This section of the archive documents Avtar Jouhl's career in the trade union movement, from the early 1970s to the 1990s. Although he had become a trade union member since the late 1950s, the earliest material relating to his trade union role dates from the early 1970s. This comprises substantial records generated in the course of his work as Transport and General Workers Union [TGWU] shop steward and safety representative at Birmid Qualcast foundries in Smethwick, consisting of minutes; correspondence between trade union officials and company management; and a wealth of related material focusing on wage agreements; health and safety at work; and some of the industrial disputes that took place in the West Midlands area between the early 1970s and early 1990s.
The remainder of the records document Avtar Jouhl's later trade union movement career as lecturer in Trade Union Studies at Hall Green Technical College, between 1987 and the mid 1990s. He continued to be an active member of the Transport and General Workers Union [TGWU] but also became involved in NATFHE, the University and College Lecturers Union. He was particularly committed to supporting black and Asian trade union members and became a member of the TUC Race Relations Committee and took part in a number of Black Workers Conferences during the 1990s. This interest is also reflected in the educational material in this section which includes conference and training course papers and has a strong focus on efforts within the trade union education movement to tackle racism. Avtar Jouhl ran courses for black and Asian workers and convened or spoke at conferences on race relations and social justice, and campaigned against racial and sexual discrimination both within and outside the trade union movement. The section includes a large number of trade union related publications, many of which were issued by the TUC Education Service. These publications cover a variety of topics, but many focus on anti-racism and health and safety issues. Others are concerned with the Single European Act 1992 and its implications for trade union members, particularly those from black and Asian communities. This concern is documented in other papers relating to conferences and training courses on the European Union.
Organisational papers of some trade union committees and other trade union-linked bodies that Avtar Jouhl was a member of or advised are also included in this section.