THE GROWTH OF WHITE‐COLLAR UNIONISM IN GREAT BRITAIN
| Author | George Sayers Bain |
| Published date | 01 March 1966 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1966.tb00934.x |
| Date | 01 March 1966 |
THE GRO\VTH
OF
WHITE-COLLAR UNIONISM
IN GREAT BRITAIN
GEORGE SAYERS BAIX*
I.
INTRODUCTION
THE
growth of the [vhite-collar labour force’ is one of the most outstanding
characteristics of the economic and social development of the twentieth
century. In every major industrial country in the world the number of
white-collar workers
is
rapidly increasing. This growth is both absolute and
relative
;
not only are the total number of white-collar workers increasing,
but also the proportion of these workers in the labour force as
a
whole.
There is every likelihood that this trend will continue and that the future
is
to be one dominated by white-collar workers. The American economy has
already reached a point where the white-collar employees outnumber the
manual employees, and if present occupational trends continue in Britain,
this point will be reached here during the 1980s.
The relevance
of
these labour force trends to the question
of
trade
unionism requires little elaboration. If the trade union movement is to
maintain its relative position in the power structure of Britain,
it
will have
to organize these white-collar workers. If it does not or can not, the best it
will achieve is numerical stability within an increasingly narrow band
of
the occupational distribution, and its ability even to advance the interests
of its manual membership will be seriously impaired.
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine the extent and nature
of
the growing white-collar labour force, and to determine what progress
the British trade union movement has made in recruiting white-collar
workers into its ranks. Throughout the paper, special reference will be
made to developments in manufacturing industries, not only because
statistical data are more plentiful for this sector of the economy than for
*
Research Fellow, Suffield College, Oxford
1
In
this paper the concept of the white-collar labour force has been taken in its widest
context. and where there has been any doubt as to whether an occupation was white-collar or
manual (e.g., foremen and shop assistants) it has been included in the white-collar group.
More
specifically, the following broad occupational categories have been taken as composing the
\vhite-collar group: government administrators and executive officials; foremen, overlookers,
and super\.isors; professionals; scientists, technologists, and technicians; specially ‘creative’
occupations such
as
artists. musicians, and entertainers; clerical and administrative workers;
salesmen, commercial travellers, and shop assistants; and security personnel. Where the govern-
ment’s occupational classification systems permit, managerial grades in private industry have been
excluded from the white-collar
employee
group.
In modern, large-scale private industry it is the
managers who generally control the operation
of
the business and direct the labour force.
Functionally, therefore, they perform the role of employer and cannot be realistically considered
part of
the
trade union potential.
To
date only managerial grades in the public sector have
shoivn
any general desire to join trade unions.
304
THE
GROWTH
OF
WHITE-COLLAR
UNIONISM
305
others, but also because manufacturing industries are the major ‘command-
ing height’ of the economy and offer the labour movement the largest un-
tapped potential of white-collar employees.
11.
THE
GROWTH
OF
THE
WHITE-COLLAR LABOUR FORCE
The
Economy as a
Whole
While the growth of the white-collar occupations has not been as large
in
Britain
as
in some other countries,2 it nevertheless has been significant
as
Table
I
shows.3 Between
191
I
and
1961
the number of white-collar workers
increased by
‘47
per cent, while the number of manual workers increased
by only
2
per cent, having actually decreased in numbers since
193 I.
The
disparate growth of these two groups
is
reflected in the increasing relative
importance of the white-collar occupations. The white-collar section of the
labour force increased from
18.7
per cent to
35-9
per cent of the total
between
191
I
and
1961,
while the manual share decreased from
74.6
per
cent to
59.3
per cent. During this same period the remaining section of the
labour force, the employers and proprietors, showed a slight tendency to
decline, this decline being balanced to some extent by an increase in the
number of managers and administrators.4
Occupational composition.
Although the white-collar labour force
as
a
whole has increased enormously, there are significant differences in the
amount of growth of its constituent occupational groups. It is clear from
Table
I
that the clerks have claimed most of the ground yielded by the
manual workers. During the period under review clerical occupations
grew by
260
per cent and increased their share
of
the total labour force from
4.5
per cent to
12-7
per cent. The growth in the proportionate share of the
other white-collar occupational groups has been more moderate
:
the shop
assistants maintained a remarkable constancy; the foremen and inspectors
increased their share from
1.3
per cent to
2.9
per cent; the managers and
administrators from
3.4
per cent to
5.4
per cent; the lower professionals and
technicians from
3.1
per cent to
6.0
per cent; and the higher professionals
from
I
per cent to
3
per cent.
2
See Guy Routh,
Occupation and Pay
in
Great Britain
(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press,
1965),
p.
12,
table 3
Comments on the source of all statistical tables appear at the bottom
of
each table. In order
to keep this paper of manageable length, details on the method
of
calculation and the reliability
of all statistics have been kept to
a
minimum.
If
required,
a
fuller account can be obtained from
the author.
4
This decline in the employer and proprietor group should be interpreted with caution.
Although there is a legal distinction between an emdoyer and
a
manager, in social science the
dividing line is more imaginary than real, for an employer becomes a manager as soon as his
business
is
incorporated. The trend towards the incorporation of business enterprises is at least
part of the explanation for the decline in employers and proprietors and the increase in managers
and administrators. On this point see Routh.
op. cit.,
pp. 19-21.
6
For a much more detailed occupational breakdown
of
the white-collar labour force from
1881 to 1931 see
A.
L. Bowley,
‘Notes
on the Increase in Middle-class Occupations’,
Il’ages
and
Income
in
the
United Kingdom
Since
1860
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1937),
Appendix
E.
For
a
Marxist analysis of white-collar labour force trends during 1851-1931 see
F.
D.
Klingender,
The
Condition
of
Clerical Labour
in
Britain
(London: Martin Lawrence, 1935),
pp. xi-xxii.
I
w
0
m
TABLE
1
Occupational
Grou)s
1.
Employers and Proprietors
2.
All White-collar Workers
a) Managers and Administrators
b)
Higher Professionals
c)
Lower
Professionals and
Technicians
d) Foremen and Inspectors
e) Clerks
f)
Salesmen and Shop Assistants
3.
All Manual Workers
4.
Total Occupied Population
The Occupied Population of Great Britain by Major Occupational Groups,
191 1-1961
Number
of
Persons in Major Occujational
GOUPS,
1911-1961
(000s)
1911 1921 I931 1951 1961
1,232 1,318 1,407 1,117 1,139
3,433 4,094 4,841 6,948 8,480
631 704 770 1,245 1.268
184 196 240 435 718
560
679 728 1,059 1,418
237 279 323 590 682
832 1,256 1,404 2,341 2,996
989 980 1,376 1,278 1,398
13,685 13,920 14,776 14,450 14,020
18,350 19,332 21,024 22,515 23,639
Major Occupational Groups as
a
Per-
centage
of
Total Occupied Population
1911 1921 1931 1951 1961
6.7 6.8 6.7
5.0
4.7
18.7 21.2 23.0 30.9 35.9
3.4 3.6 3.7
5.5
5.4
1.0 1.0
1.1
1.9
3.0
3.1 3.5 3.5 4.7 6.0
1.3 1.4 1.5 2.6 2.9
4.5 6.5 6.7 10.4 12.7
5.4
5.1
6.5 5.7 5.9
74.6 72.0 70.3 64.2 59.3
100
100 100 100 100
191
1-1
961
Growth Indices
of
Maior Occu-
pational Groups,
19~1-19~1(1911=
100)
1911 1921 1931 1951 1961
100
107 114 91 92
100 119
141 202 247
~
.
. -.
- -
.
~~
100
112 122 197 201
100
107 130 236 390
100 121 130 189 253
100 118 136 249 288
100
151
169 281 360
100 99 139 129
141
100
102 108 106 102
100 105
115
123 129
Source: This table is largely derived in modified form fromGuy Routh,
OccupationandPayin Great Britain
(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press,
1965),
pp.
4-5,
Table
1,
and the
Cerrtus
of
Population
of
England and Wales and Scotland
for
the various years. All occupations
which are generally considered to
be
non-manual were included in the white-collar group except
for
the following marginal
categories: fire brigade officers, photographers, storekeepers, radio operators, and telephone and telegraph operators. If anything,
the white-collar totals are understated slightly.
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