| Year | Name | Union[2][3] |
| 1897 | Duncan Macpherson | Glasgow Trades Council |
| 1898 | John Keir | Aberdeen Trades Council |
| 1899 | Thomas McBurney | Dundee Trades Council |
| 1900 | Thomas Wilson | Operative Bakers' National Federal Union of Scotland |
| 1901 | John Kent | Scottish Typographical Association |
| 1902 | William Muirhead | Associated Ironmoulders of Scotland |
| 1903 | Robert Smillie | Scottish Miners' Federation |
| 1904 | George Murdoch | Perth Trades Council |
| 1905 | Robert Smillie | Scottish Miners' Federation |
| 1906 | William Johnston | Aberdeen Trades Council |
| 1907 | John T. Howden | Associated Carpenters and Joiners of Scotland |
| 1908 | James Gavin | Amalgamated Society of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain |
| 1909 | James Gavin | Amalgamated Society of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain |
| 1910 | John C. Hendry | Brechin Mill and Factory Operatives Trade Union |
| 1911 | James Brown | Scottish Miners' Federation |
| 1912 | David Palmer | Aberdeen Trades Council |
| 1913 | Alexander R. Turner | Glasgow Trades Council |
| 1914 | Robert Climie | Ayrshire Trades Council |
| 1916 | David Gilmour | Scottish Miners' Federation |
| 1917 | Robert Allan | Edinburgh Trades Council |
| 1918 | Hugh Lyon | Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association |
| 1919 | Neil S. Beaton | National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants |
| 1920 | William Shaw | Glasgow Trades Council |
| 1921 | James Walker | Iron and Steel Trades Confederation |
| 1922 | Charles Gallie | Railway Clerks' Association |
| 1923 | James Murdoch | Scottish Miners' Federation |
| 1924 | Tom Wilson | National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants |
| 1925 | William Leonard | National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association |
| 1926 | Joseph Forbes Duncan | Scottish Farm Servants' Union |
| 1927 | Peter Webster | Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association |
| 1928 | John Nairn | Scottish Textile Workers' Union |
| 1929 | George Kerr | Workers' Union |
| 1930 | Robert Watson | Scottish Typographical Association |
| 1931 | Charles Gallie | Railway Clerks' Association |
| 1932 | William Leonard | National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association |
| 1933 | James Crawford | National Society of Operative Printers' Assistants |
| 1934 | Thomas Scollan | Glasgow Trades Council |
| 1935 | Thomas Brown | National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants |
| 1936 | James Young | Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen |
| 1937 | Bell Jobson | Scottish Farm Servants' Union |
| 1938 | Herbert Ellison | National Union of Railwaymen |
| 1939 | Robert Taylor | Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association |
| 1940 | William Quin | National Union of General and Municipal Workers |
| 1941 | James Watson | National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers |
| 1942 | Charles Murdoch | Scottish Union of Bakers, Confectioners and Bakery Workers |
| 1943 | Peter Henderson | Scottish Miners' Federation |
| 1944 | James Crawford | National Society of Operative Printers' Assistants |
| 1945 | James Young | Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen |
| 1946 | Jim Campbell | National Union of Railwaymen |
| 1947 | James Duncan | Constructional Engineering Union |
| 1948 | John Sullivan | Transport and General Workers' Union |
| 1949 | William McGinniss | National Union of General and Municipal Workers |
| 1950 | William Pearson | National Union of Scottish Mineworkers |
| 1951 | John Lang | Iron and Steel Trades Confederation |
| 1952 | John Brannigan | Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association |
| 1953 | Archibald MacKellar | Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen |
| 1954 | John Bothwell | Transport Salaried Staffs' Association |
| 1955 | Thomas B. Meikle | Transport and General Workers' Union |
| 1956 | David Currie | Clerical and Administrative Workers' Union |
| 1957 | Frank Donachy | National Union of Railwaymen |
| 1958 | William Mowbray | Scottish Union of Bakers and Allied Workers |
| 1959 | Alex Moffat | National Union of Scottish Mineworkers |
| 1960 | Jimmy Milne | Aberdeen Trades Council |
| 1961 | Edward W. Craig | Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers |
| 1962 | Patrick Conner | Amalgamated Engineering Union |
| 1963 | David Lauder | National Union of Railwaymen |
| 1964 | Frank H. Stephen | Draughtsmen's and Allied Technicians' Association |
| 1965 | William Scholes | Transport and General Workers' Union |
| 1966 | Alec Kitson | Scottish Commercial Motormen's Union |
| 1967 | Bill McLean | National Union of Scottish Mineworkers |
| 1968 | John Irvine | Iron and Steel Trades Confederation |
| 1969 | Enoch Humphries | Fire Brigades Union |
| 1970 | John A. Matheson | National Union of Railwaymen |
| 1971 | Alex M. Donnet | National Union of General and Municipal Workers |
| 1972 | Raymond Macdonald | Transport and General Workers' Union |
| 1973 | Alexander Day | Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs |
| 1974 | Elizabeth McIntyre | National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers |
| 1975 | James H. Dollan | National Union of Journalists |
| 1976 | Andrew Forman | Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers |
| 1977 | Hugh D'Arcy | Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians |
| 1978 | Arthur Bell | Iron and Steel Trades Confederation |
| 1979 | Charles Drury | National and Local Government Officers' Association |
| 1980 | Bill Dougan | Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers |
| 1981 | Jimmy Morrell | National Union of General and Municipal Workers |
| 1982 | John D. Pollock | Educational Institute of Scotland |
| 1983 | Andy Barr | National Union of Railwaymen |
| 1984 | John Langan | Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs |
| 1985 | Tom Dougan | Amalgamated Engineering Union |
| 1986 | Hugh Wyper | Transport and General Workers Union |
| 1987 | Ron Curran | National Union of Public Employees |
| 1988 | Charles Gallagher | National and Local Government Officers Association |
| 1989 | Ronnie Webster | Aberdeen Trades Council |
| 1990 | George Bolton | National Union of Mineworkers |
| 1991 | Clive Lewis | Iron and Steel Trades Confederation |
| 1992 | Jane McKay | Glasgow Trades Council |
| 1993 | Chris Binks | Confederation of Health Service Employees |
| 1994 | Harry McLevy | Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union |
| 1995 | Willie Queen | Transport and General Workers Union |
| 1996 | Pat McCormick | Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers |
| 1997 | Mary Harrison | GMB Union |
| 1998 | Pat Kelly | National Union of Civil and Public Servants |
| 1999 | Anne Middleton | Unison |
| 2000 | Matt Smith | Unison |
| 2001 | Liz Elkind | Edinburgh Trades Council |
| 2002 | David Bleiman | Association of University Teachers |
| 2003 | Pauline Frazer | Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union |
| 2004 | Sandy Boyle | UNIFI |
| 2005 | Anne Douglas | Prospect |
| 2006 | John Keenan | South Lanarkshire and East Kilbride TUC |
| 2007 | Katrina Purcell | Unison |
| 2008 | Phil McGarry | National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers |
| 2009 | Fiona Farmer | Unite |
| 2010 | Martin Keenan | Communication Workers' Union |
| 2011 | Joy Dunn | Public and Commercial Services Union |
| 2012 | Mike Kirby | Unison |
| 2013 | Agnes Tolmie | Unite |
| 2014 | Harry Frew | Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians |
| 2015 | Lawrence Wason | Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers |
| 2016 | Helen Connor | Educational Institute of Scotland |
| 2017 | Satnam Ner | Prospect |
| 2018 | Lynn Henderson | Public and Commercial Services Union |
| 2019 | Jackson Cullinane | Unite |
| 2020 | Mary Senior | University and College Union |
| 2021 | Pat Rafferty | Unite |
| 2022 | Pauline Rourke | Communication Workers' Union |
| 2023 | Mike Arnott | Dundee Trades Union Council |
| 2024 | Lillian Macer | Unison |
| 2025 | Richard Hardy | Prospect |