Trades Union Congress
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| Full name | Trades Union Congress |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1868 at Mechanics' Institute, Manchester |
| Members | 5.8 million (2016) |
| Affiliation | ITUC |
| Key people |
Frances O'Grady, Gen.Sec. Paul Nowak, Deputy Gen.Sec. Mary Bousted (ATL), President |
| Office location | Congress House, London |
| Country | England and Wales |
| Website | www.tuc.org.uk |
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are fifty-one affiliated unions with a total of about 5.8 million members. The TUC refers to themselves as the voice of Britain at work. The current General Secretary is Frances O'Grady.
The TUC’s mission is to be a high-profile organisation that campaigns successfully for trade union aims and values, assists trade unions to increase membership and effectiveness, cuts out wasteful rivalry and promotes trade union solidarity.
The TUC's decision-making body is the Annual Congress, which takes place in September. Between congresses decisions are made by the General Council, which meets every two months. An Executive Committee is elected by the Council from its members.
Affiliated unions can send delegates to Congress, with the number of delegates they can send proportionate to their size. Each year Congress elects a President of the Trades Union Congress, who carries out the office for the remainder of the year and then presides over the following year's conference.
The TUC is not affiliated to the Labour Party. At election time the TUC cannot endorse a particular party by name. However it can point to policies that it believes would be positive for workers’ rights, or to social cohesion and community welfare. It can also politically campaign against policies that it believes would be injurious to workers.
The TUC also runs the Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum and annual Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and Rally commemorating the Tolpuddle Martyrs and their impact on trade unionism.
The TUC Library preserves documents related to labour history in Britain and other lands. It was established in 1922 and now focuses on expanding the online and digital collections.
The TUC archives are held at the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick Library. The archive contains files from c1920 - 1991 consisting of correspondence, internal and external documents, minutes, reports, printed material and press statements.
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