General strike Flashcards
What were the problems with the coal mining industry throughout the 20’s?
The industry was out of date. Workers were still using pickaxes; only a fifth of the coal was cut by machine.
The mine owners response to the Depression was not to modernise, but to cut wages and increase working hours (1921).
In 1925, the mine owners tried to cut wages and increase hours again. The Triple Alliance threatened a general strike, so on 31 July 1925 (‘Red Friday’), the government paid a nine month subsidy to prop up wages.
In March 1926, the government’s Samuel Commission suggested cutting wages, but not increasing hours. Both miners and mine owners refused this compromise. Mine owners began drawing up plans to increase hours and cut pay.
At the TUC conference on 1st May 1926, a general strike was planned to start two days later. The TUC and the government began negotiations.
When print workers refused to print an edition of the ‘Daily Mail’ attacking the miners as ‘a revolutionary movement’, negotiations collapsed, and the General Strike went ahead as planned.
What was there a fear of which helped bring the general strike?
Communism- in 1924 the ‘Daily Mail’ published a supposed letter from the Russian Communist leader Zinoviev to British communists, urging them to start a revolution. It was a forgery, but it frightened middle-class people, and made them determined to oppose the demands of the workers.
What was wrong with the economy?
Economic Depression - there were problems in the economy after the war, and in 1925 the government returned to the gold standard - it tied the value of the pound to the amount of gold in the Bank of England. This caused a depression and reduced exports, especially of coal.
How did the trade unions help cause the general strike?
1910-1912 was a period of industrial unrest, and in 1913 the miners’, railwaymen’s and transport workers’ unions formed the Triple Alliance. This included a promise to support each other if there was a strike, although, in fact, on 15 April 1921 - Black Friday - the railway and transport unions failed to support the miners when the mine owners reduced their wages and increased their hours of work.
What were the results of the General strike?
The miners were defeated.
The TUC was ruined - membership fell from 5.5 million in 1925 to only 3.75 million in 1930.
The Trades Disputes Act of 1927 made general strikes illegal.
The Labour Party won the 1929 election.
Name 3 reasons why the strike was a failure
The Government was ready and had spent the nine months when it was paying the subsidy preparing. It set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) under Winston Churchill to defeat the strike. It took a very aggressive line against the strike using both propaganda statements and army/police action. The middle class opposed the strike. The incidents of violence and evidence of support for the strike from communists frightened the middle classes. Many of them volunteered as strike-breakers, although others were just fulfilling boyhood dreams to be a train driver or bus driver. The Labour leaders betrayed the strikers. The Labour Party and the TUC leaders were frightened by the strike.
