Merged into | SIPTU |
---|---|
Founded | 15 June 1924 [1] |
Dissolved | 1 January 1990 [1] |
Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Location | |
Members | 55,000 (1985) [1] |
Key people | James Larkin |
Affiliations | ICTU, Labour Party |
The Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI), later the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland, was an Irish trade union formed in 1924. In 1990, it merged with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union to form the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU). [2]
The WUI was formed in 1924 as a consequence of the clashes between James Larkin and the incumbent leadership of the ITGWU, subsequent to his 1923 release from Sing Sing and return to Ireland in April 1923. Larkin, still officially general secretary of the ITGWU, clashed bitterly with William O'Brien, who had taken leadership of the ITGWU, the Irish Labour Party and the Irish Trades Union Congress.
During Larkin's absence at the 1924 Comintern congress (and possibly against his wishes), his brother Peter led their supporters out of the ITGWU, forming the WUI. The new union quickly grew, gaining the allegiance of about two thirds of the Dublin membership of the ITGWU and of a smaller number of rural members. It affiliated to the pro-Soviet Red International of Labour Unions, but during the 1930s gradually entered the mainstream of the Irish trade union movement, being admitted to the Dublin Trades Council in 1936 (although the Irish Trades Union Congress would not accept its membership application until 1945).
In 1941 a new trade union bill was published by the Government. Inspired by an internal trade union restructuring proposal by O'Brien, it was viewed as a threat by the smaller general unions and the Irish branches of British unions (known as the 'amalgamated unions'). Larkin and the WUI played a leading role in the unsuccessful campaign against the bill.
After Big Jim Larkin's 1947 death, his son James Larkin Jnr became general secretary, and continued to preside over a gradual expansion of the WUI, including amalgamations with a number of other unions. In 1979, the Federation of Rural Workers merged in, and the union renamed itself as the "Federated Workers' Union of Ireland". [1]
Numerous smaller trade unions merged into the Workers' Union: [1]
The Transport and General Workers' Union was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900,000 members.
The Irish Citizen Army, or ICA, was a small paramilitary group of trained trade union volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) established in Dublin for the defence of workers' demonstrations from the Dublin Metropolitan Police. It was formed by James Larkin, James Connolly and Jack White on 23 November 1913. Other prominent members included Seán O'Casey, Constance Markievicz, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, P. T. Daly and Kit Poole. In 1916, it took part in the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection aimed at ending British rule in Ireland.
SIPTU is Ireland's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the Republic of Ireland, although the union does have a Northern Ireland District Committee. Its head office, Liberty Hall, is in Dublin, and the union has five industrial divisions, three in the private sector and two in the public sector. SIPTU is affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
James Larkin, sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and William O'Brien, and later the founder of the Irish Worker League, as well as the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) and the Workers' Union of Ireland. Along with Connolly and Jack White, he was also a founder of the Irish Citizen Army. Larkin was a leading figure in the Syndicalist movement.
The Dublin lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers that took place in Dublin, Ireland. The dispute, lasting from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in Irish history. Central to the dispute was the workers' right to unionise.
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The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland.
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John F. Carroll was an Irish trade union leader. He was vice-president of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) from 1969 to 1981, when he became the union's president until its merger in 1990 with the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland to form the new Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU).
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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress and the Congress of Irish Unions, is a national trade union centre, the umbrella organisation to which trade unions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland affiliate.
Jimmy Somers was an Irish trade unionist, former President of SIPTU and Labour Party activist.
Patrick Thomas Daly, known as P. T. Daly was an Irish trade unionist and politician.
The 1913 Sligo Dock strike in the port of Sligo in northwest Ireland was a labour dispute lasting 56 days from 8 March to 6 May 1913. During the strike, there were numerous clashes on the docks and riots in the town, resulting in one fatality. Occurring six months earlier than the Dublin Lockout, it was regarded as a precursor to that action and a successful application of the Irish Transport & General Workers' Union’s strategy for workers' rights by James Larkin and James Connolly. It resulted in victory for the workers. James Larkin considered the 1913 victory in Sligo to be a major achievement of the ITGWU.
The Irish National Union of Vintners', Grocers' and Allied Trades Assistants (INUVGATA), also known as the Barmen's Union, was a trade union representing retail and bar staff, principally in Ireland.
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The Federation of Rural Workers of Ireland (FRW) was a trade union representing agricultural workers in Ireland.