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A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of
labour 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 (s ...
s or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or state level. They may also be based on a particular industry rather than geographical area, as for example, in the Maritime Council of Australia which co-ordinated the waterfront and maritime unions involved in the 1890 Australian Maritime Dispute. Affiliates of labour councils are trade union branches or locals, and occasionally other labour movement organisations. Citywide or provincial councils may have district or regional labour council affiliates as well as trade unions. Some labour councils restrict their membership to organisations which are affiliated with a particular national
trade union federation 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 trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such ...
, such as many state-level labour councils in the United States, which are chartered from the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
national confederation. Finances are usually obtained through an affiliation fee, often based on a per capita tax on the membership of affiliates. In Australia, Trades and Labour Councils often have their own hall and offices known as a Trades Hall, with the term Trades Hall often used as a colloquial expression for the Labour Council or Trades Hall Council.


Note on usage

Labour councils are a widespread phenomenon, but are given different names in different English-speaking areas. Labour Council is most common in Canada and Australia, Labor Council is used in the (USA) and Trades Council, Trades Union Council or Trades and Labour Council in the United Kingdom (and until recently was widespread in Australia) and some other countries. Another term sometimes used is Industrial Council, as in for example, the Barrier Industrial Council of
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It i ...
in Australia. National associations of trade unions, such as British
Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...
may also be considered a labour council, though the term often implies a primarily local organisation.


History

Labour Councils were formed to meet a need to co-ordinate trade union activity in a geographical region. The earliest examples of this form of organisation can be found in the medieval craft guilds and Craft halls that developed in European cities. An example of this is the historic Glasgow Trades Hall wherein the 14 Incorporated Trades of Hammermen, Tailors, Cordiners, Maltmen, Weavers, Bakers, Skinners, Wrights, Coopers, Fleshers, Masons, Gardeners, Barbers, Bonnetmakers & Dyers yearly elected members of the Trades House, headed by the Deacon Convener of the Trades:
The Trades House of Glasgow was created at the time of reform of Glasgow's local government in 1605. At that time the electorate was basically divided into two groups, the Merchants and the Craftsmen. The Craft Incorporations or Guilds comprised the trades Rank of Burgesses under the leadership of the deacon convener, who was given a council. This included the Craft leaders and is the body we now recognise as the Trades House.
The trade union activity of the late nineteenth century in particular spurred the establishment of Labour Councils and Trades Councils acrossing North America, Australia and Britain. Some notable events in the history of labour councils include: * 1791–1794 – Glasgow Trades Hall built to serve as a public hall and meeting place for the city's Trades House and 14 Incorporated Crafts * 1834 – attempt to establish the
Grand National Consolidated Trades Union The Grand National Consolidated Trades Union of 1834 was an early attempt to form a national union confederation in the United Kingdom. There had been several attempts to form national general unions in the 1820s, culminating with the National A ...
in Britain * 1848 – first Liverpool Trades Council founded * 1856 – Melbourne Trades Hall Committee formed. Now known as
Victorian Trades Hall Council The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a labour council, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It comprises 43 affiliated trade unions and professional associations, and eight regi ...
* 1858 –
Sheffield Trades Council The Sheffield Trades and Labour Council, usually known as the Sheffield Trades Council, is a labour organisation uniting trade unionists in Sheffield. Precursors The earliest recorded attempt to found an alliance of trade unions in the city is th ...
and
Glasgow Trades Council {{Use British English, date=January 2018 Glasgow Trades Council is an association of trade union branches in Glasgow in Scotland. The trades council was founded in 1858 as the Glasgow United Trades Council.Archives Hub,Records of Glasgow District ...
founded * 1859 –
Melbourne Trades Hall Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council. It is located on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street, just north of the Melbourne central business district, in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, Vi ...
opened in May.
Edinburgh Trades Council {{Use British English, date=February 2017 The Edinburgh Trade Union Council brings together trade union branches in Edinburgh in Scotland. The first permanent trades council in Edinburgh appears to have been formed in 1853, one of the first in the ...
and Bolton Trades Council founded * 1860 –
London Trades Council The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades (Union) Councils History Leading figures in the London trade union mo ...
and
Leeds Trades Council Leeds Trades Council is an organisation bringing together trade unionists in Leeds, in northern England. History The council was founded in 1860, and remained small during its first decade, largely consisting of a few local unions. In 1871, the N ...
founded * 1861 –
Dundee Trades Union Council Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
founded * 1864 –
Manchester and Salford Trades Council The Manchester Trades Union Council brings together trade union branches in Manchester in England. History Efforts to bring trade unionists together across Manchester go back to the eighteenth century. In 1818 the cotton spinners persuaded othe ...
formed. * 1868 – First
Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...
called by Manchester and Salford Trades Council in Manchester, with invitations being sent to "trades councils and other similar federations of trade societies" only. * 1871 – Trades & Labor Council of Sydney formed. * 1871 - Toronto Trades and Labour Assembly (now the Toronto and York Labour Council) formed * 1893 – San Francisco Labor Council chartered. * 1895 –
Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...
(Britain) restricted to unions, with trades councils excluded altogether to avoid dual representation. * 1926 – In Britain, Trades Councils play a prominent role in organising the General Strike


See also

*
Bourses du travail The Bourse du Travail (French for "labour exchanges"), a French form of the labour council, were working class organizations that encouraged mutual aid, education, and self-organization amongst their members in the late nineteenth and early ...
in France * Trades Hall * Trade union *
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 trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...
(or labour federation) * Labour history


References


External links


Glasgow Trades Hall history


Greater London Association of Trade Union Councils
Trades Union Councils
by the British
Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...

Catalogue of the Coventry Trades Council archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Catalogue of the trades council publications collection
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick {{Organized labor, sp=uk Labor relations