National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers
| Full name | National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1945 |
| Date dissolved | 1991 |
| Merged into | National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades |
| Members | 74,077 (1977) |
| Office location | 55 New Walk, Leicester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
The National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers (NUHKW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
History
The union was founded in 1945, with the merger of the Hinckley, Ilkeston, Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham Hosiery Unions. Shortly after, most Scottish unions voted to join the new organisation.[1] Sections were also created for northern and southern England and, by the end of the year, it had 22,430 members. The following year, it secured a national agreement limiting night work and restricting total working to 45 hours per week.[2]
In 1970, a threat of national strike action secured a 10% wage increase and the abandonment of plans for a continuous shift system. Membership of the union continued to grow, reaching a peak of 74,077 in 1977. Several small unions affiliated, the most notable being the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Textile Workers. However, widespread redundancies in the sector began reducing membership. In 1991, it merged with the National Union of Footwear, Leather and Allied Trades, with 34,183 members remaining to join the new National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades.[2]
General Secretaries
- 1945: Clifford Groocock
- 1960: George Dearing
- 1963: Harold Gibson[3]
- 1975: David Lambert,[4] subsequently General President of KFAT (1991-94) and of the ITGLWF (1992-94?).[5]
- 1982: George Marshall[6]
- 1984: Tom Kirk[7]
- 1989-90: Helen McGrath,[8][9] subsequently General Secretary (1992-94) then General President of KFAT (1994-97?).
General Presidents
- 1945: Horace Moulden
- 1963: George Dearing
- 1968: Peter Pendergast
- 1975: Harold Gibson
- 1982: David Lambert
Further reading
- Richard Gurnham A History of the TRADE UNION MOVEMENT in the HOSIERY and KNITWEAR INDUSTRY 1776-1976 (NUHKW, Leicester 1976)
- Bramwell G Rudd COURTAULDS and the HOSIERY & KNITWEAR INDUSTRY (Carnegie Publishing Ltd) (2014, ISBN softback 978-1-905472-06-2, hardback 978-1-905472-18-5)
References
- ↑ NUHKW - National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers, Community (trade union) page archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 National Union of Hosiery & Knitwear Workers, Knitting Together
- ↑ The Who's Who Of Radical Leicester retrieved 2012-05-28
- ↑ Hosiery and Knitwear union ballots members..., Tribune (magazine) 1981-05-08, retrieved 2012-05-28
- ↑ ITF News, November 1992, pp6., retrieved 2012-05-29
- ↑ Knitwear leader dies Tribune (magazine) 1984-05-18, retrieved 2012-05-28]
- ↑ Knitwear post, Glasgow Herald 1984-06-12, retrieved 2012-05-28
- ↑ News in brief, 1994-04-29, retrieved 2012-05-28
- ↑ Obituary (French language) in Rapport des Activités 2000 – 2004 par Neil Kearney, retrieved 2012-05-28