Allan was first elected to the General Council of the STUC in 1899, and on the council he championed the creation of a Scottish Labour Representation Committee, to stand Parliamentary candidates on behalf of the socialist, trade union and co-operative movements. This was formed as the Scottish Workers' Representation Committee, and Allan became its first secretary, although in 1902 he was replaced by leader of the STUC, George Carson.[1][2]
In 1913, Allan stood to become general secretary of the STA, but he took third place with only 581 votes, behind Charles Jackson and the winner, James Brown.[3] He was re-elected to the Parliamentary Committee of the STUC in 1912,[4] and in this role gave some support to the Red Clydeside movement, arguing that its actions were "hasty and unwise", but that the committee should not ignore it, but instead try to give it guidance.[5]
By 1917, Carson was seventy years old and looking to reduce his involvement in the STUC. Allan had developed a strong working relationship with Carson, and was also the STUC President that year. He was seen as the natural choice to become his assistant secretary. The following year, he succeeded Carson as Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the STUC, its leading figure. Allan believed that the organisation was ineffective, and gave too much power to small unions. At the 1919 Congress, he proposed adopting a block vote system similar to that used by the Trades Union Congress, but this was opposed by a majority of unions.[1][2]
Carson persuaded the Parliamentary Committee to found a Labour Institute in Glasgow, as a fitting base for the STUC. He purchased a site, with the STUC meeting monthly repayments, but it was only in 1922 that affiliated unions became aware of the deal. With union memberships falling as unemployment rose, the deal became unaffordable, and Allan was suspended. A couple of days later, he was seriously injured at Carlisle railway station and lost both his legs. In sympathy, he was allowed to stand down on good terms, but never again played a leading role in the trade union movement.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdAitken, Keith (1997). The bairns o' Adam: the story of the STUC. Edinburgh: Polygon. pp. 29, 82–84. ISBN0748662006.
^ abDonnachie, Ian; Harvie, Christopher; Wood, Ian S. (1989). [0748660011 Forward!: Labour politics in Scotland, 1888-1988]. Edinburgh: Polygon. pp. 136–137. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
robert, allan, trade, unionist, robert, allan, scottish, trade, unionist, served, leader, scottish, trades, union, congress, stuc, allan, worked, compositor, edinburgh, joined, social, democratic, federation, active, scottish, typographical, association, edinb. Robert Allan was a Scottish trade unionist who served as leader of the Scottish Trades Union Congress STUC Allan worked as a compositor in Edinburgh and joined the Social Democratic Federation He was active in the Scottish Typographical Association STA and the Edinburgh Trades Council He attended the STUC from its foundation always taking a prominent part in debates 1 Allan was first elected to the General Council of the STUC in 1899 and on the council he championed the creation of a Scottish Labour Representation Committee to stand Parliamentary candidates on behalf of the socialist trade union and co operative movements This was formed as the Scottish Workers Representation Committee and Allan became its first secretary although in 1902 he was replaced by leader of the STUC George Carson 1 2 In 1913 Allan stood to become general secretary of the STA but he took third place with only 581 votes behind Charles Jackson and the winner James Brown 3 He was re elected to the Parliamentary Committee of the STUC in 1912 4 and in this role gave some support to the Red Clydeside movement arguing that its actions were hasty and unwise but that the committee should not ignore it but instead try to give it guidance 5 By 1917 Carson was seventy years old and looking to reduce his involvement in the STUC Allan had developed a strong working relationship with Carson and was also the STUC President that year He was seen as the natural choice to become his assistant secretary The following year he succeeded Carson as Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the STUC its leading figure Allan believed that the organisation was ineffective and gave too much power to small unions At the 1919 Congress he proposed adopting a block vote system similar to that used by the Trades Union Congress but this was opposed by a majority of unions 1 2 Carson persuaded the Parliamentary Committee to found a Labour Institute in Glasgow as a fitting base for the STUC He purchased a site with the STUC meeting monthly repayments but it was only in 1922 that affiliated unions became aware of the deal With union memberships falling as unemployment rose the deal became unaffordable and Allan was suspended A couple of days later he was seriously injured at Carlisle railway station and lost both his legs In sympathy he was allowed to stand down on good terms but never again played a leading role in the trade union movement 1 References edit a b c d Aitken Keith 1997 The bairns o Adam the story of the STUC Edinburgh Polygon pp 29 82 84 ISBN 0748662006 a b Donnachie Ian Harvie Christopher Wood Ian S 1989 0748660011 Forward Labour politics in Scotland 1888 1988 Edinburgh Polygon pp 136 137 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a Check url value help untitled article Typographical Circular 1913 Members of Parliamentary Committee and General Council since 1897 Annual Report of the Scottish Trades Union Congress 8 1942 McLean Iain 1983 The Legend of Red Clydeside Edinburgh Birlinn p 129 ISBN 0859760952 Trade union offices Preceded byNew position Secretary of the Scottish Workers Representation Committee1900 1902 Succeeded byGeorge Carson Preceded byDavid Gilmour President of the Scottish Trades Union Congress1917 Succeeded byHugh Lyon Preceded byGeorge Carson Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the Scottish Trades Union Congress1918 1922 Succeeded byWilliam Elger Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Allan trade unionist amp oldid 1085777767, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
