(Change & challenge in the workplace) Reasons & consequences of changes in industry & industrial relations, 1918-1939 Flashcards
What are 2 important strikes from this time to know about?
1921 Miners’ Strike
1926 General Strike
Outline the 1921 Miners’ Strike.
Miners went on strike after private owners cut wages & lengthened hours to compete with foreign competition.
Outline the 1926 General Strike.
3
June 1925 - coal prices fell & private owners increase pay cuts. Govt supplemented wages to stop industrial action.
Samuel Commission worked out long-term solution: end of govt supplementing wages & further 13.5% pay cut.
1st May 1926 - 1 million miners locked out for refusing to accept new conditions & TUC called for General Strike to begin 4th May.
Reasons - briefly summarise the main reason for industrial unrest in this period.
(2)
Poor handling of miners in transitioning of wartime to peacetime economy.
Returning soldiers saw DLG’s promises weren’t met & if they’d been fighting in war, they could fight for jobs & living standards at home.
Reasons - what is the CONTEXT of industrial unrest (specifically coal miners)? (3)
Before WW1, coal was booming & demand increased more in WW1.
It was important to war so govt nationalised it, improving conditions & pay. In 1921, they were returned to private owners.
Coal mining then went into decline.
Reasons - part of the CONTEXT of industrial unrest (specifically coal miners) is that after WW1, the coal mining industry went into decline. Why was this?
(5)
Oil was used as a fuel
Electricity became available
Other countries began mining coal
British pits were ‘over mined’ during WW1
Owners were reluctant to spend money modernising them.
Reasons - what was an event that contributed to the worsening industrial unrest?
Black Friday 1925.
Reasons - Black Friday in 1925 contributed to the worsening industrial unrest.
Explain what this was.
When coal prices suffered because of further drop in the competitiveness of British prices (linked to reattaching the pound to Gold Standard), miners went on strike alone, known as ‘Black Friday’.
Subsequently, other industries like shipbuilding suffered pay cuts.
Reasons - Black Friday in 1925 contributed to the worsening industrial unrest.
Explain how.
(2)
Unions reaffirmed to themselves the importance of solidarity in the face of adversity, inspiring the solidarity seen at the start of the General Strike in 1926.
The “buying of time” by the govt with short-term subsidies in 1925 was seen as a victory for the working-class.
Reasons - what was the short-term cause of the General Strike?
Why? (3)
The Samuel Commission
Rejected nationalisation and said the govt should end the subsidy.
Agreed to wage cuts and that working days should be 7/8 hours long.
Sided with mine owners since the whole commission was made up of rich industrialists.
Consequences - explain the SOCIAL consequences of the General Strike.
Many saw the extent of it as the start of a working-class revolution, similar to events in Russia 11 years prior.
Linked to this and in order to offset the worst effects of the strike, many white-collar workers volunteered to operate key services during the strike eg coal digging.
Consequences - explain the POLITICAL consequences of the General Strike.
Support from middle-class and non-unionised portion of the country was so strong, that afterwards, the govt (Stanley Baldwin) felt strong enough to pass legislation to limit Union power via the 1927 Trades Dispute Act, preventing sympathy strikes and mass picketing.
Popularity of the conservatives and their status as the ‘natural party of govt’ was helped by their handling of the crisis.
Consequences - explain the ECONOMIC consequences of the General Strike.
(3)
Miners’ wages were slashed & the industry lost 30% of workers.
162 million days lost to strikes in 1926, largely due to the General Strike.
The Depression that followed the General Strike was economically damaging for the Unions. Due to mass unemployment, union revenues fell and membership declined from 8 million in 1922 to 4.5 million in 1932.
Consequences - explain the CULTURAL consequences of the General Strike.
(2)
BBC was sided with conservatism (small c) and broadcast messages in support of the govt’s oppositions to strikes, despite usually being politically neutral.
The strike worsened the strength of unionism - the TUC told workers to return to work after 9 days, as they couldn’t support a drawn out strike where they could lose control.
