Harold Hewitt OBE (12 April 1899 – 15 November 1968) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist 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 (s ...

and politician. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Hewitt entered the pottery industry and joined the

National Society of Pottery Workers The Ceramic and Allied Trades Union (CATU) was a trade union representing pottery workers in the United Kingdom. Predecessors The first significant union in the pottery trades was founded in 1827 as the National Union of Operative Potters, affili ...

(NSPW) when he was 15. He later moved to work in Scotland, remaining with the NSPW, where he became branch secretary, then district secretary and eventually full-time district organiser and a member of the executive council. In 1947, Hewitt was elected as the general secretary of the NSPW, relocating back to Stoke. He also served as a Labour Party member of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

, on the Midland Regional Board for Industry and the board of the North Staffordshire University College. The NSPW offered lower membership rates to women, but also paid lower benefits to them. Hewitt justified this, claiming that women in the industry did "not have the same responsibilities" as men. Hewitt was elected to the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

in 1952, and that year was also made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He retired in 1964, and died four years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Harold 1899 births 1968 deaths Councillors in Staffordshire General Secretaries of the Ceramic and Allied Trades Union Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Stoke-on-Trent Trade unionists from Staffordshire