National Union of Railwaymen

National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), trade union which until the 1990s had represented the majority of unionized workers in the British railway industry for most of the 20th century.

The origins of the NUR were in the latter half of the 19th century, when at least 11 separate railway unions were established. Virtually all of these, such as the Railway Working Men’s Provident Society, founded in 1865, failed to last more than a few years due to company opposition. However, at least two did survive: the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS), established in 1871, and the Amalgamated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), established in 1880. By 1910 trade union numbers were 116,000, two-thirds of who were in the ASRS and about one-sixth in ASLEF. In 1913 the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) was formed by the amalgamation of the ASRS, the United Pointsmen and Signalmen’s Society, and the General Railway Workers Union.

Nationalization of the railway network in 1946 and the Beeching Report of March 1963 heralded the loss of tens of thousands of rail jobs in the post-war period, and a subsequent drastic decline in union numbers. In 1990, the 111,000-strong NUR began discussions with the 22,000-strong National Union of Seamen (NUS) to form a single transport union, the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT). As of 2005 the RMT had over 70,000 members, and its general secretary was Bob Crow.

ASLEF, the principal union for railway drivers, was founded in Sheffield by Charles Perry. In February 1919, ASLEF achieved what was then considered the biggest ever breakthrough in British industrial history when it achieved the first eight-hour working day. In 1946 membership was 72,000, but by 2005 it was nearly 18,500. Its general secretary is Keith Norman.