The Building and Allied Trades' Union (BATU) is 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 ...

representing workers in the construction industry and furniture trade in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Forerunners

Bricklayers in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

appear to have been unionised since at least 1792, and the Old Bodymen was founded in 1802, becoming the Regular Operative Brick and Stonelayers by the 1860s, and the Incorporated Brick and Stonelayers of the City of Dublin in the following decade. In 1888, it registered as the Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick and Stone Layers Trade Union, although its membership was never large, peaking at 1,367 in 1970. Woodworkers in Ireland were originally unionised in the British-based

Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers The Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers (ASW) was a British trade union representing carpenters, joiners and allied trades. The ASW was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of two smaller unions. It was itself merged into the Union of Constructio ...

. In 1922, they split away from their own Irish Union of Woodworkers, although it did not join the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little im ...

, only affiliating to its successor, the

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centr ...

, from 1954. Later known as the Irish National Union of Woodworkers, in 1979 it merged with the Irish Society of Woodcutting Machinists, a small union founded in 1934 with a peak membership of 750, to form the National Union of Woodworkers and Woodcutting Machinists.

Formation

In 1998, the Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick and Stone Layers Trade Union merged with the National Union of Wood Workers and Wood Cutting Machinists, to form the new "Building and Allied Trades' Union".John B. Smethurst and Peter Carter, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.6, p.17

General Secretaries

:1998: Paddy O'Shaughnessy :2011: Brendan O'Sullivan

References

{{Irish Congress of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1998 Trade unions in Ireland Building and construction trade unions 1998 establishments in Ireland