GCNTU (1834) Flashcards
What led to an upsurge in the number of small TUs?
The repeal of the combination acts in 1824
Why was the fact that they were small separate entities detrimental?
It meant that they had little influence and could be easily quashed when threatened with job loss by employers
What idea developed as a response to this problem?
That national unions, each representing a particular trade, would have more resourced and be able to demand better wages and conditions
How did Robert Owen take this idea further?
He attempted to unite all individual TUs under the banner of a central organisation called the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union
What was the goal of the GNCTU?
To fight against recurrent economic crises and unemployment and work towards Owen’s vision of a cooperative commonwealth
Describe its early success
Within a few weeks it had a membership of over half a million, with each member paying one shilling
How would the organisation be structured?
In each district a trade would be represented by a local branch, and link in to a local umbrella branch, which would report to a centrally run grand council
Why was Owen arguably the wrong man to lead a potentially large, strong labour movement?
Because his vision of a society that replaced private control with working ownership terrified the government
Why was Owen apprehensive about calling a general strike?
Because he naively thought he could strike a deal with the capitalist factory owners
Why did it not matter that the organisation looked good on paper?
Because in pratcise communication between the branches was poor
Why did some of the bigger unions of mainly skilled workers pull out?
Because they did not want to submerge their identity with the largely unskilled rabble
Give some examples of professions that pulled out
Spinners and potters
What were there widely differing opinions about among the leaders?
Whether or not to go ahead with a general strike
What did it suffer from an acute shortage of?
Funds
How did employers react swiftly?
They drew up ‘The Document’, which required their workers to swear they were not members of the GNCTU
What did refusal to sign mean?
Instant dismissal
What prompted the government to take immediate firm action to break the organisation and suppress unionism?
Outbreaks of machine breaking and rick burning in the south, not necessarily connected with the GNCTU, and strikes across the country
What could happen to members of any TU?
The could find themselves before a magistrate on the slightest pretext
What convinced many to withdraw support?
Knowledge of the conviction of a group of agricultural labourers seeking union membership
What had happened to the scheme within months?
It had collapsed
Why did TUs suffer in 1837?
A deep recession set in, in such times many workers could not even afford the smallest union subscription, and membership fell away
What did these former TU members do instead?
They turned to political chartism and joined the calls for universal male suffrage
Who were the Tolpuddle Martyrs?
They were a group of agricultural workers from Dorset who had set up a branch of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Workers who were made an example of
What happened to these Tolpuddle Martyrs?
They were convicted on the rather spurious grounds that they had taken oaths in secret, and this was interpreted as subversion. Six of the group were prosecuted and transported to Australia for seven years
