Our guest blogger, Andrew Redpath, is researching the North East Coast Tug-boatmen’s Association. In this post he describes the history of the Association, its rivals and potential merger partners of the TGWU. (All photo’s provided by Andrew).

One of the drivers of my research was a building in North Shields with the markings ‘Tyne Steam Packet Provident Society Established 1853 Built 1897 Diamond Jubilee.’ The building, now residential, was the head office of a union that at one time represented steam tug boat men and steam trawler men from Aberdeen to the Humber but is now largely forgotten.

During World War Two the head office was used as an ARP post and as it did not have a cellar for storage, all paperwork was ordered removed from the office and never returned, either lost or destroyed. Finding information on the union was difficult as there were no deposits in the Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. North Tyneside Discovery held a small amount of materiel as did the National Archives and local newspapers while some information was available in TGWU deposits at the Modern Records Centre and TUC Library.

Formed in 1853 as a friendly society, with 488 members, the organisation was registered under the name the Tyne Steam Packet Provident Society and restricted membership to time served steam tug boat men, steam trawler men and apprentices.

River trades on the Tyne had a long history of self-help organisations and the Tyne tug boat men and fishermen lived in close communities on the Tyne and had generations of the same families employed in the tug boat and trawler trades.

The Society described itself as “a society of good fellowship for the purpose of raising funds by voluntary contributions for mutual relief and maintenance of all members in old age, sickness and infirmity and care of the widows and children of members”. The Society provided its members with a large range of benefits including sickness benefit, accident benefit, a weekly payment to all members over seventy years of age, disabled members received a weekly payment which would continue as a life pension. The Society also held annual members excursions and sports days and provided a loan scheme to allow members to buy their own boat or share of a boat.

In 1866 the Society petitioned the steam tug owners for an increase in overtime rates and threatened a strike, however the Society failed to carry out the threat. After having taken the first steps to act as a trade union the Society registered as a trade union in 1895 with the registration number 845T.

In June 1897 the Society opened a new purpose built head office in North Shields. The substantial building had an ante room and two meeting rooms on the ground floor and General Secretary’s office and residential flat on the first floor. As well as an administrative centre the office also acted as a hub for social activities. The meeting room was open from eight in the morning with a selection of newspapers available for members, who could also hold birthday and wedding parties there. The rooms were also hired out to other trade unions and groups.

As well as being able to fund the building of its s own head office, the union must have accumulated a substantial amount of funds as it was able to produce 14 gold and silver medals for presentation to the crew of the Grimsby tug Copernicus who rescued Society members from their sinking tug Clarence in 1894.

The Society also bought a banner from Tutils in 1898. The banner was silk with a scarlet background and blue margins. The front of the banners depicts North Shields Fish Quay, the paddle trawler Flying Arrow and the paddle tug Warrior. The reverse shows Newcastle High Level and Swing bridges with the trawler Victorian Prince and the liner Orcadia.

The Society also obtained some regalia for its officers, collarettes in dark blue and gold fabric with a gold Maltese cross surrounded by a heraldic strap with buckle inscribed ‘United to Assist’ all surrounded by a wreath.

By 1914 branches were operating at Aberdeen, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Hull as well as the membership on the Tyne and at Blyth.

In 1921 the Dock, Wharf Riverside and General Workers Union, without consulting or informing the Society raided the Society’s Middlesbrough branch.
In 1922 the Society amalgamated with the South Shields Steam Tug Boat Men’s Provident Society to form the North East Coast Tug Boatmen and Fishermen’s Association, which was soon joined by the Newcastle Steam Tug Society.

The newly established Transport and General Workers Union approached the Association with a view to amalgamation, however after the incident with the Dock Wharf Riverside and General Workers Union (now part of the TGWU) the Association’s Executive decided they would rather remain independent. The TGWU responded by poaching the Association’s membership at Blyth, although some them later reapplied to rejoin the Association.

The TGWU began organising amongst North Shields fishermen as most of them were unorganised as the Association only accepted crews of steam fishing vessels who had practiced their craft for at least three years.

The TGWU offered the Association generous terms for amalgamation in 1937 but the membership voted to reject it.

By 1950 the Association had lost all it’s members in the Tyne Improvement Commission to the TGWU and it’s Sunderland Branch to the National Union of General and Municipal Workers leaving the Association representing tug boat men and some fishermen on the Tyne only. As steam trawlers were phased out the Association’s trawler membership disappeared and in 1955 the Association became the North East Coast Tug Boatmen’s Association with all it’s members on the Tyne.

An important dispute took place in September 1954 when the first two diesel tugs were introduced on the Tyne, more than 140 tug boatmen, operating 28 tugs stopped work. The Association was not against the introduction of the diesel tugs but the fact that the owners wanted to reduce the crew on each tug by one man. The Association agreed to return to work and continue negotiations with the issue going to an Industrial Disputes Tribunal which ruled in favour of the Association.

The Association applied to the TUC for affiliation in 1969 but was turned down due to its small membership, 120, and advised to merge with one of the general unions. The Association rejected the TUC advice as with one hundred percent membership amongst Tyne tug crews, recognition from the employers and a healthy bank balance the Association chose to remain independent.

The Association had won paid holidays and pensions for tug boat crews and had loyal membership but with the reduction of the number of tugs on the Tyne membership continued to fall.

In 1996 the Tyne tug company was taken over by Corey Towing who already recognised the TGWU. Rather than merge with the TGWU the Association dissolved itself. It is probable that the Association chose to dissolve rather than merge as it had a large amount of money in the bank from its sale of the head office and under Rule 20 of the Associations rules all funds and property would be divided equally between its membership of around 68.