<P> Unions in Britain were subject to often severe repression until 1824 , but were already widespread in cities such as London . Trade unions were legalised in 1824 , when growing numbers of factory workers joined these associations in their efforts to achieve better wages and working conditions . Workplace militancy had also manifested itself as Luddism and had been prominent in struggles such as the 1820 Rising in Scotland , in which 60,000 workers went on a general strike , which was soon crushed . From 1830 on , attempts were made to set up national general unions , most notably Robert Owen 's Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in 1834 , which attracted a range of socialists from Owenites to revolutionaries . That organisation played a part in the protests after the Tolpuddle Martyrs ' case , but soon collapsed . </P>
<P> Unions in Britain were subject to often severe repression until 1824 , but were already widespread in cities such as London . Trade unions were legalised in 1824 , when growing numbers of factory workers joined these associations in their efforts to achieve better wages and working conditions . Workplace militancy had also manifested itself as Luddism and had been prominent in struggles such as the 1820 Rising in Scotland , in which 60,000 workers went on a general strike , which was soon crushed . From 1830 on , attempts were made to set up national general unions , most notably Robert Owen 's Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in 1834 , which attracted a range of socialists from Owenites to revolutionaries . That organisation played a part in the protests after the Tolpuddle Martyrs ' case , but soon collapsed . </P>
when was the first trade union formed in the uk
when was the first trade union formed in the uk
1824
1824