Given below is a list of British indpendent unions; the names of those that are members of the Trades Union Congress are given in bold.They range in size from UNISON with its 1.2 million members to the Sheffield Wool Shear Workers Union with a mere fifteen.
A note on the naming of Trade Unions
In each case the full name of the union has been given followed by their commonly
accepted acronym where applicable, since Trade Unions, or British ones at least, normally
have a full descriptive name such as the National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping
Transport Officers but are more generally referred to by their intials, for example
NUMAST. Some unions have taken this a step further and inisted that they should be known
simply by their intitals, for example the GMB or the ISTC. The latter used to be known as
the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation but has abandoned that, due to, I would imagine,
the fact that there isn't much of an Iron and Steel trade left in the old UK.
There has also recently been a fashion for unions to engage in a bit of corporate
rebranding,
abandon the old descriptive names, and adopt a nice cuddly but, ultimately meaningless name
such as UNISON, Accord or Connect.
- ACCORD
- Alliance and Leicester Group Union of Staff - ALGUS
- Association for College Management - ACM
- Alliance for Finance
- Amicus
- Ambulance Service Union
- The Abbey National Group Union - ANGU
- Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - ASLEF
- Association of Cambridge University Assistants
- Association of Clinical Biochemists Limited
- Association of Educational Psychologists - AEP
- Association of Flight Attendants - AFA
- Association of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Taxes
- Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers
- Association of Local Authority Chief Executives
- Association of Magisterial Officers - AMO
- Association of Management and Professional Staffs
- Association of Plastic Operatives and Engineers
- Association of Principal Fire Officers
- Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel
- Association of Professional Music Therapists in Great Britain
- Association of Somerset Inseminators
- Association of Teachers and Lecturers - ATL
- Association of Theatre Personnel Nationwide
- Association of University Teachers - AUT
- Audit Commission Staff Association
- Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union - BFAWU
- Balfour Beatty Group Staff Association
- Birmingham Union of Club Stewards
- Boots Pharmacists Association
- Britannia Staff Union - BSU
- Britannic Field Staff Association
- British Air Line Pilots Association - BALPA
- British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education
- British Association of Colliery Management - Technical, Energy and Administrative Management - BACM-TEAM
- British Association of Dental Nurses
- British Association of Journalists
- British Association of Occupational Therapists Limited
- British Dental Association
- British Dietetic Association - BDA
- British Medical Association
- British Orthoptic Society - BOS
- British Union of Social Work Employees
- Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union - BECTU
- Caerphilly Public Employees Union
- Card Setting Machine Tenters Society - CSMTS
- Ceramic and Allied Trades Union - CATU
- CGNU Staff Association
- Chartered Society of Physiotherapy - CSP
- Cheshire Building Society Staff Association
- Church and Oswaldtwistle Power-Loom Overlookers Society
- Communication Workers Union - CWU
- Community and District Nursing Association - CDNA
- The Community and Youth Workers' Union - CYWU
- Connect
- Derbyshire Building Society Staff Association
- Dexion Staff Association
- Diplomatic Service Association
- Directors Guild of Great Britain
- Educational Institute of Scotland - EIS
- Engineering and Fastener Trade Union - EFTU
- Engineering Craft and Technicians Association
- Engineering Officers Technical Association
- Expression Union
- EQUITY
- Federation of Professional Railway Staff
- Fire Brigades Union - FBU
- Fire Officers Association
- First Division Association - FDA
- Gallaher Sales Staff Association
- General Dental Practitioners Association
- General Union of Loom Overlookers - GULO
- Girobank Senior Managers Staff Association
- GMB
- Graphical, Paper and Media Union - GPMU
- Guild of Professional Teachers of Dancing
- Guinness UDV Staff Association - GUDVSA
- Harrods Staff Union
- Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference
- Hongkong Bank Group UK Staff Association
- Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association - HCSA
- Hyde and District Textile (Technicians and Operatives) Association
- Immigration Service Union
- Independent Union of Halifax Staff
- Institute of Football Management and Administration
- Institute of Journalists
- Irish Bank Officials Association
- ISTC
- Jones and Shipman Administrative Staff Association
- Lawson Mardon Star Ltd Managerial Staff Association
- Lecturers Employment Advice and Action Fellowship
- Leek United Building Society Staff Association
- Leicestershire Overmen Deputies and Shotfirers Association
- Lloyds TSB Group Union
- Manufacturing Science and Finance Union
- Midland Area Association of Colliery Officials
- Military and Orchestral Musical Instrument Makers Trade Society
- Musicians' Union - MU
- Napo
- National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers - NACODS
- National Association of Co-operative Officials - NACO
- National Association of Educational Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants - NAEIAC
- National Association of Head Teachers
- National Association of NFU Group Secretaries
- National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women - NASUWT
- NATFHE
- National Bus Drivers Union
- National Federation of Sub-Postmasters
- National House Building Council Staff Association
- National Society for Education in Art and Design
- National Union of Club Stewards
- National Union of Domestic Appliances and General Operatives - NUDAGO
- National Union of Flint Glassworkers
- National Union of Journalists - NUJ
- National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades - KFAT
- National Union of Lock and Metal Workers - NULMW
- National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers - NUMAST
- National Union of Mineworkers - NUM
- National Union for Professional Interpreters and Translators
- National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers - RMT
- National Union of Teachers - NUT
- Nationwide Group Staff Union - NGSU
- NCH Marketing Services Ltd Staff Association
- NISA
- Organisation of CPL Technicians
- Offshore Industry Liaison Committee
- Portman Staff Association
- Prison Governors Association
- Prison Officers Association - POA
- Prison Service Union
- Professional Association of Teachers
- Professional Association of Cabin Crew Employees
- Professional Cricketers Association
- Professional Flight Instructors Association
- Professional Footballers Association - PFA
- Professional Rugby Players Association
- Prospect
- Public and Commercial Services Union - PCS
- Public Transport (Staff) Consortium
- Retail Book Stationery and Allied Trades Employees Association
- Retained Firefighters Union
- Retired Officers Association
- Royal College of Midwives
- Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom
- RSPB Staff Association
- Scarborough Building Society Staff Association (SOCASS)
- Secondary Heads Association
- Securicor Custodial Services Staff Association
- Sheffield Wool Shear Workers Union - SWSWU
- Skipton Staff Association
- Society of Authors Limited
- Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists - SCP
- Society of Radiographers - SoR
- Society of Union Employees (UNISON)
- Stable Lads Association
- Staff Association of Bank of Baroda (UK Region)
- Staff Union West Bromwich Building Society
- Staffordshire Building Society Staff Association
- Teston Independent Society of Cricket Ball Makers
- Transport and General Workers' Union - T&G
- Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - TSSA
- UBAC
- Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru - UCAC
- UNIFI
- Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians - UCATT
- Union of Country Sports Workers
- Union of Democratic Mineworkers
- Union of Dexion Workers
- Union of Finance Staff
- Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers - USDAW
- Union of Textile Workers - UTW
- UNISON
- The Union for Woolwich Staff - WISA
- United Road Transport Union
- Volunteers and Private Sectors Workers Union
- Whatman Staff Association
- The Writers' Guild of Great Britain - WGGB
- Yorkshire Independent Staff Association - YISA