125 anniversary

On Monday 9 May 2022, TSSA members and staff celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of our union. The celebrations took place in Sheffield, the city where the National Association of General Railway Clerks was founded 125 years earlier on 9 May 1897 at the Wilberforce Cafe. The union was renamed the Railway Clerks' Association in 1899, and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) in 1951. 

To celebrate TSSA’s 125th anniversary, a TSSA125 anniversary diary and commemorative badge was sent to each member at the end of 2021. 

TSSA's 2022 Annual Conference was held in Sheffield from 7-10 May, and on 9 May conference delegates along with past and present members and staff, plus special guests from across the trade union and labour movement, came together to celebrate the anniversary date.

Comedian Mark Thomas and Banner Theatre provided entertainment during the day. Our special guests made speeches, many of the organisations to which TSSA is affiliated had stalls as did TSSA's own Self Organised Groups (SOGs) and one Divisional Council. A former London Transport Routemaster bus was provided for a tour of Sheffield taking in key sights relevant to TSSA's history in the city. 

A reception followed in Sheffield Town Hall, which coincidentally opened in 1897. The Labour leader of Sheffield City Council addressed those present, along with the President of Sheffield TUC, the oldest trades council in Britain, founded in 1858.

A gala dinner was held in the evening. Diners were addressed by Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines. After-dinner entertainment was provided by Mark Thomas and local jazz funk band Montuno.