"For years railway managers and the Railway News declared that 'recognition' of railway trade unions was incompatible with discipline and management."
W. Stott
Editor The Railway Clerk May 1917.
To appreciate the relationship between the railway unions in the post-war era it is necessary to review the developments that had taken place since 1906. These years were peppered with conflict and also with periods of warm friendship. As early as 1906 amalgamation was firmly on the agenda, and to achieve this a joint conference of the GRWU, ASRS, RCA and the UPSS took place at the Deansgate Hotel, Manchester on 3rd February 1906. ASLEF had also been invited but declined. The RCA was represented by J.R. Ferrey and J. Stopford-Challener who asked the meeting what would be their attitude in the event of a strike as there was a wholesale dread of a strike policy
1 amongst his members. His fears may have been calmed when it was agreed that a ballot would always be held before any strike decision, and the meeting eventually decided that they would attempt to unite their members into one union. Stopford-Challener moved the vote of thanks and in doing so expressed his hope that the meeting would prove to have been historic.
The union leaders had been charged with developing a scheme for amalgamation, but when the Association's EC met on 3rd March it did not share the General Secretary's enthusiasm and Charles Hiscock successfully proposed that Our policy for the time being is to recommend Federation rather than Amalgamation.
2 The suicide of Stopford-Challener nine days later left the union beset with internal problems and immediate thoughts of federation were put to one side, but at the 1907 Annual Conference, J.R. Ferrey, on behalf of the EC, persuaded delegates that federation should take place.3 The Executive was authorised to initiate a Joint Council of railway unions, and Walkden, as the new General Secretary, immediately communicated the terms of the resolution to the ASRS which hailed with approval the suggestion that all railway employees should be federated as early as possible.
4
This was followed by a further meeting at the Deansgate Hotel on 19th October 1907. In addition to those who had attended the earlier meeting, John Blackburn5 represented the Railway Telegraph Clerks' Association with delegates from ASLEF present and members of the TUC Parliamentary Committee. The attendance of representatives from the TUC emphasises the importance of the meeting but the differences were too wide and at the RCA's 1908 Annual Conference delegates agreed not to take any further action towards building a federation of railway unions.6
The fact was that the RCA had now distanced itself from the other railway unions and in 1907 had engaged in discussions with the Co-operative Employees' Union, the Shop Assistants' Union and the NUC about forming a National Federation of Shop Workers and Clerks; this came into being in 1908. The RCA affiliated to the Federation; A.G. Walkden was elected as its treasurer and later became vice- president. A close relationship developed between the clerical unions, and the guest speaker at the 1910 RCA Annual Conference was J.A. Seddon, President of the Shop Assistants' Union. Now in the political climate of Syndicalism, there were some who still strongly supported an amalgamation of railway unions. This was proposed by the Sheffield branch at the 1910 Annual Conference when Arthur Chandler proclaimed that political action was not everything and the working class would remain under capitalism unless they began to unite industrially.7 Despite Chandler's eloquence, the motion was defeated by a large majority but later that year, when Chandler and his co-delegate Alexander Walkden attended the TUC, Chandler disregarded the conference decision and went to the rostrum to second a motion calling on all unions to be amalgamated by industry. Walkden was furious at Chandler's intervention and drew it to the attention of members in the Annual Report. When this matter was raised at conference, Chandler was obliged to apologise. The incident was not forgotten and three years later Chandler's error was included in the list of charges that resulted in his expulsion. In 1911 the Leeds branch (another consistent advocate of amalgamation) proposed that a Federation of Railway Workers be formed, but once again, this was turned down.
Having turned its back on one union for railway workers, the RCA was next faced with a similar request from the NUC, who asked the RCA and all the other unions associated with clerical work, to try to amalgamate them all into one strong organisation.8 The EC was opposed to Syndicalism from any quarter and it resolved, on the suggestion of George Ridley, not to move beyond the existing Federation. The Federation of Shopworkers and Clerks was, in the main, a pressure group within the TUC, and following a dispute between the Shop Assistants and the Co-operative Employees, it collapsed. Nevertheless, Herbert Romeril saw its potential, and in his presidential address to the 1914 Annual Conference asked delegates to consider forming a new Federation of Clerks which he envisaged as being as influential in industrial and political life as the Miners' Federation.9
Approaches were made to a number of clerical unions and on 12th September 1914, an informal conference was held with clerical unions whose head offices were in London. This led to the formation of the National Clerical and Administrative Workers' Joint Committee with George Lathan as its secretary. It concentrated its efforts on the effects of the war and defending mutual interests. The Joint Committee comprised the Association of Health Insurance Clerks, Association of Second Division Clerks, Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries, Civil Service Federation, National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants and Clerks, National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO), NUC, Association of National Insurance Clerks, Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association, National Association of Bank Clerks and the RCA. In all, 120,000 workers were represented.10 Two years later the RCA, the Civil Service Union and the NUC attempted to turn the Joint Committee into a Federation of Clerical and Administrative Workers. A provisional committee was appointed and its objects were agreed. Romeril was delighted at these developments and the 1916 Annual Conference recorded its pleasure at the efforts which were being made to accelerate the organisation of clerical workers of all kinds.11 Romeril's objectives did not materialise as problems of finance and other difficulties arising from the war stopped further progress and the Joint Committee eventually collapsed.
The 1916 resolution welcoming the Federation also said that such a development should not prejudice, nor preclude, the RCA from taking steps at a future date towards forming a closer association with the NUR and ASLEF. Relationships had become increasingly friendly during the war and those who favoured amalgamation with the NUR now judged that the moment was once again opportune. At the 1917 Annual Conference Harold Chadwick proposed that the EC should enter into immediate negotiations with the NUR to consider conditions under which the two unions could amalgamate. For some time there had been heavily qualified support for amalgamation from the General Secretary, National Officers and the editorial columns of The Railway Clerk, but the EC considered the suggestion somewhat premature, arguing that more discussions were needed prior to opening negotiations of such a nature. Over the years delegates had stifled debate on fusion by agreeing to accept "Next Business". On this occasion it was Herbert Romeril who took the initiative, but only 12 delegates gave him their support and conference carried the Leeds' proposal by a large majority.
This change in attitude had been assisted by the formation in 1917 of the One Union Movement (OUM) by some members of the RCA, ASLEF and the NUR. A National Committee was elected in March, composed of three members from each of the rail unions. Frank Anderson12 (Bury) a joint member of the RCA and NUR was elected as its secretary, and H. Ellison (NUR), was the chairman. A number of leading RCA members supported the OUM, including Mamie Thompson - to the displeasure of William Stott, who considered dropping her from the columns of The Railway Clerk because of her involvement. Another prominent advocate was Thomas Gill, who was elected to the OUM's Executive.
After the 1917 Conference supporters of the OUM intensified their efforts and meetings were held all over the country. The Executives of ASLEF and the NUR were pleased with this development but the RCA's Executive considered the movement to be premature.13 The union was, by now, deeply divided over the issue, and some branches resented the activities of the OUM. The EC felt that its most important task was to preserve unity and it sent out a circular which said, If we do go over to the NUR, we must all go together.
14
Walkden wrote to the NUR General Secretary, J.H. Thomas, on 26th June 1917, to appraise him of the conference decision, and received a warm, positive response. Thomas suggested that a sub-committee be formed to deal with the questions that would inevitably arise; Walkden concurred and proposed that seven from each union be appointed; the committee met on 9th November 1917 at Unity House, London. Both unions had agreed that no minutes would be taken of the meeting and it was regarded as being non-committal, with each side reporting back to its own EC. The discussions took place in a cordial atmosphere, but the RCA was not satisfied with the NUR's response to their questions. After the meeting, Walkden wrote to Thomas asking for replies to the points that remained unresolved. The Association's main worry was what would happen if the railway companies refused to recognise clerical workers if they were part of a general union, as had been the situation in 1897 during the dispute between the ASRS and the NER. The NUR's opinion was that amalgamation would increase the power of the union to such an extent that it would be able to insist upon recognition. Thomas's response failed to answer all the Association's questions, and although he later asked Walkden to be more specific the correspondence turned somewhat chilly, with Walkden drawing Thomas's attention to his earlier letter and including a copy in case it had been mislaid.
Whilst it was undoubtedly true that the RCA's EC was, to say the least, half-hearted about the principles of amalgamation with the NUR, it cannot be denied that there were some genuine obstacles. For instance, a year earlier Thomas had made a speech in the House of Commons which was somewhat at odds with his own union's policy; he opposed railway police being members of the NUR, a position which directly clashed with the policy of the RCA. In addition, the NUR advocated composite Conciliation Boards which the RCA opposed. Perhaps most important of all was the social dimension. Members of the RCA had always formulated their own programmes to secure improvements in pay and conditions, and the EC was worried that many would resign if they had to present their claims for approval to some within the Operative Grades over whom, in many cases, they exercised supervision. In December Thomas made one final effort to convene a further meeting to resolve these outstanding questions, but it was too late. The RCA's Executive had already decided that as the NUR had failed to respond satisfactorily, no useful purpose would be served by going over old ground.
A Special Conference was held in Birmingham on 23rd February 1918, and when the delegates elected the SOC, three of its five members were Thomas Gill, Samuel Lomax and Harold Chadwick (all supporters of the OUM). The conference was faced with a number of important issues, but the Executive's report on its meetings with the NUR aroused the greatest interest. J.M. Roberts, Treasurer of the RCA, moved the adoption of the report which diplomatically emphasised a positive and friendly attitude towards the NUR but it also embodied a proposal which effectively ended negotiations by stating:
"If a time arrives when it becomes mutually desirable and practical for a full partnership to be effected between this Association and the NUR, we should do our best to make it as complete and satisfactory as possible. But in our opinion, such a time has not yet arrived...."15
The debate that followed was a heated one, with supporters of the OUM criticising various sections of the report. Gill objected to the suggestion that NUR members would not support supervisory staff in their claims for improved salaries and conditions and an attempt was made by the Leeds branch to reopen discussions with the NUR; this was lost by 9,825 votes to 42,725, with most of the votes in favour coming from branches in the North of England. The Executive's report was then accepted by a large majority, but not before the President had declared that this did not stop the debate continuing and that even EC members would be allowed to express their personal point of view, if they were in line with the principles contained in the report.
One can only speculate at the outcome if events had taken a different path. Perhaps if Thomas had responded differently to Walkden's request, other avenues may have opened, but undoubtedly it was Thomas's failure to respond adequately that determined the final outcome. This was certainly the view of J.T. O'Farrell. In an article in The New Way16 he estimated that 90 per cent of the RCA's membership supported amalgamation with the NUR in principle. This may have been overestimated for propaganda purposes but he was adamant that it was the failure of the NUR to give explicit replies in writing to Walkden's questions that mainly contributed to the RCA conference decision.
The OUM continued to function and in the summer of 1919, Frank Anderson wrote to A.G. Walkden advising him that the OUM had produced a leaflet which it would like to distribute to members of the RCA. He asked the General Secretary for a list of branch secretaries to enable the leaflets to be posted direct but this was refused. Walkden suggested that they be sent to head office which would arrange for their distribution, but when they arrived the EC decided that they would not be sent out at that time.17
The relationship between the NUR and the RCA now took a turn for the worse. The incident that sparked off the dispute between the two unions was a circular issued by the Association in February 1919, when it offered members of other unions credit of one month's membership for every two months (limited to twelve months) in which they had paid subscriptions to their previous union. This was understandably interpreted by members of the NUR as an attempt to "poach" supervisors. The NUR General Secretary wrote a sharp letter to Walkden, complaining of the RCA's action, and said that he had seen many cases of poaching, but this was the most deliberate that has come to my notice.
18 On the face of it he had a point, but when he went on to claim that every advance the RCA had acheived had been due to the NUR, it hardly helped the situation. To make matters worse, he warned Walkden that he would get a rude awakening
when they met the railway companies and the Government to discuss supervisors.
Walkden defended his action and told Thomas that he had written to tell him of their decision to offer the incentive on 14th June 1918, and no objection had been made to the proposal. He also said that the subject had been discussed on 11th October 1918 at a joint meeting of NUR/RCA Executive Committees which had been called specifically to discuss supervisors. Thomas had not been present at this meeting but no opposition had been voiced by the NUR when the RCA had indicated its willingness to undertake the organisation of all supervisors who were excluded from the Conciliation Board Scheme. The RCA had offered to accept these supervisors into membership and said that they would give them the benefit of the back-dating arrangements. Walkden also claimed that the Association's objective was not to poach supervisors from the NUR, but to prevent them from forming their own company-promoted Associations, which in the long run could be a threat to both unions. Nevertheless, the damage had been done. The tone of Thomas's letter had clearly offended the Association's EC but Walkden's reply did nothing to cool the situation when he wrote, We felt that this would be some relief to you and to the NUR, which was already burdened with the tremendous task of providing for the hundreds of thousands of men in the grades included in the Conciliation Board Scheme.
19
The battle raged between the two unions and was fought out publicly in the columns of The Railway Review and the Association's journal. Members became increasingly alarmed at the turn of events and the correspondence between the two unions was published by the RCA and passed to all its branches for information. In an attempt to resolve their differences, a meeting was held on 1st July 1919 and as a result the RCA withdrew its transfer terms for supervisors. In turn, the NUR asked its organisers not to induce clerks to leave the RCA. The Editor of The Railway Review, Willet Ball, a former member of the RCA, was asked to discourage articles and letters that were hostile, but differences continued to exist.
Less controversial was the RCA's decision to affiliate to the National Federation of Professional, Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Workers, later the National Federation of Professional Workers (NFPW). Founded in 1920 on the initiative of the labour historians G.D.H. Cole, and R. Page Arnot, the impetus for its formation came from the earlier National Clerical and Administrative Workers' Joint Committee that had failed to survive the war. Cole discussed his idea of a federation of "white collar" workers with Frederick Dalley20 and both were keen that the RCA should participate in the new venture. Cole then approached Alexander Walkden in November 1919 and arrangements were made for all the appropriate unions to attend a meeting at the Essex Hall, London on 7th February 1920. The General Secretary and J.M. Roberts were the Association's delegates and it was A.G. Walkden who proposed the decisive motion that established the Federation. Ten days later the EC agreed to affiliate, with George Lathan as its representative; W.R. Southeard, the RCA's solicitor, became the Federation's legal adviser.
The first President of the Federation was a member of the Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen (AESD) but the RCA, and its successor the TSSA, was always represented on its EC. From 1921 onwards, their delegates were also elected for the greater part of the Federation's existence as President or Treasurer, and in 1924 the RCA constituted approximately 40 per cent of the Federation's membership. By 1981 it was recognised that as the TUC was now taking a greater interest in the affairs of "white collar" unions, much of the work carried out by the Federation was being duplicated. Those unions not affiliated to the TUC sought to continue the Federation, but ultimately it was agreed that it should be wound up; a decision that had the support of the TSSA. When it was dissolved in 1982, the Federation had 33 affiliated unions containing 1,999,432 members.
| Member | Years | Office |
|---|---|---|
| G. Lathan MP | 1921-1936 | President |
| P.T. Heady | 1947-1949 | Treasurer |
| J. Haworth | 1949-1956 | Treasurer |
| R.J. Gunter MP | 1956-1960 | Treasurer |
| Lord Lindgren | 1960-1963 | Treasurer |
| T.G. Bradley MP | 1963-1967 | Treasurer |
| W.H. Johnson MP | 1967-1979 | Treasurer |
| J. Mills | 1979-1982 | Treasurer |
Between 1914 and 1916 the RCA had made repeated representations to the REC regarding conditions of service and various matters arising from the war, but the response was invariably unsatisfactory. Signs of change came in 1917 when the Government, concerned at growing industrial unrest, appointed a Commission to investigate its causes. The RCA presented evidence and emphasised two particular points - dissatisfaction at the inadequacy of the War Bonus and the REC's refusal to recognise the Association. Similar evidence was given by RCA branches in various parts of the country and when the Commissioners for the Scottish area presented their report they specifically referred to the failure of the RCA to obtain recognition. The Commissioners for the North Western area of England said in their report:
"The Railway Clerks' Association has for many years been agitating for better wages and conditions generally. They, too, are a patriotic class of men, who have no desire to take advantage of public troubles to exploit their grievances. They have, therefore, the stronger demand on Government sympathy. Their position is this; - That although they received a similar bonus to other Railway workers, the Companies refuse to meet their representatives. As the railways are now in effect a Government department, they contend, and we do not see the answer to their contention, that the Government, as employers, if only for the sake of good example, should treat their Association in the same way that they are calling upon their employers to treat the Associations of all working men."21
These were welcome words, but the Government refused to act. There were constant demands from the membership for official recognition, and the EC now felt strong enough to force the pace and insist that all outstanding questions should be resolved. In April 1917, Walkden approached the President of the Board of Trade, (who was also the President of the REC), but he declined to receive a deputation. A comprehensive complaint was then sent to the Prime Minister, asking him to receive a deputation, but his Private Secretary merely acknowledged the letter. Eventually, after considerable pressure, a deputation was received by the REC on 13th May. During the meeting, various questions about conditions were discussed, including matters relating to stationmasters and other Supervisory Grades, but on 26th June the REC intimated that they would not recognise the right of the Association to act for stationmasters, goods agents and supervisory clerks. Eventually, the RCA did receive a measure of recognition, but it was strictly limited to matters arising from the war, and certainly did not include conditions appertaining to Supervisory Grades. The EC refused to accept limited recognition22 and in December 1917 reiterated that every member of the railway clerical staff should be free to become, and remain, a member of the RCA.23
The first national conference of agents and stationmasters was held on 15th/16th September 1917, by which time the RCA was in a powerful position to speak on their behalf, having 5,000 members out of a total of 8,791. In an attempt to weaken the influence of the RCA some of the railway companies encouraged stationmasters and supervisors to form their own separate associations. These managed to attract approximately 10 per cent of the potential membership, and the National Federation of Stationmasters came into existence on 11th September 1918. The railway companies did everything possible to promote the interests of the new federation including giving free distribution of circulars, free premises and permission for their meetings to take place during normal working hours. A great effort was made by the General Secretary of the Federation, John Newsham, to recruit members of the RCA to his organisation, but his plans, and those of the railway companies, failed.
The decision of the REC not to grant recognition infuriated the EC and another special conference took place in Birmingham on 21st July 1918 with over 220 members attending. Over half of these were stationmasters and agents from all of the principal, and most of the smaller, railways in Britain and Ireland. The General Secretary reported on his meetings with the REC, and delegates were clearly angry that their legitimate right to be represented by the RCA had been refused. The delegates were also told that an attempt had been made by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Company to compel stationmasters to resign from the Association. Delegates condemned the company and congratulated those who had resisted the pressure to leave the union. The Swindon branch was in favour of taking strike action but, at this stage, such a decision was not considered desirable, and for tactical reasons they agreed to withdraw their proposal. Nevertheless, it was agreed, in no uncertain terms, what would happen if recognition were not granted, and branches were asked to give their wholehearted support to any action that might become necessary to secure full recognition of the Association.24
During the war enormous profits had been made in a number of industries, but despite Government controls, prices had risen sharply, with wages failing to match the cost of living, and the end of the war quickly released a flood of demands for improvements in pay. During the summer of 1918 numerous strikes took place, including one by the police. Women employed on London's trams struck for equal pay, and members of the NUC came out on strike for the right of supervisory clerks to be a member of that union. In the early part of 1919 there were claims from miners, cotton workers and bakers, with a number of general workers' unions also pressing for improvements. Foremost in their demands for better wages and a shorter working week were the engineers and shipyard workers on the Clyde, where troops were deployed following violent clashes between demonstrators and police. Such was the political climate when the RCA sought recognition.
Frustration at the REC's refusal to recognise the union was fuelled by the lack of progress in dealing with the RCA's claim for improvements in pay and conditions of service. This new mood of militancy was reflected by delegates at a further special conference held at Liverpool in November 1918 when a new National Programme, calling for an improvement in salaries, hours and general conditions of employment, was agreed. The National Programme was radical. It sought to achieve considerable advances in salaries; a 38 hour week for day workers and a 34 hour week for those on night work; the elimination of split duties, and fourteen days annual leave plus seven additional casual leave days. The conference also condemned the companies for fostering the growth of Stationmasters' Associations, and pledged its full support to the EC for any steps it might take to establish its right to act for all grades of clerical workers in the railway service.25 The General Secretary wrote to Sir Albert Stanley26 President of the REC, on 10th January 1919, asking him to receive a deputation to discuss the National Programme; the effect of nationalisation upon employment; the War Bonus; demobilisation and the position of temporary clerks. Most of these clerks were women, who, with the return of men from the forces, were now being dismissed. The REC responded a week later, saying that it was impossible to give consideration to changes in conditions of service, and reminding the Association that it was not prepared to discuss any questions relating to either supervisory clerks or to any grades outside the clerical staff, such as stationmasters and agents.27
As the REC had previously met the NUR and ASLEF and had discussed conditions of service for their members, this was seen as a direct challenge. A further conference of stationmasters and agents was held in Birmingham on 26th January 1919 and it expressed indignation at the unsympathetic reply of the REC. The delegates remained hopeful that a strike could be averted and they asked Sir Albert Stanley to take immediate action to arrange a satisfactory settlement; they also agreed that if he failed to do so by 30th January, another special conference would be called to decide a further course of action.
As it happened, Sir Albert Stanley met the RCA on 30th January. The delegation comprised A.G. Walkden, G. Lathan, (Chief Assistant Secretary); W.E. Hill, (Assistant Secretary); J.M. Roberts, (Treasurer); W.E. Williams (President) and two members of the EC, G.M. Richards28 and J.H. Ritchie.29 Walkden presented the case on behalf of the RCA but the response from Sir Albert Stanley was uncompromising. He told Walkden that the REC considered that to give recognition to the RCA on behalf of both supervisors and supervised, would affect safety and prejudice discipline. This was an old argument, no longer tenable, and one that would eventually have to be abandoned. Despite protests from Walkden, Stanley refused to change his opinion, and the deputation reported back to the EC which was now in permanent session. Instructions were immediately issued for delegates to meet at Birmingham on 2nd February 1919. In the meantime, the EC organised a rally of RCA members at the Kingsway Hall, London. Over 4,000 attended and an overflow meeting was held in the Essex Hall. Even then, the response was so great that hundreds were refused entry.
By the time the 430 delegates assembled at Birmingham, there was little doubt in the minds of the EC that they had strong backing for strike action. W.E. Williams opened the conference by reading a telegram of support from the Council of Civil Servants who promised as much financial assistance as its constituent bodies could afford.30 Walkden then addressed the conference and in a speech lasting over ninety minutes he detailed the progress so far, and announced that as a result of informal negotiations since the interview with the President of the Board of Trade, the dispute had been referred to the War Cabinet. Thomas Gill proposed and George Boothman (Liverpool) seconded the successful resolution that adopted Walkden's report. This stated, In the event of a satisfactory settlement not being reached by Tuesday evening next, to call upon the branches and members to take such action as they, the EC, may deem advisable.
31
It should not be thought that Gill, as a strong supporter of the OUM was a militant. Both he and Boothman were moderates. Indeed, in the past, Boothman had always opposed the RCA having a strike policy, and one of the interesting features of the conference was that most of those who had previously advocated a strike took very little part in the debate. The resolution was carried, with only 12 against. Delegates also agreed that strike pay should not be provided, except to temporary women members or those in special need. This decision was somewhat unusual in the history of the movement, but its intention was to protect the funds of the Association in the event of a long strike.
After the conference had concluded its business, the London delegates immediately returned to the capital to attend another rally that evening at the Euston Theatre, where approximately 3,000 members heard Walkden report on the momentous decision. It was not only the RCA that was preparing to strike. Londoners woke up the next morning to find that Undergound drivers belonging to ASLEF and the NUR had withdrawn their labour for twenty-four hours in protest against management changes to their conditions of service.
The strike was set for 18.00 hours on 4th February 1919. In order to ensure the support of both members and non-members, meetings were held throughout Britain and Ireland. Committees were formed to co-ordinate activity, and although many were nervous of the decision to strike, with some calling for a ballot of the membership, when the time came the overwhelming majority were clearly willing to respond. Some of the most enthusiastic were in Manchester, where the biggest difficulty was not getting members to strike, but getting both men and women to work up to the deadline. Similar experiences were repeated throughout the length and breadth of the country. At 15.00 hours on 4th February, the RCA was invited to meet Sir Albert Stanley and Sir Robert Horne, (Minister of Labour), who represented the War Cabinet. They were accompanied by W. Bridgeman and G.J. Wardle, both of whom were at the Board of Trade under Sir Albert Stanley. The meeting comprised two sessions, with the RCA delegation in one room and the General Managers in another. An agreement was eventually reached according full recognition to the Association subject to arrangements being made for ensuring the autonomy of supervisory members which the Government considered necessary to preserve discipline and safety.
32
For the first time in its history, the Railway Clerks' Association had formally signed an agreement with the employers. Recognition had been achieved! There were, however, qualifications. Arising from the agreement, stationmasters, agents and supervisors were to have their own branches, hold separate conferences and organise separate delegations to management. These conditions did not prejudice their right to be represented by the Association, and in fact all of these were currently RCA practice. Stationmasters had been opening their own branches for some time and their number had increased from 10 in 1916 to 58 by 1919. There was also a National Advisory Committee for inspectors, stationmasters and agents. After achieving victory, Walkden sent a telegram to every branch appraising them of the agreement. Most received the information before 18.00 hours but some branches failed to hear in time and came out on strike as soon as the deadline was reached. Two branches came out in Scotland; throughout the North-East of England all the clerical staff ceased work at 18.00, and passengers had to travel without tickets. Pickets were quickly positioned and 200 women clerks distributed leaflets to the public explaining the reason for the strike. Railway officials were frantic, and when the telegram finally arrived at 04.00 hours the following day, the strikers expressed their disappointment that it was all over.
In Ireland the majority of salaried staff, including 380 women clerks, were in the RCA, and when its 2,000 members were asked to take action, they responded magnificently. The appointment of J.T. O'Farrell as Irish Secretary in April 1918 could not have been more opportune. He quickly organised meetings throughout the country, assisted by W. MacNamara and W. Davin, the EC member for Ireland. Large rallies of support for the strike were held in Limerick and Cork and in a circular to branches O'Farrell told members they would be wired the next day
"but as the telegrams calling the strike may be tampered with, all OFFICERS MEMBERS are to look out for an official announcement in WEDNESDAY morning's papers. If this does not appear IT IS TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED THAT THE STRIKE IS ON AND ALL WORK MUST BE SUSPENDED FORTHWITH. After that no member must return to work until instructed by the Association to do so."33
At 18.00 hours they all walked out, in many cases being led by goods agents and stationmasters. Passenger trains had been cancelled, others were greatly delayed and the companies closed their goods departments until the strike was over. At a huge meeting in Dublin, the news that victory had been achieved was announced to the crowd at 22.00 hours but it was not until the following afternoon that the last of the Irish members went back to work. Information that the strike had been settled was made known to the staff by their managers but they were understandably distrustful and refused to return to work until they had received official notice from O'Farrell. In the build up to the strike, members of the NUR had been very supportive and when a victory celebration supper and social was held in Dublin on 10th February, a number were invited as guests. The New Way, the Irish magazine for railway workers, said that the strike was a splendid victory which was fully appreciated by the NUR, and congratulated the RCA on their very wise selection of an Irish Secretary in the person of J.T. O'Farrell. Never were expectations more fully realised, for the remarkable and business-like manner in which he conducted the strike stamps him a born leader of men.
34
Messages that had poured into the RCA's offices indicating support for the strike, were immediately followed by congratulations. The press, too, was generally supportive, with backing coming from the Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, The Star, The Daily News and the Daily Chronicle. The Times, despite an ambivalent attitude on 4th February, later criticised the railway companies and said that recognition was a sensible decision.35
As a result of its decision to strike, the RCA immediately gained members all over the country, with no less than 550 recruited in Manchester alone. New stationmasters' branches were opened in Cardiff, Newport, Motherwell, Bolton, Broxbourne, Oldham, Oxford and Kilmarnock, with others soon to follow. The status of the Association was now at an all time high and a number of the company-sponsored associations came over to the RCA. These included supervisors on the North-Western Railway, who formed an RCA Supervisory Staff Committee, and two Inspectors' Associations on the NER. In 1919, the RCA's membership increased by 12,896. There was, however, one bitter pill to swallow. The agreement with the REC specified that there would be some exceptions to membership of the RCA based on "confidentiality". This was particularly resented in Ireland, where a large number of its most prominent members worked in offices where exclusions were a real possibility. Local management sought to interpret this part of the agreement as widely as possible and after the railway companies failed to provide satisfactory answers to the Associations's growing disquiet, a special conference on 2nd March authorised the EC to prepare for a further strike. Meetings then took place with the REC and on 10th March Walkden advised the membership by telegram:
"Strike action suspended as we have secured greatly reduced basis for exclusions and much better recognition terms which will enable us to deal adequately with company questions as well as national questions."36
Not everyone agreed with the Executive as a few senior posts remained excluded from membership and it had been agreed not to recruit people employed in offices where policy decisions were made. These included the General Manager's personal office, his secretarial staff and similar staff in Chief Traffic or Chief Goods Managers' offices. However, RCA members who worked in these departments were entitled to a similarly graded post elsewhere and assurances were given that they would not be discriminated against when considered for future promotion.
Recognition did not mean that the RCA's National Programme had been accepted, and at the annual conference in June 1919 delegates decided that if satisfactory advances were not made, a further special conference should be called to determine a course of action to enforce the Association's demands.37 This took place on the 17th August and agreement was reached that the union should take whatever steps were considered necessary, including the witholding of labour, to secure a satisfactory settlement.38 In the intervening period, the Conservative member for Nottingham South, Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, raised the matter in Parliament, and asked the President of the Board of Trade if he was aware of the dissatisfaction existing in the RCA caused by the repeated delays of the REC in replying to their requests and proposals.39 When negotiations finally took place they were lengthy and complex as the only uniformity that existed on pay and conditions amongst the 123 companies was the War Bonus.
The RCA's National Programme set out to change this and to introduce a single set of pay scales for the industry. The employers eventually accepted the principle and their first offer for a fifth-class scale clerk was £150 maximum per annum. This was later increased to £180 which a special delegate conference rejected. Further discussions took place and eventually, on 22nd August 1919, the rate was settled at £200. For the first time, one set of salary scales was introduced throughout all the railway companies. Equal pay for equal work now existed throughout the railway industry - for men! The War Bonus was also transferred into salaries, with its consequent improvement for superannuation, and the working week was reduced to 48 hours. The settlement, on balance, was considered to be relatively satisfactory but the most important factor was that it marked the beginning of a new era and put the seal on recognition.
When the RCA reached its twenty-first anniversary in May 1918, the Association's head office was inundated with telegrams of congratulation from all parts of Britain and Ireland. Membership had reached 81,000 (20,000 of whom were in the forces), and its income exceeded £50,000 per annum. Organisationally, the union had advanced from a position where clerks were virtually isolated, to having 10 Divisional Councils, which increased to 18 by the end of the year. Of all the clerical and supervisory staff employed on the railways, the RCA had managed to recruit approximately 50 per cent. Since the first woman had joined the Association in 1910, they now constituted 19 per cent of the membership. Unfortunately, the union was unable to celebrate the occasion as the annual conference was postponed owing to a shortage of food; a scarcity of paper even prevented the Editor from marking the event in The Railway Clerk. So serious were the shortages that many local labour movement organisations called for one day strikes, but they were opposed by the RCA's Executive who considered them to be of no practical purpose, and branches were requested not to participate in them.40
The Association finally celebrated its "Coming of Age" in June 1919 at the annual conference in Nottingham. There were 490 delegates present, of whom nine were women. Among the guests were two members of the Association's first EC, Cecil Harrison and Francis Fitzpatrick. Also present as a delegate from the Waterloo branch was A. Read,41 one of the earliest members to be recruited in London. The President, W.E. Williams, was understandably proud of the union's progress and boasted that the RCA was the Premier union of its kind in the world.
42 No small part of this was owing to the efforts of Walkden and his team at head office and in Dublin. Such was the depth of gratitude to Walkden that the high point of the conference was a presentation to the General Secretary of an inscribed gold watch and gold chain, a banker's draft for £700, and £34 in notes. A gold wrist watch was also presented to Mrs. Walkden. Walkden was clearly moved by the event, and in his speech of thanks reminded the delegates of the progress made by the Association since its early days, paying a tribute to John Stopford-Challener whose work for the union had led to his mental breakdown and subsequent death. The banker's draft was particularly welcome to Walkden. He had started his career as General Secretary on a salary of £150 per annum and although he now received £500 per annum, life had not been easy for his family. When he had been elected as General Secretary, there was very little money to pay his wages because of the malpractice of Stopford-Challener and he had found it difficult to make ends meet. Since then, life had improved considerably but he still had some financial problems and the gift now placed him and his family in a position where they were, at last, able to buy their own house.
The 1919 Annual Conference was the final one to be presided over by W.E. Williams. The RCA's Treasurer John Morgan Roberts stood for the Presidency and obtained 1,230 votes, but he was narrowly defeated by Thomas Gill who received 1,350. Gill was the first President to be elected without having previously served on the EC and it was almost certainly owing to his activity within the OUM that he had beaten the popular John Roberts. As no-one had been nominated for the post of Treasurer, the EC agreed that Roberts be reappointed. Another change that took place was the name of the union's magazine. The Railway Clerk had always been a lively, interesting journal and just prior to the war the EC had intended to make a number of changes to extend its scope. The war, with its consequent shortage of paper and limited production staff, meant the suspension of these plans, but in 1919, despite the problems that still existed, the change took place. New features were introduced, and the name was changed to The Railway Service Journal.
To meet the challenge that had been created by recognition and the requirements of 84,000 members, the General Secretary was obliged to review the union's organisation and, in 1920, for the first time, appointed professional Line Secretaries. There were literally hundreds of applicants for the posts, ranging in age from twenty to over sixty; some had a membership of a few months, others over twenty years. G.M. Richards was appointed to look after the affairs of RCA members on the London and North West Railway; W.H. Farrar43 was responsible for the NER and the L&Y Railway and Walter Brindley44 looked after negotiations with the Midland Railway and those companies that had their head offices in Liverpool. George Ridley was responsible for the Great Northern Railway and all railways in the Eastern Counties; John Morgan Roberts catered for members employed on the Great Western and South Wales Railways. Charles Gallie,45 who had been earlier appointed as an Assistant Secretary, was responsible for the North of England, but following demands from Scottish members, later took up responsibility for Scottish affairs and was elected as General Secretary in 1940. J.T. O'Farrell was firmly established in Ireland and the other national officers, Lathan, Stott, Hill and Dalley shared the workload for the remaining areas in Southern England.
The decision to appoint full-time Line Secretaries came to late to relieve Walkden of the stress he had been under for some years. Since his appointment in 1906 he had had to cope with the pressure from the union's rapid development, the inevitable meetings from branch level to those with Prime Ministers, the effects of the war and the post-war situation. In addition, he was still the Association's Parliamentary Secretary and even though he had relinquished the editorship of the union's journal, he still wrote articles each month. His family life had also suffered, and neither he, nor his family, had been able to take a holiday for at least six years. Walkden's workload was phenomenal and it took its toll. In July 1920, Walkden, along with the President Thomas Gill, carried out a tour of the Irish branches, and on his return suffered a nervous breakdown. A complete rest was required and the EC, in recognition of all his hard work, granted him £200 to enable him and his wife to take a cruise to Norway. Walkden made a full recovery and finally resumed work on 6th September. During the same period his Chief Assistant, George Lathan, also had a breakdown, and he, too, was advised to have a complete rest. The following year William Hill was seriously ill from January to October. The price of progress had been very high!
Within a year of Walkden's return to work he was faced with a new challenge. A plan, provisionally agreed by the TUC in 1919 to reorganise its structure, was approved the following year.The TUC's governing body, the Parliamentary Committee, became the General Council with its elected members representing the main industrial trade union groups in approximate proportion to their size; the railway industry having 3 members. Some seats were also reserved for women. The first election for the General Council was held in 1921; four nominations from the railway unions were put forward, W.J. Abraham and J.H. Thomas of the NUR; J. Bromley of ASLEF and A.G. Walkden. Abraham withdrew his nomination, with the result that Thomas, Bromley and Walkden were elected. Walkden continued to sit on the General Council until his retirement in 1936 and was its Chairman in 1932-1933.
From their humble beginnings at Rochdale in 1844 the co-operatives developed into a powerful movement. The history of the RCA is inter-linked with their progress and many members of the Association were active in local co-operatives before the birth of the union. An early co-operator was George Cutting, who, apart from developing the London branches, helped to form the London Railway Clerks' Co-operative Society in 1908 and became its secretary. The annual subscription was one shilling (5p) and members received a handbook which contained a list of firms, and the terms upon which they were prepared to transact business with members. The range of companies covered the requirements of virtually every family, from normal domestic items to bicycles, pianos and even sets of teeth and funeral arrangements. The Co-operative flourished, but in 1910 criticism of its methods were raised as there had been occasions when its representatives had been encouraging people to join the RCA for the financial benefits that could be gained from membership of the Co-operative rather than for the principles and advantages of trade unionism
.46 This led to it being renamed The Railway Co-operative Society and it had the advantage that its administration was dealt with from the Association's head office.
The co-operative movement had been reluctant to establish its own political party but it did form a Parliamentary Committee in 1880 to lobby MPs. Following blatant Government discrimination against co-operative societies during the First World War there was a sharp change in attitude, and a Co-operative Parliamentary Representation Committee was established in 1917. Ten candidates were put forward at the 1918 General Election, one of whom was elected. The Committee became the Co-operative Party in 1919, a development which was welcomed by the RCA, and at the 1919 Scottish TUC, its delegation, comprising T. Brown, F.J. McCormack and C.N. Gallie (a Director of the Coatbridge Co-operative Society) proposed:
"This Congress, believing that the industrial, political, and social emancipation of the working class can only be achieved when all sectional divisions are abolished, reiterates its welcome to the Co-operative movement in entering the political arena, and, while urging all Trade Unionists to become members of their local Co-operative Society, resolves to foster and develop the alliance between the Co-operative and Trade Union Movement."47
Given the deep involvement of many of the Association's members in the co-operative movement it is amazing that the RCA did not bank with the Co-operative Wholesale Society until 1919, preferring to deposit its money with The London and South Western Bank Ltd. An attempt to change this took place at the 1917 Annual Conference. The motion, proposed by the Chesterfield branch, rejected Capitalistic Concerns
48; it had the support of T.H. Gill but was opposed by George Cutting possibly owing to some disillusion as, after all his efforts, the Railway Co-operative Society had not made the progress expected. The EC was sympathetic to the motion but as a number of difficulties still existed with the bank regarding facilities, it voiced its opposition and delegates accepted its advice. The 1919 Conference was once again asked to place all the Association's revenue with the CWS Bank but they preferred to accept an amendment which approved the action of the EC in having recently placed £10,000 on deposit with the bank and prudently urged it to increase business with the CWS Bank only when it was deemed advisable to do so. By 1920 2,729 trade union branches had opened an account with the Co-operative Bank, and in the following twelve months many more chose to do likewise.
The Railway Co-operative Society was not the only one of its type in existence on the railways. Two others were also based in London - the Railway Supply Association and the Railway Clearing House Clerks' Co-operative Supply - which was established in 1868 in the same building where Charles Bassett Vincent had been employed a few years earlier. It continued to trade during the First World War but by 1919, along with the Railway Co-operative Society, it was dissolved. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s articles on the co-operative movement and reports on the Co-operative Party Conferences were a regular feature and advertisements promoting co-operative products were the norm. In 1929 the Association's annual conference decided that from 1930 the order for printing the RCA diary would be placed with the CWS Printing Works.
Since 1897 dozens of members have been elected to co-operative boards of management but two years stand out as exceptional. RCA members took five seats on the management board of Spalding Co-operative Society in 1920, and five of the twelve seats on the Grimsby Society's Board in 1921. Many have achieved positions of distinction; George Lathan had been President of the Norwich Co-operative Society from 1907-1912; A.J. Best49 was first elected to the Darlington Co-operative Society Board in 1922 and was appointed as its President in 1935, a position he still retained in 1949; George Younger50 was President of Cowlairs Co-operative Society when it celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1956, and Alderman Bert Reynolds51 was President of the Chester Co-operative Society from 1937 until he died in 1956. David Roberts52 (Derby P&T) was President of the East Midlands Co-operative Society from 1984-1987. Throughout the history of the Association there is no evidence to suggest that women were elected to leading positions within the co-operative movement. The one exception is Maureen Sneyd, former Chairman of the Cork branch, who was a Director of the Bishopstown Credit Union from 1984-1988 and its Chairman from 1988-1991. Of all the Association's activists none achieved greater prominence in the co-operative movement than George L. Perkins53, A.J. Tapping54 and Thomas Gill who held the position of President of the Co-operative Congress in successive years from 1947 to 1949.
[1]. ASRS Annual Report 1906.
[2]. RCA EC Minutes 3rd March 1906.
[3]. The Railway Clerk June 1907.
[4]. ASRS Annual Report 1907.
[5]. John Blackburn (Bradford No.1). General Secretary Railway Telegraph Clerks' Association. Joined RCA 1911 when the RTCA amalgamated with the RCA. Branch chairman and secretary.
[6]. RCA Annual Conference Minutes 1908.
[7]. The Railway Clerk June 1910.
[8]. RCA EC Minutes 25th January 19 I 3.
[9]. The Railway Clerk June 1914.
[10]. Railway Clerks and the War 1914, RCA London and Southern Divisional Councils.
[11]. RCA Annual Conference Minutes 1916 item 20.
[12]. Frank Anderson (Bury). Joined RCA 1905. EC 1933-1940; Secretary and Chairman Lancashire Divisional Council. Secretary Bury Trades Council and Bury Labour Party. Labour MP 1935-1959.
[13]. RCA Interim report on negotiations with NUR.
[14]. RCA Interim report on negotiations with NUR.
[15]. RCA Interim report on negotiations with NUR.
[16]. The New Way April 1918.
[17]. RCA EC Minutes 12th August 1919.
[18]. Copy of correspondence between NUR and RCA; Modern Records Centre, Warwick University MSS.55/3/ASM/3.
[19]. Letter to J. H. Thomas from A. G. Walkden 3rd March 1919.
[20]. F. W. Dalley and G. D. H. Cole were both members of the National Guilds League EC.
[21]. The Railway Service Journal February 1919.
[22]. RCA EC Minutes 29th/30th June 1918.
[23]. RCA EC Minutes 1st/2nd December 1917.
[24]. RCA Special Conference at Birmingham on 21st July 1918, Minute 7.
[25]. The Railway Clerk December 1918.
[26]. Sir Albert Stanley MP. General Manager, London Metropolitan District Railway 1907 and in 1912 Managing Director of the Undergound Group. Knighted in recognition of his services to transport in 1914. President, Board of Trade 1916; created Lord Ashfield 1920. Chairman London Passenger Transport Board 1933-1947.
[27]. The Railway Service Journal February 1919.
[28]. G. M. Richards (Nottingham). Joined RCA 1911. EC 1918-1920. Wesleyan lay preacher.
[29]. J. H. Ritchie JP (Glasgow North-East). EC 1917-1926; Secretary Scottish (Western) Divisional Council; Chairman Glasgow Political Advisory Council. Glasgow City Councillor, Chairman Labour Party Scottish Council 1928-1929.
[30]. The Times 3rd February 1919.
[31]. RCA Special Conference Minutes, Birmingham 2nd February 1919.
[32]. The Railway Service Journal February 1919.
[33]. RCA Circular 3rd February 1919.
[34]. The New Way March 1919.
[35]. The Times 5th February 1919.
[36]. RCA Circular 11th March 1919.
[37]. The Railway Service Journal July 1919.
[38]. The Railway Service Journal September 1919.
[39]. House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates, 21st July 1919 Vol I 18 Col 942.
[40]. RCA EC Minutes 26th/27th January 1918.
[41]. A. Read (Battersea). RCA Trustee 1906-1908 and Scrutineer 1906-1907.
[42]. The Railway Service Journal July 1919.
[43]. W. H Farrar (York). Joined RCA 1913 and ILP 1908. Chairman York branch; Director York Co-operative Society. Yorkshire WEA EC.
[44]. W. Brindley (Wolverhampton). Joined RCA 1905. Chairman Wolverhampton branch; Secretary Salaries Movement Committee.
[45]. C. N. Gallie (Coatbridge). Started work with North British Railways as a messenger boy in 1903, by 1911 he was Chief Clerk Joined RCA 1907; branch chairman 1912. President and Secretary Coatbridge Trades Council; Director, Coatbridge Co-operative Society. Member ILP but opposed its attitude to 1914-1918 war. RCA Chief Assistant Secretary 1940; General Secretary 1940-1947. Labour Party Scottish Council 1924-1925; Scottish TUC 1918-1940, Treasurer 1931-1940, Chairman 1921-1922 and 1930-1931; TUC General Council 1940-1947. ITF Emergency Committee 1941-1945.
[46]. The Railway Clerk December 1909, January 1910.
[47]. Scottish TUC Annual Report 1919.
[48]. The Railway Clerk June 1917.
[49]. A. J. Best (Darlington) Joined RCA 1911 after resisting pressure to replace NUR members on strike; Chairman Yorkshire Divisional Council. President Darlington Labour Party. Elected to Darlington Borough Council 1915, Mayor 1925-1926, Alderman 1930, Honorary Freeman 1949.
[50]. G. Younger (Glasgow Central) Branch chairman. President Cowlairs Co-operative Society.
[51]. B. Reynolds OBE JP (Chester). Joined RCA 1913; Chairman liverpool, North Wales and Cheshire Divisional Council; EC 1936-1942. Founder member Chester Labour Party; Secretary for twenty-one years, later its President Thirty years Secretary Chester Trades Council and Labour Party; awarded TUC Silver Badge 1948. President Chester Co-operative Society 1937-1956. Elected to Chester City Council 1933, Mayor 1949-1950, Alderman 1955. Sheriff in 1942, he was awarded the OBE 1949.
[52]. D. Roberts (Derby P&T). Joined the AEU in 1956 and TSSA 1970. EC 1987-1994. Management Committee East Midlands/Midlands Co-operative Society since 1980; President East Midlands Co-operative Society 1984-1987. President Derby Trades Council.
[53]. G. L Perkins (Bristol). Branch secretary. EC 1916-1922. Secretary Bristol Labour Party; Labour Councillor, Bristol City. Member Co-operative Union EC 18 years, Chairman 1945-1946; elected to Central Committee International Co-operative Alliance and President Co-operative Congress 1947.
[54]. A J. Tapping (Derby). Joined Derby Co-operative Society 1912; National Chairman Co-operative Men's Guild. First Co-operative candidate elected to Derby Town Council. Chairman Co-operative Press Ltd; President Co-operative Congress 1948.
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