Labour Council - History

History

Labour Councils were formed to meet a need to co-ordinate trade union activity in a geographical region. The earliest examples of this form of organisation can be found in the medieval craft guilds and Craft halls that developed in European cities. An example of this is the historic Glasgow Trades Hall wherein the 14 Incorporated Trades of Hammermen, Tailors, Cordiners, Maltmen, Weavers, Bakers, Skinners, Wrights, Coopers, Fleshers, Masons, Gardeners, Barbers, Bonnetmakers & Dyers yearly elected members of the Trades House, headed by the Deacon Convener of the Trades:

The Trades House of Glasgow was created at the time of reform of Glasgow's local government in 1605. At that time the electorate was basically divided into two groups, the Merchants and the Craftsmen. The Craft Incorporations or Guilds comprised the trades Rank of Burgesses under the leadership of the deacon convener, who was given a council. This included the Craft leaders and is the body we now recognise as the Trades House.

The trade union activity of the late nineteenth century in particular spurred the establishment of Labour Councils and Trades Councils acrossing North America, Australia and Britain.

Some notable events in the history of labour councils include:

  • 1791 - 1794 - Glasgow Trades Hall built to serve as a public hall and meeting place for the city’s Trades House & 14 Incorporated Crafts.
  • 1834 - attempt to establish the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in Britain.
  • 1856 - Melbourne Trades Hall Committee formed. Now known as Victorian Trades Hall Council
  • 1858 - trades councils started forming in major British towns and cities.
  • 1858 - Sheffield Trades Council and Glasgow Trades Council founded.
  • 1859 - Melbourne Trades Hall opened in May.
  • 1860 - London Trades Council founded.
  • 1861 - Dundee Trades Union Council founded.
  • 1864 - Manchester and Salford Trades Council formed.
  • 1868 - First Trades Union Congress called by Manchester and Salford Trades Council in Manchester, with invitations being sent to "trades councils and other similar federations of trade societies" only.
  • 1871 - Trades & Labor Council of Sydney formed.
  • 1893 - San Francisco Labor Council chartered.
  • 1895 - Trades Union Congress (Britain) restricted to unions, with trades councils excluded altogether to avoid dual representation.
  • 1926 - In Britain, Trades Councils play a prominent role in organising the General Strike

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