ABSTRACT
The british trade union movement has, in 1938, approximately 5 million members, of whom about 4 millions are affiliated to the Trades Union Congress. There are in all approximately 5 million female wage- and salary-earners; but in 1938 the total number of women in Trade Unions was still well under a million. Trade Unionism is generally weak among unskilled and casual workers. The miners, cotton operatives, and shipbuilding workers have been remarkably successful in maintaining their Trade Unions in face of prolonged depression and a steady shrinkage in the total numbers employed. The skilled groups of building and wood-working craftsmen- masons, bricklayers, plasterers, plumbers, carpenters and the rest—are for the most part fairly well organised; but among the builders’ labourers Trade Unionism is very weak. Notably the big motor-manufacturing firms, organisation is almost nonexistent except among fully skilled workers; and the employers are in certain cases still able to refuse any sort of recognition of the rights of collective bargaining.
