WOMEN IN THE UNION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2015 :: RMTnews 16 T his year the union is celebrating women joining its ranks 100 years ago. Certainly women worked on rail and at sea for many years before 1915, but it took a world war to break through resistance within the railway unions to allow female membership. The National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) was created in 1913 with an amalgamation of three trades unions. At the point of amalgamation there was a debate as to the name of the union, with one trade union arguing for ‘railway workers’ because the companies employed over 12,000 women and the new union expected to recruit them. However the argument that using the word ‘railwaymen’ would not stop women being recruited won the day. The term ‘railwayman’, however, caused problems. Although the rule book stated that “Any person employed on any railway or in connection with any railway in the United Kingdom shall be eligible for membership” branch officers were still unsure if they could allow female membership. Attempts were made in 1912 and 1913 to clarify women’s eligibility and some branches proposed that the name should be changed to ‘National Union of Railway Workers’. This was, however, voted down and when women applied to join the union they were declined. Britain entered into war on August 4 1914. With this came a sudden increase in railway traffic transporting troops and war supplies along with a sharp decrease in railway staff as thousands of men joined the forces. Such was the unprecedented need to recruit women within the industry that the Secretary of War Lord Kitchener appointed a sub-committee to discuss whether women could substitute men on the railways particularly in grades from which they were barred. The sub-committee recommended the employment of women in some male wages grades. As soon as this bar was lifted in the spring of 1915 the companies were inundated with applications. The proportion of 100 years WOMEN IN THE UNION RMT equality officer Jess Webb outlines the struggle for women to become part of the union