Experts in the World of Work
How GMB formed through decades of mergers.
GMB has its origins in the Gas Workers and General Union, formed in 1889 by Will Thorne, which won the first eight-hour day and six-day week agreement in the world. By 1911 its membership had grown to 77,000, and in 1924 it merged with other unions to form the National Union of General and Municipal Workers.
In 1982 general and craft unionism came together as the Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers joined to form the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union (GMBATU). Further mergers followed, including APEX, the National Union of Tailors & Garment Workers in 1991 and the Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union in 1993.
More recent mergers include the Managerial and Professional Officers union in 1998, the General Union of Loom Overlookers in 2006, the Ambulance Service Union in 2008 and the Community and District Nurses Association in 2010, and finally Unity in 2015 - bringing together over 100 smaller unions to form the modern GMB.
