Robert E. Scouller (died 1974) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

trade unionist. Scouller worked as a clerk in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

. He became a socialist, inspired by ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published ...

'' magazine. He joined the

National Union of Clerks The Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) was a British trade union which represented clerical and administrative employees. History The Clerks Union was formed in 1890 and later was renamed as the National ...

(NUC) in 1912, establishing a branch with his brother Edward, and Edwin Muir. In 1915, Scouller was elected as the secretary of the NUC's Scottish Area Council, serving until 1919. While in office, he promoted the idea of national guilds, working with James Henry Lloyd to restructure the union on these lines. The restructure proved unsuccessful, and was soon abandoned. Scouller became a

bailie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables i ...

in Glasgow, and a deputy lieutenant of the county. He served as official report for the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the National trade union center, national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation ...

, and from 1927 to 1930 served as an auditor of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

. In 1946, he was elected as full-time president of the NUC, serving until 1951. He then became a trustee of the union, and was awarded its Gold Badge. Scouller died in 1974, at which time he was still serving as chair of his local branch of the union, by then known as the Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scouller, Bob Year of birth missing 1974 deaths People from Greenock Presidents of British trade unions Scottish trade unionists Deputy Lieutenants of Glasgow