General Workers.—The General Labourers' National Council (established in 1908) developed in 1917 into the National Feder ation of General Workers, composed of the seven chief unions of general workers with an aggregate membership of over 800,000.
Building Trades.—The National Building Trades Council (rep resentative of the 13 chief unions in the building industry) formed the basis for the National Federation of Building Trades Opera tives established in 1918.
Foundry Trades.—Early in 1918 the Federation of Foundry Trades came into existence to promote amalgamation of the Unions in the industry, deal with demarcation disputes, and secure joint action wherever possible. It included about a dozen unions with a total of between 5o,000 and 6o,000 members. Three of the unions in the federation—the Friendly Society of Ironfounders, the Associated Ironmoulders of Scotland and the Amalgamated Society of Coremakers, in 1922 merged to form the National Union of Foundry Workers.
The G.F.T.U.—The General Federation of Trade Unions has changed its character. It does not now take any active part in trade union disputes and negotiations or in the work of promoting closer industrial organisation. The G.F.T.U. was formerly the medium of communication between the British and foreign trade union movements, but since 192o the general council of the Trades Union congress has been the representative British organisation in the International Federation of Trade Unions. The chief work of the G.F.T.U. is in connection with dispute pay. Contributing associations pay contributions to the federation on the basis of their membership, and receive, when involved in a stoppage of work, benefit to be paid to their members. In 1925 there were 118 unions affiliated to the federation with a total membership of 830,356 members.
The following table gives the number and gross membership of federations in Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the end of each year :— tions to which the trade union is affiliated, and the table shows for the years 1925 and 1926 (a) the total membership (to the nearest thousand) of the trade unions in each group, (b) the net federated membership (whether of trade unions or of sections of branches of trade unions), and (c) the percentage proportion of (b) to (a).
Amalgamations.—Federation has in many cases proved to be a stepping stone to amalgamation ; but in other cases unions have merged without the intermediate step of federation. The reduc tion which is taking place in the number of trade unions is in part due to amalgamations as may be seen from the following table:— The number of federations has shown a decline at the end of every year since 1917, except 1926, when there was an increase of one. In some years the decline was mainly due to the merging of local into national organisations.
In many instances trade unions, or branches of trade unions, are affiliated to more than one federation, and therefore a large number of trade union members are counted more than once in the gross membership given above. In the following table the actual or estimated federated membership of each federated trade union is counted once only, irrespective of the number of federa One of the most striking amalgamations which was carried through prior to the Act of 1917 was that which resulted in the establishment of the National Union of Railwaymen. Up to 1913, when it was formed by the merging of three independent unions, the railway unions had not yet won full recognition from the companies. The N.U.R. shares with the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, which is a craft union, and the Railway Clerks' Association, the representation of railway employees, and with certain other unions, the representation of the workers in the railway engineering workshops. The N.U.R. illustrates both the tendency towards larger scale organisation, for its object is "to secure the complete organisation of all workers employed on or in connection with any railway in the United King dom"; and also the incomplete success it has achieved and the difficulties inherent in this policy. In time, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen and the Railway Clerks Association may possibly merge into the National Union of Rail waymen; but the organisation of the engineers, boilermakers, carpenters and other railway shopmen, for which other unions cater, is a problem raising a conflict of principle.