[3] While an earlier National Clerical and Administrative Workers' Joint Committee had filled a similar role, it had collapsed during World War I.
[2] In November 1919, Cole persuaded Alexander Walkden to organise a meeting at the Essex Hall in London, with representatives of all eligible unions invited.
[2] In 1927, the Trades Disputes Act banned civil service unions from membership of any federation containing other organisations.
[4] By the end of the 1970s, 41 unions were affiliated, representing more than 1,500,000 workers,[4] but the federation was in a very poor financial position.
Its members were unwilling to increase their affiliation fees, most believing that the NFPW's services were now better provided by the Trades Union Congress, so the organisation dissolved in 1982.