Walter Charles Anderson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(3 December 1910 – 1 March 1995) 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 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 ( ...

official. Born in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

, Anderson's father was a solicitor but died while he was still young. His father's former partner supported the young Walter in attending the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, where he too qualified as a solicitor. He worked for another legal firm while he was at university; when he qualified, in 1933, he was sacked on the grounds that the firm thought he would expect a wage increase. Anderson instead found employment for Bootle Town Council, then moved to become a deputy town clerk in Heywood. In 1937, Anderson found work as an assistant solicitor for the

National Association of Local Government Officers The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...

(NALGO). He served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

then, on his return, became NALGO's legal officer. In 1950, he was promoted to become deputy general secretary of the union, and in 1957 he was elected as the union's general secretary. On election, Anderson immediately found the union at the centre of a battle in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS); although the independent

Whitley Council Whitley may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Whitley, Berkshire, a suburb of Reading *Whitley, Cheshire, a village near Warrington *Whitley, Coventry, a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands *Whitley, Essex, near Birdbrook * Whitley, Wigan, Greater M ...

had agreed a 3% pay increase for low-paid staff, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

government overruled this: an unprecedented situation. Although NALGO represented only 5% of NHS workers, Anderson co-ordinated all the relevant trade unions, which implemented an overtime ban. This was to apply only insofar as it did not affect patients, and this move secured public support. Ultimately, a compromise was achieved in which low-paid staff would receive higher increases, of between 9 and 60%, but these were backdated only to July 1958, not the start of the dispute.Alec Spoor, ''White-Collar Union'', pp.354–361 In 1965, Anderson convinced NALGO to affiliate to 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). He was immediately elected to the

General Council of the TUC 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 ...

, and focused much time on raising the union's profile; it became the largest white-collar union in the world. In 1968, he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. Anderson retired from his union posts in 1973, but took up work at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, on the

Independent Broadcasting Authority The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television (ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Authorit ...

, and on the Fulton Committee into working conditions in the civil service. In his spare time, he was a keen supporter of

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

and a fan of cricket.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Walter 1910 births 1995 deaths Alumni of the University of Liverpool Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English solicitors General Secretaries of NALGO Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Bootle 20th-century English lawyers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II