View source for Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union

The [[Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union]] (EETPU) was a former British Trade Union.<ref name="Butler&Butler">David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000'', Macmillan, 2000, p.390.</ref>

==ETU==
The union was originally founded as the Electrical Trades Union.<ref name="Butler&Butler">David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000'', Macmillan, 2000, p.390.</ref>

In 1956, [[Woodrow Wyatt]]'s ''The Peril in Our Midst'', published by a front organisation of the [[Information Research Department]] (IRD), claimed that under the influence of the [[World Federation of Trade Unions]], ETU president [[Frank Foulkes]] and General Secretary [[Frank Haxell]] were working in the interests of Moscow. Wyatt's information came from [[MI5]] via the [[IRD]].<ref>Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, ''Britain's Secret Propaganda War 1948-1977'', Sutton Publishing, 1998, p.111.</ref>

[[MI5]] was particularly concerned about Communist control of the ETU because of its role among civilian workers at [[GCHQ]].  In May 1956, Cabinet Secretary [[Norman Brook]] warned Prime Minister [[Anthony Eden]] that counter-action would have to be taken. Eden responded that "we shall have to go very carefully." Union leaders Sir [[Vincent Tewson]] and Sir [[Tom Williamson]] were discreetly briefed with MI5 material. MI5's interest in the ETU was also shared by the [[CIA]] in the late 1950s and 1960s.<ref>Richard J. Aldrich, ''The Hidden hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence'', Overlook Press, 2002, p.546.</ref>  

Wyatt also campaigned against Communist ballot-rigging in the ETU.<ref>Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, ''Britain's Secret Propaganda War 1948-1977'', Sutton Publishing, 1998, p.111-112.</ref>

Within the union, two key figures within the campaign were [[Les Cannon]] and [[Frank Chapple]], who both left the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] in protest at the Soviet invasion of Hungary. After Cannon beat Communist-backed candidate [[John Frazer]] for a place on the union executive, the results were falsified and Cannon was barred from holding union office for five years. Chapple succeeded in gaining a place on the executive in 1958, in the face of a campaign of intimidation against him.<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.409.</ref>

According to [[Christopher Andrew]], [[MI5]] eavesdropping on the headquarters of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] revealed that the 1959 ballot for general secretary had been fixed to re-elect Communist [[Frank Haxell]] rather than his opponent [[Jock Byrne]].<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.409.</ref>

[[Roger Hollis]] reported to the [[Home Office]], early in 1960, that the CPGB's advisory committee for the ETU held twelve meetings in 1959.<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, pp.409-410.</ref>

The climax of the media campaign when former Labour Minister [[John Freeman]] interviewed ETU President [[Frank Foulkes]]. [[MI5]] were kept informed of this event, which was arranged by [[Christopher Mayhew]].<ref>Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.410.</ref>

A 1961 court ruling found that Communists controlled the union and that Foulkes and Haxell had rigged the election for General Secretary against [[Jock Byrne]], who replaced [[Haxell]] as a result of the case. [[Les Cannon]] would replace Foulkes in 1963.<ref>Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, ''Britain's Secret Propaganda War 1948-1977'', Sutton Publishing, 1998, p.111-112.</ref>

The role of the secret state in these events was largely missed in many subsequent accounts not least in [[Arthur Bottomley]]'s ''The Use and Abuse of Trade Unions'', published by the [[IRD]] front [[Ampersand]] in 1963, which stated:
::the ETU was cleaned up, not as a result of outside protest and agitation (though this undoubtedly played a part) but by the slogging, painstaking and dedicated efforts of a group of socialist trade unionists.<ref>Quoted in Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, Britain's Secret Propaganda War 1948-1977, Sutton Publishing, 1998, p.157.</ref>

==EETPU==
In 1968, following mergers the union became the Electrical, Electronic and Telecommunications Union - Plumbing Trades Union and then the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union.<ref name="Butler&Butler">David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000'', Macmillan, 2000, p.390.</ref>

In August 1974, [[Frank Nodes]] who had worked with [[Les Cannon]] in the 1961-62 court struggle with the Communists, formed links with [[David Stirling]]'s [[Better Britain Society]] through his own [[TRUEMID]] organisation.<ref>Alan Hoe, ''David Stirling: The Authorised Biography of the Creator of the SAS'', Warner Books, 1992, pp.437-439.</ref>

[[Frank Chapple]] later said: "I only met David Stirling on one occasion. I had great sympathy with what he was trying to do which was similar to what I was trying to do myself. Any contact with him would have made me less effective at that time."<ref>Alan Hoe, ''David Stirling: The Authorised Biography of the Creator of the SAS'', Warner Books, 1992, p.452.</ref>

In 1986, General Secretary [[Eric Hammond]]  conducted secret negotiations with [[Rupert Murdoch]] which were widely regarded as a major blow to the print unions in the Wapping dispute.<ref name="GuardianObit">Geoffrey Goodman, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/03/obituary-eric-hammond-trade-union-wapping Eric Hammond], ''The Guardian'', 3 June 2009.</ref>

The EEPTU was expelled from the [[TUC]] in 1988. It merged with the [[AUEW]] in 1992. The EEPTU wing of the combined union was re-admitted to the TUC in 1993.<ref name="Butler&Butler">David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000'', Macmillan, 2000, p.390.</ref> The union was part of further mergers into [[Amicus]] in 2001 and [[Unite]] in 2007.<ref name="GuardianObit">Geoffrey Goodman, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/03/obituary-eric-hammond-trade-union-wapping Eric Hammond], ''The Guardian'', 3 June 2009.</ref>

==People==
===President/General Secretary=== 
*[[J. Ball]] 1907
*[[E. Bussey]] 1931
*[[H. Bolton]] 1940
*[[F. Foulkes]] 1944
*Sir [[Les Cannon]] 1963
*[[Frank Chapple]] 1971
*[[Eric Hammond]] 1984
*[[Paul Gallagher (AEEU)|Paul Gallagher]] 1992

===Others===
*[[John Spellar]] - former national officer.
*Sir [[Ken Jackson]]

==External resources==
*[http://web.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/ead/387.htm A Partial Catalogue of the Papers of the Electrical Trades Union], University of Warwick.
*Steve Jefferys, [http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isj/1976/no088/jefferys.htm EETPU: The Decline of the Narrow Left], ''International Socialism'', May 1976.

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Trade and Labour Unions]]