# Iron and Steel Trades Confederation

The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now part of Community.

## History

In 1917 Minister of Labour, John Hodge passed the Trade Unions' Amalgamation Act, which simplified the process whereby Trade Unions merged, amalgamated or federated. This was in response to both the difficulty of mergers under the previous legislation (requiring two-thirds majorities in favor in all participant unions), as well as a desire to push craft unions into general trade unions to cover entire industries. However, difficulties still remained. When the first three members federated in 1917, they were legally prevented from accepting any new members. The ISTC focused on industrial negotiations, and new members joined its subsidiary, the British Iron, Steel and Kindred Trades Association (BISAKTA); formally, unions which federated after 1917 joined this association.
Trade unions that have amalgamated with or transferred engagements to the ISTC or BISAKTA and year it occurred:
* British Steel Smelters, Mill, Iron and Tinplate Workers Union (1917)
* Associated Iron and Steel Workers of Great Britain (1917)
* National Steel Workers' Associated Engineering and Labour League (1917)
* Amalgamated Society of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain (1920)
* Tin and Sheet Millmen's Association (1921)
* Wire Workers Union (1922–24, 1991)
* National Union of Blastfurnacemen (1985)
* Power Loom Carpet Weavers and Textile Workers Union (2000)
* National League of the Blind and Disabled (2000)
The resultant union was named the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation. Members of the Amalgamated Association of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain and of the Tin and Sheet Millmens' Association voted against joining the union, but were later reballoted and voted in favour. The Wire Workers Union joined the confederation in 1922 but left in 1924, rejoining in 1991. Other members left in 1924 to form the Constructional Engineering Union.
From the 1980s, employment in the metalworking trades was in sharp decline, and membership of the ISTC dropped in line with this. In 1984, the existing ISTC was legally absorbed by BISAKTA, which took on the ISTC name.
In later years the union also built up representation amongst workers in the electronics industry, plastics and glass, the manufacture of kitchen furniture, carpet production, and call centres. Expansion was especially strong in areas with major steel industry installations.
Responding to the contraction of the British manufacturing sector, the ISTC expanded into new areas in 2000. Both the NLBD and PLCWTWU pre-dating the ISTC having been formed as a trade union in 1899 and 1866 respectively.
In 2004, the ISTC merged with the National Union of Knitwear, Footwear & Apparel Trades (KFAT) to form a new organisation called Community.

## Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in each Parliamentary election.
| Election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Position |
| 1918 general election | Kidderminster | John Baker | 9,760 | 42.0 | 2 |
| 1918 general election | Manchester Gorton | John Hodge | 13,047 | 67.4 | 1 |
| 1918 general election | Pontypool | Thomas Griffiths | 8,348 | 38.8 | 1 |
| 1918 general election | Rotherham | James Walker | 9,757 | 38.1 | 2 |
| 1922 general election | Bilston | John Baker | 10,392 | 45.8 | 2 |
| 1922 general election | Manchester Gorton | John Hodge | 15,058 | 53.6 | 1 |
| 1922 general election | Pontypool | Thomas Griffiths | 11,198 | 40.6 | 1 |
| 1922 general election | Rotherham | James Walker | 16,449 | 49.0 | 2 |
| 1922 general election | Walsall | Robert Dennison | 8,946 | 23.6 | 3 |
| 1923 general election | Bilston | John Baker | 9,085 | 37.1 | 2 |
| 1923 general election | Cleveland | Robert Dennison | 9,683 | 27.8 | 3 |
| 1923 general election | Pontypool | Thomas Griffiths | 13,770 | 50.6 | 1 |
| 1924 general election | Bilston | John Baker | 14,583 | 53.2 | 1 |
| 1924 general election | Birmingham King's Norton | Robert Dennison | 10,497 | 43.3 | 1 |
| 1924 general election | Pontypool | Thomas Griffiths | 15,378 | 52.6 | 1 |
| 1929 general election | Bilston | John Baker | 18,679 | 50.8 | 1 |
| 1929 general election | Birmingham King's Norton | Robert Dennison | 13,973 | 40.6 | 2 |
| 1929 general election | Eccles | David Mort | 20,489 | 49.8 | 1 |
| 1929 general election | Newport | James Walker | 18,653 | 39.5 | 1 |
| 1929 general election | Pontypool | Thomas Griffiths | 17,805 | 51.5 | 1 |
| 1931 general election | Bilston | John Baker | 16,847 | 44.9 | 2 |
| 1931 general election | Eccles | David Mort | 16,101 | 38.2 | 2 |
| 1931 general election | Newport | James Walker | 19,238 | 40.9 | 2 |
| 1931 general election | Pontypool | Thomas Griffiths | 18,981 | 56.3 | 1 |
| 1935 general election | Bilston | David Mort | 17,820 | 48.8 | 2 |
| 1935 general election | Motherwell | James Walker | 14,755 | 50.7 | 1 |
| 1940 by-election | Swansea East | David Mort | unopposed | N/A | 1 |
| 1945 general election | Bolton | Jack Jones | 44,595 | 24.0 | 1 |
| 1945 general election | Swansea East | David Mort | 19,127 | 75.8 | 1 |
| 1950 general election | Rotherham | Jack Jones | 31,211 | 64.4 | 1 |
| 1950 general election | Swansea East | David Mort | 32,680 | 75.3 | 1 |
| 1951 general election | Rotherham | Jack Jones | 31,124 | 65.6 | 1 |
| 1951 general election | Swansea East | David Mort | 32,790 | 73.6 | 1 |
| 1955 general election | Rotherham | Jack Jones | 27,423 | 63.3 | 1 |
| 1955 general election | Swansea East | David Mort | 28,198 | 72.4 | 1 |
| 1959 general election | Rotherham | Jack Jones | 28,298 | 62.8 | 1 |
| 1959 general election | Swansea East | David Mort | 29,884 | 67.5 | 1 |
| 1964 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 29,692 | 73.4 | 1 |
| 1966 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 31,183 | 79.9 | 1 |
| 1968 by-election | Sheffield Brightside | Edward Griffiths | 14,179 | 55.2 | 1 |
| 1970 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 28,378 | 71.4 | 1 |
| 1970 general election | Sheffield Brightside | Edward Griffiths | 23,941 | 72.2 | 1 |
| Feb 1974 general election | Halesowen and Stourbridge | Dennis Turner | 22,465 | 33.8 | 2 |
| Feb 1974 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 25,351 | 62.3 | 1 |
| Feb 1974 general election | Sheffield Brightside | Edward Griffiths | 27,363 | 68.4 | 1 |
| Oct 1974 general election | Halesowen and Stourbridge | Dennis Turner | 23,637 | 37.6 | 2 |
| Oct 1974 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 25,028 | 61.4 | 1 |
| 1979 general election | Kettering | William Homewood | 31,579 | 45.0 | 1 |
| 1979 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 27,071 | 64.5 | 1 |
| 1983 general election | Corby | William Homewood | 17,659 | 36.1 | 2 |
| 1983 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 22,670 | 53.6 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Enfield North | Martin Upham | 14,743 | 28.5 | 2 |
| 1987 general election | Neath | Donald Coleman | 27,612 | 63.4 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Newport West | Paul Flynn | 20,887 | 46.1 | 1 |

## General Secretaries

    1917: Arthur Pugh
    1936: John Brown
    1946: Lincoln Evans
    1953: Harry Douglass
    1967: Dai Davies
    1975: Bill Sirs
    1985: Roy Evans
    1993: Keith Brookman
    1999: Michael J. Leahy

## Assistant General Secretaries

    1935: John Brown
    1936: Lincoln Evans
    1945: Harry Douglass
    1953: Dai Davies
    1967: Jim Diamond
    1973: Bill Sirs
    1975: Roy Evans
    1985: Keith Brookman
    1993: Michael J. Leahy
    1999: Eddie Lynch
    2004: Roy Rickhuss
* Organized labour portal