1.3 - TUs + strikes

Question 1

what did the gov initially do to avoid a general strike?

Answer 1

subsidised miners wages for 9 months (cost of £23 mil.)

Question 2

how many miners were killed + injured 1922-24?

Answer 2

3,600 killed
600,000 injured

Question 3

when was the Sankey Commission?

Answer 3

1919

Question 4

what did the Sankey Commission recommend?

Answer 4

gov ownership be continued, yet mines handed back to priv-owners in 1921

Question 5

when was the Samuel Commission?

Answer 5

March 1926

Question 6

what did the Samuel Commission recommend?

Answer 6

• radical restructuring of coal industry
• pay cut for miners

Question 7

when did unemployment rise to almost 3 mil?

Answer 7

1932-33

Question 8

when was the General Strike?

Answer 8

3rd May 1926

Question 9

what happened during the General Strike?

Answer 9

3 mil industrial workers went on strike

Question 10

why did the General Strike fail?

Answer 10

• not all workers went on strike
• gov was prepared (Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies)
• Churchill controlled the British Gazette + used propaganda
• TUC limited violence -> easier for gov to control
• strike was expensive = £4 mil cost for TUC
• TUC accepted a National Wage Board + no pay cuts before restructuring of mining

Question 11

what did the Trade Disputes Act (1927) do?

Answer 11

• made sympathetic strikes illegal
• exposed unions to financial damages during strike
• scrapped ‘contracting out’

Question 12

when was Barbara Castle’s White Paper introduced?

Answer 12

1969

Question 13

what did Barbara Castle’s White Paper ‘In Place of Strife’ aim to do?

Answer 13

undermine union strength (but wasn’t passed bc it was unpopular)

Question 14

why was there a growth in the white-collar sectors in the 1980s?

Answer 14

• higher disposable income (increased demand for goods + services -> more jobs)
• gov increased spending on services + created more public sector jobs
• fewer white collar jobs lost bc of automation
• managerial structures = far less distant, so firms less likely to unionise + strike

Question 15

when was the Equal Pay Act?

Answer 15

1970

Question 16

why was the Equal Pay Act limited?

Answer 16

it remained voluntary until 1975

Question 17

when was the Sex Discrimination Act?

Answer 17

1975

Question 18

when was the Employment Protection Act + what did it do?

Answer 18

1975
gave women maternity pay + can return to jobs after pregnancy

Question 19

what % of doctors were female in the 1960s?

Answer 19

15%

Question 20

what factors combined to promote female working opportunities?

Answer 20

• WW2
• changes in education
• no. of white collar jobs increased (more ‘suitable’ for women)
• range of social changes in ’60s + ’70s

Question 21

why was there another strike in Jan 1972 + how many miners attended?

Answer 21

1971 NUM wanted 43% pay raise, gov offered 8%
280,000 miners

Question 22

why was a 3-day week introduced in 1974?

Answer 22

• 1973 oil crisis -> NUM wanting 35% pay raise
• 4th Feb 81% of miners went on strike

Question 23

what did a strike at Ford car factories lead to in 1978 + why is this important?

Answer 23

17% pay raise
Callaghan said he would only increase up to 5% - embarrassing for gov

Question 24

when was Black Friday?

Answer 24

1921

Question 25

what happened during + after Black Friday?

Answer 25

Miners wanted to strike, other two branches of ‘Triple Alliance’ left them alone
Had to accept pay cuts 20% lower than in 1914

Question 26

what were industrial relations like in WW2 + after? (specifics)

Answer 26

• Inclusion of TU in many gov decision-making bodies e.g. Bevin part of a Union but 1940 Minister for Lab
• Sign of consensus about minimising industrial disputes – lasted till high inflation of ‘50s
• Repeal of Trade Disputes Act in 1946

Question 27

what was TU membership like in 1918, 1920 and 1932?

Answer 27

6.5 million, 1918
high of 8.3 million in 1920
4.5 million in 1932

Question 28

how many TU members left in the years 1925-27?

Answer 28

500,000 members