 However, the Trade Union Act 1927 banned state employees from joining the TUC, leaving the group dominated by the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), Mental Hospital and Institutional Workers' Union (MHIWU), National Union of County Officers and Fire Brigades Union (FBU).The ban was lifted after World War II, but a new group was added for civil servants.Despite this, the public employees group steadily grew in size, the affiliation of the National and Local Government Officers' Association and the National Union of Teachers being particularly important, while the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) absorbed the MHIWU.