The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, representing
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
s.
History
The union was founded in 1921, when the
Civil Service Clerical Union and the
Clerical Officers' Association merged to form the Civil Service Clerical Association (CSCA). It affiliated with 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 ...
(TUC) and the
Labour Party and had around 16,000 members.
Its Dublin branch left the following year, to form the
Civil and Public Services Union.
Following the
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governm ...
, the
Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927
The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 ( 17 and 18 Geo V c 22) was a British Act of Parliament passed in response to the General Strike of 1926, introduced by the Attorney General for England and Wales, Sir Douglas Hogg MP.
Provisions
R ...
was passed, requiring government employees to disaffiliate from political parties and trades union confederations, compelling the union to leave the Labour Party and the TUC. It rejoined the TUC in 1946.
In 1969, the union renamed itself the Civil and Public Services Association. In 1973, the
Ministry of Labour Staff Association
The Ministry of Labour Staff Association (MLSA) was a British trade union representing civil servants working in the Ministry of Labour.
The union was founded in 1912 as the National Federation of Employment Department Clerks, bringing together ...
joined the CPSA, then the
Court Officers Association joined in 1974.
In 1980, the CPSA published a history of its first 75 years, ''From Humble Petition to Militant Action''.
In 1985, the union's Postal and Telecommunications Group left to merge with the
Post Office Engineering Union
The Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented engineering staff in the Post Office, mostly working in telecommunications.
History
The union was founded in 1915 when the Post Office Enginee ...
, forming the
National Communications Union
The National Communications Union (NCU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
The union was founded in 1985 when the Post Office Engineering Union and the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association merge ...
.
The CPSA merged with the
Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union
The Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union (PTC) was a short-lived trade union in the United Kingdom.
The union was formed in January 1996, when the Inland Revenue Staff Federation merged with the National Union of Civil and Public Servants.< ...
in 1998, forming the
Public and Commercial Services Union
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies.
History
The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...
.
1986 General Secretary Election
Militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
supporter
John Macreadie initially won the ballot. However, the election was blocked and the courts ordered it to be re-run, with John Ellis receiving 42,000 votes, Macreadie 31,000, and the Broad Left '84 candidate, backed by the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
, 13,000.
General Secretaries
:1921:
William Brown
:1942:
Len White
Leonard Roy White (23 March 1930 – 17 June 1994) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-forward, most noted for playing at Newcastle United. He is Newcastle United's third highest goalscorer of all-time.
Biography
B ...
:1955:
George Green
:1963: Len Wines
:1967:
Bill Kendall
:1976:
Ken Thomas
:1982:
Alistair Graham
Sir John Alistair Graham (born 6 August 1942) is a British trade unionist who was Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life from 2003 until April 2007.
He was born in Northumberland, and was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Ne ...
:1986:
John Ellis
:1992:
Barry Reamsbottom
Barry Arthur Reamsbottom (born 4 April 1949) is a former Scottish civil servant and trade union General Secretary. He was General Secretary of the Civil and Public Services Association (1992–1998) and its successor the Public and Commercial ...
References
External links
Catalogue of the CPSA archives held at the
Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...
{{Authority control
Trade unions established in 1921
Trade unions disestablished in 1998
Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom
Civil service trade unions
1921 establishments in the United Kingdom