List of trade unions in the United Kingdom explained

This is a list of trade unions in the United Kingdom formed under UK labour law. The criteria for being an independent trade union, free from employer influence and domination, are set out in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 section 5. The body which oversees unions, and awards a certificate of independence for the purpose of collective bargaining is the Trades Union Certification Officer. For the context and history see Trade unions in the United Kingdom.

Union confederations

General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)
Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC)
Trades Union Congress (TUC)

Independent unions

The following is a list of trade unions that are Certificated as independent by the Certification Officer, as of 14 July 2020.^[1]

Name	G.S.	Est.	Members	Description	Const.	National Affiliation	International Affiliation
App Drivers & Couriers Union	James Farrar	2015	7,082^[2]	The ADCU objective is to organise and represent all app based transport workers whose work is predominately digitally intermediated.			IAATW
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen	Mick Whelan	1880	24,479^[3]	ASLEF			ITUC
Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union	Sarah Woolley	1847	14,259^[4]	BFAWU		TUC	ITUC
British Air Line Pilots Association		1935	14,530^[5]	BALPA		TUC	ITUC
British Medical Association	Mark Porter	1832	162,346^[6]	BMA
Communication Workers Union	Dave Ward	1995	184,083^[7]	The CWU was formed from a merger of the UCW and the NCU.	2012		ITUC
Community	Roy Rickhuss CBE	2004	43,865^[8]				ITUC
Educational Institute of Scotland	Andrea Bradley	1847	56,342^[9]	The EIS represents teachers, college lecturers, university lecturers, instrumental music tutors, head teachers and educational psychologists working in Scotland.		TUC, STUC	ITUC
Equity	Paul W. Fleming	1930	46,683^[10]	Actors, Stage Managers, Dancers, Variety performers, Creative workers		TUC, STUC	ITUC
Fire Brigades Union		1918	33,743^[11]	FBU	2011		ITUC
The FDA		1918	19,876^[12]	Managers and professionals in the public service		TUC, STUC	ITUC
GMB	Gary Smith	1982	570,107^[13]	Formed from General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union, as a general workers' union. It includes the International Union of Sex Workers as a branch.	2016		ITUC
Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association		1944	3,137^[14]	HCSA		TUC	ITUC
Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain	Henry Chango Lopez	2012	6,324^[15]	IWGB
Industrial Workers of the World		1905	3,515^[16]	IWW; Britain and Ireland region membership	current
Musicians' Union		1893	31,951^[17]	MU	2009	TUC, STUC, Labour
National Association of Probation Officers		1912	5,242^[18]	NAPO		TUC, GFTU	ITUC
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers	Dr Patrick Roach	1976	296,964^[19]	NASUWT	2016	TUC, STUC	ITUC
National Union of Journalists		1907	24,528^[20]	NUJ		TUC, STUC	ITUC
National Union of Mineworkers		1945	82	NUM has very few members, given the dismantling of the industry after the UK miners' strike (1984–1985).			ITUC
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers	Mick Lynch	1990	81,197^[21]	RMT was formerly the National Union of Railwaymen and National Union of Seamen, and absorbed the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee.	2010	TUSC, TUC, STUC	ITUC, ITWF, WFTU
National Education Union	Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted	2017	445,601^[22]	NEU, representing members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is the product of the recent merger between NUT and ATL	2012	TUC	ITUC
Nautilus International		1857	18,468^[23]	A cross-border union for maritime professionals. Main offices are in London, Wallasey, Rotterdam and Basel. Previously known as NUMAST in the UK and FWZ in the Netherlands.		TUC	ITUC
The POA: Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers		1939	31,204^[24]	POA		TUC	ITUC
Professional Footballers' Association		1907	5,457^[25]	PFA		TUC, GFTU	ITUC
Prospect	Mike Clancy	2001	154,715^[26]	Engineering, scientific, management and professional staff.	2013	TUC, STUC	ITUC, ITWF
Public and Commercial Services Union	Mark Serwotka	1998	191,289^[27]	PCS	2012	TUC, STUC	ITUC, ITWF
Royal College of Nursing	Professor Nicola Ranger(Acting)	1916	538,982^[28]	Represents workers in nursing	2012
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists	Steve Jamieson	1945	9,112^[29]	SCP		TUC	ITUC
Society of Radiographers		1920	33,250^[30]	SoR		TUC, STUC	ITUC
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association	Manuel Cortes	1897	18,142^[31]	TSSA	2011		ITUC
Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru		1948	3,638^[32]	UCAC; National Union of Teachers of Wales		TUC	ITUC
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers	Paddy Lillis	1946	369,437^[33]	USDAW	2016		ITUC
UNISON	Christina McAnea	1993	1,210,250 ^[34]	Formed from merging NALGO, NUPE and COHSE as a union for public services workers.	2016		ITUC
Unite the Union	Sharon Graham	2007	1,246,429^[35]	Formed in 2007 by a merger between Amicus and TGWU. Amicus was formerly AEEU and Manufacturing Science and Finance and Graphical, Paper and Media Union and UNIFI. UCATT merged in 2017.	2015		ITUC
United Voices of the World		2014	4,720^[36]	UVW			ICL
University and College Union	Jo Grady	2006	122,104^[37]	UCU; amalgam of the AUT and NATFHE.	2012	TUC	ITUC
Voice		1970	19,711^[38]	Formerly the Professional Association of Teachers, it refuses to take strike action.		GFTU
Writers' Guild of Great Britain	Sandi Toksvig president	1959	2,860^[39]	WGGB		TUC, GFTU	ITUC