Civil and Public Services Association

CPSA
Full name Civil and Public Services Association
Founded 1921
Date dissolved 1998
Merged with PTC into Public and Commercial Services Union
Country United Kingdom
Affiliation TUC
Office location 160 Falcon Road, London, SW11 2LN, England

The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants.

The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged to form the Civil Service Clerical Association. It affiliated with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Labour Party and had around 16,000 members.[1] Its Dublin branch left the following year, to form the Civil and Public Services Union.[2]

Following the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, the Trades Disputes Act 1927 was passed, requiring government employees to disaffiliate from political parties and trades union confederations, compelling the union to leave the Labour Party and the TUC. It rejoined the TUC in 1946.[1]

In 1969, the union renamed itself as the "Civil and Public Services Association". In 1973, the Ministry of Labour Staff Association joined the CPSA, while in 1974 the Court Officers Association joined.[1] In 1985, the union's Postal and Telecommunications Group left to merge with the Post Office Engineering Union, forming the National Communications Union.[3]

The CPSA merged with the Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union in 1998, forming the Public and Commercial Services Union.[1]

1986 General Secretary Election Controversy

In the elections, Militant tendency supporter John Macreadie initially won the ballot. However, the election was blocked and the courts ordered it to be re-run, with John Ellis receiving 42,000 votes, Macreadie receiving 31,000, and the Broad Left 84, backed by the Communist Party gaining 13,000.[4]

General Secretaries

1921: William Brown
1942: Len White
1955: George F. Green
1963: L. A. Wines
1967: Bill Kendall
1976: Ken Thomas
1982: Alistair Graham
1986: John Ellis
1992: Barry Reamsbottom

References

  1. ^ a b c d Archive Catalogues: Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA), earlier the Civil Service Clerical Association (CSCA), University of Warwick
  2. ^ John B. Smethurst and Peter Carter, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, p.368. ISBN 978-0-7546-6683-7
  3. ^ Post Office Engineering Union Research Department 1887-1994
  4. ^ Taaffe, P. (1995) Rise of Militant, pg.292-3. ISBN 978-0906582473