Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (South Wales)

The material includes Iron and Steel Trades Confederation correspondence files and circulars, divisional files for Divisions 2-7, Manpower Board files for divisions 5 and 6 and National Union of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners, Coke Workers and Kindred Trades reports, minutes and papers 1912-1987.

The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) emerged as a result of a conference held in 1916. It was established on 1st January 1917 as a response to Government requirements for a single authoratative body which could consult with the multiplicity of unions then existing within the iron and steel industries.

Originally the ISTC was not very successful, gaining little support from the other unions. It was only following the re-nationalisation of 1967 and the subsequent contraction of the industry, that the policy and organisation proved to be a success.

The National Union of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners, Coke Workers and Kindred Trades (NUB) amalgamated with the ISTC in 1985 as a result of declining membership numbers. The NUB's origins lie with the formation of the Cleveland Association of Blastfurnacemen in 1878. In 1887 a Cumberland Blastfurnacemen's Association was formed and this merged in 1888 with the Cleveland Association to form the National Association of Blastfurnacemen. In 1892 it became The National Federation of Blastfurnacemen, a federation of local associations in Northern England, the Midlands and Scotland. In 1903 the federation changed its name to the National Federation of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners and Kindred Trades and in 1921 the NUB was formed.

The ISTC's central power and administrative authority is vested in its Executive Council, with eight geographical divisions. Within each of these divisions are local branches, based on the workplace unit (in the NUB these were called lodges). The numbering of the documents has therefore followed this structure. The records have come from the divisional offices of Division 5, Gwent and East Wales based in Newport and later in Cardiff and Division 6, Swansea and West Wales based in Swansea.

Accessible to all researchers by appointment. Please note that some collections contain sensitive information and access may be restricted.