The National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades (KFAT) 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 ...

History

The National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades was formed in 1991 through the amalgamation of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers and the

National Union of the Footwear, Leather and Allied Trades The National Union of the Footwear, Leather and Allied Trades (NUFLAT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1971 and 1991. It represented workers in the leather and footwear industry. History The union was founded in ...

. It had 82,303 members when it was formed. KFAT organised a range of clothing-related workers and was particularly strong in areas of the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

including

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, with other members in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

textile regions and the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

leather-producing industry. It absorbed the Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives in the mid 1990s. The union was notable for its high proportion of female members - roughly half of its members in 2004 being women. After initially considering amalgamation with the

National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

KFAT merged with the

Iron and Steel Trades Confederation The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now pa ...

in 2004 to form

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Leadership

General presidents

:1991: David Lambert :1994:

Helen McGrath Helen Frances McGrath (7 April 1942 – 24 August 2001) was a Scottish trade unionist. Born in Scotland, McGrath began her career working in administration in Edinburgh. She relocated to England in 1966, and found work with the local co-o ...

:1999: Tony Hallam

General secretaries

:1991:

George Browett George F. Browett (1929 – November 1994) was a British trade union leader. Born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, Browett began working in a footwear factory when he was sixteen. He joined the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUB ...

:1992:

:1994: Paul Gates

References

External links

Catalogue of the KFAT archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Textile and clothing trade unions 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1991 Trade unions disestablished in 2004 Trade unions based in Leicestershire {{UK-org-stub