the 1960-70 archive, records catalogued as MSS.292 belong to the 1920-60 archive; those with the prefix MSS.292D to the 1970-90 deposit; those with the prefix MSS.292E to the 1962-1991 deposit. Files with the prefix MSS.292C belong to the supplement to the 1920-60 archive. These files did not originate from the central registry and were deposited at the Centre at a later date than the registry files for the same period. Return to the Table of Contents Immediate Source of AcquisitionThe TUC began depositing its registry files in the Modern Records Centre in 1987 with the deposit of the archive for 1920-1960 (MSS.292). There have been four subsequent deposits: the archive for 1960-1970 (MSS.292B) and additional material for 1920-1960 (MSS.292C), deposited in 1995; files for 1970-1990 (MSS.292D), deposited in 1996; and additional files 1962-1991 (MSS.292E), deposited in 2002. Return to the Table of Contents Appraisal, Destruction, SchedulingThis collection has been weeded for duplicates. Return to the Table of Contents Access ConditionsThere are no restrictions on access to these papers. Return to the Table of Contents Copyright/ReproductionThere are no restrictions on the use of this archive, apart from the requirements of copyright law. Return to the Table of Contents Existence of CopiesThe Parliamentary Committee and General Council minutes, Annual Congress Reports, TUC pamphlets and selected other series of papers are also available on microform. The following are held at Warwick University Library (classmarks given in brackets): annual reports, 1869-1925 (microfilm periodical); pamphlets and leaflets, 1887-1947 (Microfiche 203-204); pamphlets and leaflets, 1948-1966 (Microfiche 439); periodicals and serials, 1918-1977 (Microfilm 2505-2520); Parliamentary Committee minutes, 1888-1922 (Microfilm 293-297); General Council minutes, September 1921-December 1946 (Microfiche 201-202); committee minutes and papers, 1922-1953 (Microfilm 2163-2187). Return to the Table of Contents Finding AidsMSS.292, MSS.292B, MSS.292C and MSS.292D have been catalogued to file level. The catalogues for the 1920-1960 archive (MSS.292), the 1960-70 archive (MSS.292B) , the supplemental 1920-60 material (MSS.292C) and the 1970-1990 material (MSS.292D) are available electronically through the above hyperlinks. Copies of these catalogues are also available in paper format in the Centre's searchroom, at the National Register of Archives in London and in Chadwyck-Healey's National Inventory of Documentary Sources. A box list of the 1962-91 archive (MSS.292E) is available as a PDF file (MSS.292E) and also in paper format in the Centre's searchroom, where a photocopy of the TUC's subject index is also available. An authority record exists for the Trades Union Congress (GB 0152 AAR1019). Return to the Table of Contents Related Units of DescriptionAlso available in the Centre are the papers of George Woodcock (1904-1979), TUC General Secretary 1960-1969 (MSS.292/6/GW) and Dr Robert Murray (1916-1998), the TUC's Medical and Industrial Safety Advisor 1962-1974 (MSS.292/6/RM). Their papers have been catalogued and the catalogues are available electronically and in paper format in the Centre's searchroom. For George Woodcock's papers see (MSS.292/6/GW). For Dr Robert Murrary's papers see (MSS.292/6/RM). Some manuscript material, such as the Gertrude Tuckwell papers, and TUC publications, are held in the TUC Library at the University of North London. The archive of the Wales Trades Union Council Cymru (1974-) is available in the Department of Manuscripts and Records, National Library of Wales (references C 1992/5O and C 1996/33). The finding aid to the archive is available electronically at www.llgc.org.uk. Return to the Table of Contents Index Headings
Woodcock, George, 1904-1979 Murray, Dr Robert, 1916-1998 Trades Union Congress
Arbitration, Industrial -- Great Britain Capitalism -- Great Britain Collective bargaining -- Great Britain Economics -- Great Britain Finance, Public -- Great Britain Great Britain -- Commerce Industrial Relations -- Great Britain Industries International labor activities Labor laws and legislation -- Great Britain Labor movement Labor unions -- Great Britain Politics, Practical Publicity Social history Social indicators -- Great Britain Social policy Social problems Strikes and lockouts -- Great Britain Trade associations -- Great Britain Work environment -- Great Britain Working class -- Great Britain Return to the Table of Contents |