| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 2270 |
| Alt Ref No | MS 3130 |
| Title | Aberdeen Trades Union Council papers |
| Date | 1876 - current |
| Extent | 22 volumes, 27 archives boxes, 2 outsize items and 1 outsize box: 10 linear metres |
| Creator Name | Aberdeen United Trades Council (to 1916)
Aberdeen Trades & Labour Council (1916-1935)
Aberdeen Trades Council (1936 – 2002)
Aberdeen Trades Union Council (2003 – current). |
| Administrative History | Aberdeen Trades Union Council was established in 1868. Its formation at this time was prompted by the effects of the great strike of 1868, and achieved largely through the efforts of the Aberdeen branches of the Associated Carpenters and Joiners of Scotland, and the Operative Masons' and Granite Workers' Union. The Council assumed responsibility for organising the annual summer holiday for the Aberdeen trades, and from the outset, took an active role in both trade and municipal matters within the city.
A full account of the Council's establishment and its first seventy years is given in: A history of the Trades Council and the Trade Union Movement in Aberdeen (William Diack, Aberdeen Trades Council, 1939), Trade Unionism in Aberdeen 1878 – 1900 (K. D. Buckley, Edinburgh, 1955) and C.W.M. Phipps 'The Aberdeen Trades Council and Politics 1900-1939' (University of Aberdeen thesis, 1980). |
| Source | The minute books of the Aberdeen Union Trades Council were presented to Aberdeen University Library in 1957 and 1967. Additional deposits in 1967, 1983 and ongoing. |
| Description | Constitution and legal papers: 1947 - 1990s
Annual reports and accounts: 1884 - current (incomplete)
Minutes: 1876 - current
Correspondence and subject files: 1970s - current
Hall and social club administration: 1967 - 2012
Press cuttings: 1960s - 1990
Grampian Federation of Trades Councils minutes: 1973 - 1995
Song books of Bob Cooney, activist: c.early 1980s
Records arranged by form (artwork/certificates, photographs, plans): 20th century - 21st century |
| Appraisal | This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures. |
| Accruals | Yes |
| Access Status | Restricted |
| Access Conditions | Some records contain personal information and may be closed for 75 (for adults) and 100 (for children 16 and under) years under the Data Protection Act (1998). |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English |
| Physical Description | No physical conditions affecting use of collection. |
| Related Material | MS 2663: Records of Aberdeen City Labour Party, 1947 - 1959
MS 2664: Communist Party literature, 1891 - 1959
MS 2640 - 2700; MS 2879; MS 2880; MS 2984: Deposits of nineteenth and twentieth century records concerning Trade Union branches in Aberdeen and north-east Scotland.
Records of Aberdeen constituencies Labour parties (1939 - 1996) are held at Aberdeen City Archives, Town House, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1AQ. |
| Copies | Microfilm copies (5 reels) of the records from 1876 - 1951 are available (with introduction by Doris Hatvany), including: Council minutes (1876 - 1951), annual reports (1884 - 1936, with many gaps), minutes of sundry committees (1899 - 1922), Unemployment Association (1934 - 1941) and joint Trades Council and burgh Labour Party (1936 - 1937). |