Trade unions in the United Kingdom
| National organization(s) | TUC, STUC, ICTU |
|---|---|
| Regulatory authority | Department for Business and Trade Northern Ireland Department for the Economy |
| Primary legislation | Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 |
| Total union membership | 6.4 million (2024) |
| Percentage of workforce unionised | 22% (2024) |
| International Labour Organization | |
| The UK is a member of the ILO | |
| Convention ratification | |
| Freedom of Association | 27 June 1949 |
| Right to Organise | 30 June 1950 |
| Union | Members |
|---|---|
| UNISON | 1,403,792 |
| Unite | 1,177,292 |
| GMB | 576,463 |
| Royal College of Nursing | 570,656 |
| National Education Union | 487,420 |
| Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers | 360,394 |
| NASUWT | 285,963 |
| Public and Commercial Services Union | 189,399 |
| British Medical Association | 170,633 |
| Communication Workers Union | 170,324 |
| Prospect | 156,904 |
| University and College Union | 119,785 |
| Other Unions | 1,030,675 |
In the United Kingdom, trade unions emerged in the early 19th century, but faced punitive laws that sharply limited their activities. They began political activity in the late 19th century and formed an alliance with the Liberal Party in the early 20th century. They grew rapidly from 1900 to 1920, lost their legal disabilities, and were well established by the 1920s. Union members largely switched from Liberal to the new Labour Party. Its leader Ramsay MacDonald became prime minister in 1924 briefly, and then again in 1929. In the 1980s Margaret Thatcher's Conservative governments weakened the powers of the unions by making it more difficult to strike legally. Most British unions are members of the TUC, the Trades Union Congress (founded in 1867), or where appropriate, the Scottish Trades Union Congress or the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which are the country's principal national trade union centres.