fbpx
Wikipedia

National and Local Government Officers' Association

January 01, 1970

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 name in 1952 while retaining its widely used acronym, NALGO. By the late 1970s it was the largest British white collar trade union, with over 700,000 members. It was one of three unions which combined to form UNISON in 1993.

National and Local Government Officers' Association
Merged intoUnison
Founded1905
Dissolved1993
Headquarters1 Mabledon Place,
London WC1H 9AJ
Location
Members
739,000 (1981)[1]
PublicationPublic Service[2]
AffiliationsTUC (from 1965)

Early history edit

The National Association of Local Government Officers, or NALGO, was founded in 1905 as an association of local guilds of municipal officers. The main impetus came from Herbert Blain (1870–1942), later to become national agent for the Conservative Party. Blain had formed the first local guild in Liverpool in 1896 and, on moving to London, arranged the national conference in 1905 at which NALGO was formed. In 1909, the first full-time General Secretary, Levi Hill (1883–1961), was appointed, and by 1914 NALGO's membership included almost 70% of all British local government officers.

Blain and Hill organised NALGO with a national delegate conference and regional and local branch structures. Its first aims were the setting up of a pension scheme; the improvement of the pay, conditions and status of local government officers; the abolition of nepotism (at the time rife in local government); and the welfare of members and their families.

In 1917, a parliamentary committee chaired by J. H. Whitley MP recommended setting up joint committees of employers and workers throughout industry for consultations on pay and working conditions, and in 1919 the first Whitley Council for local government was formed on NALGO's insistence. After a prolonged process of negotiations, NALGO and the employers agreed a national charter of pay scales in local government in 1946.

Although Hill had previously remarked that "anything savouring of trade unionism is nausea to the local government officer", NALGO sought a certificate from the Registrar of Friendly Societies confirming its status as a trade union in 1920. Discussion on affiliation to the Trades Union Congress began as early as 1921, however, it would take until 1964 to be agreed.

It amalgamated with various smaller unions including the National Association of Poor Law Officers in 1930. Membership continued to grow rapidly, reaching some 100,000 by 1940.

Levi Hill retired as General Secretary in 1943, and was replaced by John Simonds.

National and Local edit

With the growth in membership in sectors outside local government such as health, gas and electricity, the union changed its full name in 1952, to the National and Local Government Officers' Association, while still retaining the acronym NALGO. It amalgamated with various smaller unions including the British Gas Staff Association in 1963. It reached 300,000 members by 1964. It finally became a TUC affiliate, after many years of fractious internal argument, in 1964.

NALGO Building Society merged with the Leek and Moorlands Building Society in 1960.[3]

As the public sector expanded in importance from the 1950s to the 1970s, and British Government legislation such as the Industrial Relations Act 1971 simultaneously sought to curb trade union powers, some parts of the union became more radicalised. NALGO organised its first official strike in Leeds in 1970, and its first national strike, of social workers, was in 1978/79. It also led the way as a campaigning organisation over equal pay and wider equality and international issues. Total membership rose to over 700,000 by 1977, by which time it was by far the largest UK public sector union.

After the election of the Thatcher government in 1979, NALGO organised strongly in opposition to many of its policies, in particular privatisation, deregulation, and restructuring with the introduction of market mechanisms in local government, education, and the National Health Service.

At the same time, at local level in much of the country many members maintained the old idea of NALGO as a staff association, and this explains why many so-called "NALGO" social clubs, sports teams and so on remained popular. NALGO provided a wide range of benefits for its members and opened one of the first holiday camps in Britain, at Croyde Bay in north Devon. Shortly afterwards it built a second, larger camp at Cayton Bay near Scarborough. This was sold in 1976 but the Croyde Bay holiday centre is still owned and run by NALGO's successor, UNISON.

NALGO merged with NUPE (the National Union of Public Employees) and COHSE (the Confederation of Health Service Employees) in 1993 to form UNISON. NALGO Insurance Association was renamed UIA shortly afterwards.[4]

General Secretaries edit

Deputy General Secretaries edit

  • 1936: John Simonds
  • 1943: Haden Corser
  • 1950: Walter Anderson
  • 1957: Geoffrey Drain
  • 1973: George Newman
  • 1976: Bill Rankin
  • 1982: John Daly
  • 1983: Alan Jinkinson
  • 1990: Dave Prentis

Presidents edit

  • 1906: Edward Ralph Pickmere
  • 1907: Homewood Crawford
  • 1924: Arthur P. Johnson
  • 1931: Sam Lord
  • 1932: Fred Marsden
  • 1933: C. G. Brown
  • 1934: Allan Wotherspoon
  • 1935: G. W. Coster
  • 1936: W. E. Lloyd
  • 1937: W. W. Armitage
  • 1938: J. L. Holland
  • 1939: E. J. Stead
  • 1943: Colin A. W. Roberts
  • 1944: Alfred A. Garrard
  • 1945: Frank Henry Harrod
  • 1946: D. J. Parry
  • 1947: Cyril J. Newman
  • 1948: Philip H. Harrold
  • 1949: Ernest A. S. Young
  • 1950: Edward L. Riley
  • 1951: Lewis Bevan
  • 1952: Watson Strother
  • 1953: Thomas Nolan
  • 1954: L. H. Taylor
  • 1955: Philip H. Harrold
  • 1956: John Pepper
  • 1957: Alfred E. Odell
  • 1958: Albert E. Nortrop
  • 1959: Norman W. Bingham
  • 1960: Tom Belton
  • 1961: Raymond Evans
  • 1962: George R. Ashton
  • 1963: Leslie W. G. Hetherington
  • 1964: Charles A. Smallman
  • 1965: Stephen Duncan
  • 1966: Marian W. Curtin
  • 1967: James G. Iles
  • 1968: Edward J. Varley
  • 1969: Tim J. Hutton
  • 1970: Neil McLean
  • 1971: Ellery H. Clayton
  • 1972: Joe Besserman
  • 1973: Jimmy J. Gardner
  • 1974: Ron W. E. Hill
  • 1975: Arthur H. Buckley
  • 1976: Harold S. Corden
  • 1977: Glyn J. Phillips
  • 1978: Edward Alderton
  • 1979: John A. Meek
  • 1980: Peter Morgan
  • 1981: John Allan
  • 1982: Peter Holt
  • 1983: Arthur Steer
  • 1984: Bill Gill
  • 1985: Norrie Steele
  • 1986: Sheila Smith
  • 1987: John Saunders
  • 1988: Bill Seawright
  • 1989: Rita Donaghy
  • 1990: David Stockford
  • 1991: Mike Blick
  • 1992: Ralph Gayton

References edit

  1. ^ Mike Ironside and Roger V. Seifert, Facing Up to Thatcherism: The History of NALGO, 1979–1993, p.162
  2. ^ Marsh, Arthur (1984). Trade Union Handbook (3 ed.). Aldershot: Gower. pp. 270–272. ISBN 0566024268.
  3. ^ Mergers & Name Changes Extract from BSA Yearbook (pp. 139, 145), The Building Societies Association, 2021/22
  4. ^ Change of Name Registry of Friendly Societies, 6 August 1993

Sources edit

  • Alec Spoor (1967) White Collar Union – sixty years of NALGO
  • George Newman (1982) Path To Maturity – NALGO 1965-1980
  • Mike Ironside and Roger Seifert (2001) Facing Up to Thatcherism: The History of NALGO 1979-93

External links edit

  • A short history of NALGO on the Trade Union Ancestors website. Includes a list of all national presidents, treasurers, general secretaries and executive committee members from 1905 to 1967
  • Obituary of Geoffrey Drain
  • Catalogue of the NALGO archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
  • Catalogue of the NALGO Insurance Association Ltd archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

January 01, 1970
national, local, government, officers, association, british, trade, union, representing, mostly, local, government, white, collar, workers, formed, 1905, national, association, local, government, officers, changed, full, name, 1952, while, retaining, widely, u. 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 name in 1952 while retaining its widely used acronym NALGO By the late 1970s it was the largest British white collar trade union with over 700 000 members It was one of three unions which combined to form UNISON in 1993 National and Local Government Officers AssociationMerged intoUnisonFounded1905Dissolved1993Headquarters1 Mabledon Place London WC1H 9AJLocationUnited KingdomMembers739 000 1981 1 PublicationPublic Service 2 AffiliationsTUC from 1965 Contents 1 Early history 2 National and Local 3 General Secretaries 4 Deputy General Secretaries 5 Presidents 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksEarly history editThe National Association of Local Government Officers or NALGO was founded in 1905 as an association of local guilds of municipal officers The main impetus came from Herbert Blain 1870 1942 later to become national agent for the Conservative Party Blain had formed the first local guild in Liverpool in 1896 and on moving to London arranged the national conference in 1905 at which NALGO was formed In 1909 the first full time General Secretary Levi Hill 1883 1961 was appointed and by 1914 NALGO s membership included almost 70 of all British local government officers Blain and Hill organised NALGO with a national delegate conference and regional and local branch structures Its first aims were the setting up of a pension scheme the improvement of the pay conditions and status of local government officers the abolition of nepotism at the time rife in local government and the welfare of members and their families In 1917 a parliamentary committee chaired by J H Whitley MP recommended setting up joint committees of employers and workers throughout industry for consultations on pay and working conditions and in 1919 the first Whitley Council for local government was formed on NALGO s insistence After a prolonged process of negotiations NALGO and the employers agreed a national charter of pay scales in local government in 1946 Although Hill had previously remarked that anything savouring of trade unionism is nausea to the local government officer NALGO sought a certificate from the Registrar of Friendly Societies confirming its status as a trade union in 1920 Discussion on affiliation to the Trades Union Congress began as early as 1921 however it would take until 1964 to be agreed It amalgamated with various smaller unions including the National Association of Poor Law Officers in 1930 Membership continued to grow rapidly reaching some 100 000 by 1940 Levi Hill retired as General Secretary in 1943 and was replaced by John Simonds National and Local editWith the growth in membership in sectors outside local government such as health gas and electricity the union changed its full name in 1952 to the National and Local Government Officers Association while still retaining the acronym NALGO It amalgamated with various smaller unions including the British Gas Staff Association in 1963 It reached 300 000 members by 1964 It finally became a TUC affiliate after many years of fractious internal argument in 1964 NALGO Building Society merged with the Leek and Moorlands Building Society in 1960 3 As the public sector expanded in importance from the 1950s to the 1970s and British Government legislation such as the Industrial Relations Act 1971 simultaneously sought to curb trade union powers some parts of the union became more radicalised NALGO organised its first official strike in Leeds in 1970 and its first national strike of social workers was in 1978 79 It also led the way as a campaigning organisation over equal pay and wider equality and international issues Total membership rose to over 700 000 by 1977 by which time it was by far the largest UK public sector union After the election of the Thatcher government in 1979 NALGO organised strongly in opposition to many of its policies in particular privatisation deregulation and restructuring with the introduction of market mechanisms in local government education and the National Health Service At the same time at local level in much of the country many members maintained the old idea of NALGO as a staff association and this explains why many so called NALGO social clubs sports teams and so on remained popular NALGO provided a wide range of benefits for its members and opened one of the first holiday camps in Britain at Croyde Bay in north Devon Shortly afterwards it built a second larger camp at Cayton Bay near Scarborough This was sold in 1976 but the Croyde Bay holiday centre is still owned and run by NALGO s successor UNISON NALGO merged with NUPE the National Union of Public Employees and COHSE the Confederation of Health Service Employees in 1993 to form UNISON NALGO Insurance Association was renamed UIA shortly afterwards 4 General Secretaries edit1905 Frank Ginn Honorary Secretary 1909 Levi Hill 1943 John Simonds 1945 Haden Corser acting 1946 John Warren 1957 Walter Anderson 1973 Geoffrey Drain 1983 John Daly 1990 Alan JinkinsonDeputy General Secretaries edit1936 John Simonds 1943 Haden Corser 1950 Walter Anderson 1957 Geoffrey Drain 1973 George Newman 1976 Bill Rankin 1982 John Daly 1983 Alan Jinkinson 1990 Dave PrentisPresidents edit1906 Edward Ralph Pickmere 1907 Homewood Crawford 1924 Arthur P Johnson 1931 Sam Lord 1932 Fred Marsden 1933 C G Brown 1934 Allan Wotherspoon 1935 G W Coster 1936 W E Lloyd 1937 W W Armitage 1938 J L Holland 1939 E J Stead 1943 Colin A W Roberts 1944 Alfred A Garrard 1945 Frank Henry Harrod 1946 D J Parry 1947 Cyril J Newman 1948 Philip H Harrold 1949 Ernest A S Young 1950 Edward L Riley 1951 Lewis Bevan 1952 Watson Strother 1953 Thomas Nolan 1954 L H Taylor 1955 Philip H Harrold 1956 John Pepper 1957 Alfred E Odell 1958 Albert E Nortrop 1959 Norman W Bingham 1960 Tom Belton 1961 Raymond Evans 1962 George R Ashton 1963 Leslie W G Hetherington 1964 Charles A Smallman 1965 Stephen Duncan 1966 Marian W Curtin 1967 James G Iles 1968 Edward J Varley 1969 Tim J Hutton 1970 Neil McLean 1971 Ellery H Clayton 1972 Joe Besserman 1973 Jimmy J Gardner 1974 Ron W E Hill 1975 Arthur H Buckley 1976 Harold S Corden 1977 Glyn J Phillips 1978 Edward Alderton 1979 John A Meek 1980 Peter Morgan 1981 John Allan 1982 Peter Holt 1983 Arthur Steer 1984 Bill Gill 1985 Norrie Steele 1986 Sheila Smith 1987 John Saunders 1988 Bill Seawright 1989 Rita Donaghy 1990 David Stockford 1991 Mike Blick 1992 Ralph GaytonReferences edit Mike Ironside and Roger V Seifert Facing Up to Thatcherism The History of NALGO 1979 1993 p 162 Marsh Arthur 1984 Trade Union Handbook 3 ed Aldershot Gower pp 270 272 ISBN 0566024268 Mergers amp Name Changes Extract from BSA Yearbook pp 139 145 The Building Societies Association 2021 22 Change of Name Registry of Friendly Societies 6 August 1993Sources editAlec Spoor 1967 White Collar Union sixty years of NALGO George Newman 1982 Path To Maturity NALGO 1965 1980 Mike Ironside and Roger Seifert 2001 Facing Up to Thatcherism The History of NALGO 1979 93External links edit nbsp Organized labour portal A short history of NALGO on the Trade Union Ancestors website Includes a list of all national presidents treasurers general secretaries and executive committee members from 1905 to 1967 Obituary of Geoffrey Drain Catalogue of the NALGO archives held at the Modern Records Centre University of Warwick Catalogue of the NALGO Insurance Association Ltd archives held at the Modern Records Centre University of Warwick Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title National and Local Government Officers 27 Association amp oldid 1166740193, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.