A new online, interactive source of information about trade unions has been created by Union Insurance, the company that provides policies for union members, working people and their families.
The website is based on a timeline that traces the history of trade unions in the UK from 1800 to the present day. Every trade union founded in that period is included at the year of their formation, and a click on each name reveals basic information about that organisation plus links to their own websites.
According to the website, “With such a large number of trade unions in the UK, it can be difficult to learn about each trade union and how they came to be. By utilising design and interactivity, the timeline aims to make information about unions in the UK more accessible.”
The timeline embraces every union from Unity (formerly the Ceramic and Allied Trades Union), founded in 1827, to Aegis, the union for staff at Aegon UK, founded in 2010, and includes such well-known organisations as the National Union of Teachers (formed in 1870), as well as more obscure unions, such as BIOS, the British and Irish Orthoptic Society.
Bright blue lines indicate unions formed from mergers while the flagged names move up and down their poles for easy access as you scroll from side to side through the centuries.
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You can visit the trade union timeline here: www.uniontimeline.com
The project was created by Totally Communications for Union Insurance.
