Trade Union militancy, 1917-27 Flashcards
What are trade unions?
A trade union is an organisation which represents workers. Their purpose is that by representing groups of workers, rather than workers standing individually, they can use collective bargaining to pressure for better pay or conditions for the workers.
The unions worked together on occasion. In 1868, the Trade Union Congress formed in Manchester. It acted as an administrative and organisational council to help the unions work together. It had no formal power but could act as an organisation to speak up for different unions.
What happened during WW1?
Immediately before WW1, industrial conflict began to increase significantly. This was partly over the same issues of pay and working conditions of previous decades but also over the issue of syndicalism, a socialist concept of replacing the ownership and management of factories with syndicates, or committees of workers. Workers were beginning to believe that they could improve, not just their economic situation, but their social situation by industrial rather than political measures.
How did WW1 improve the conditions of the labouring classes?
- The enlistment of 5 million men from a workforce of 15 million left the remaining workers, especially skilled workers in a strong bargaining position. For example, in 1918, 200,000 miners in South Wales went on strike. Even though this broke wartime industrial rules, Lloyd George was forced to negotiate and agree to many demands to get them back to work.
- Bonuses given to workers in some key trades, like dock workers, were fixed sums, not percentages and benefitted the least-well paid.
- The inclusion of Labour in Asquith’s 1915 coalition government strengthened the trade union voice in govt.
What did this mean?
Therefore, there was relatively little need for extended conflict by the trade unions, Generally, the wartime unions showed a spirit of patriotism and co-operated with the government, which improved their relationship with the state. So although membership rose to just over 5 million, the unions were less important during the war.
When was the Triple Alliance created?
As the trade unions became more active, the need for alliances was apparent. One important alliance formed between 1914 and 1915, between the National Transport Workers Union, the National Union of Railwaymen and the Miners’ federation. This was known as the Triple Alliance. It was not a strong aalliance, since it rested more on suspicion of the aims of employers and each other than on genuine support. However, it did present a strong, national front for the trade unions since they agreed to sympathy strike to support each other.
What happened to the unions during WW1?
- The government and employers wanted a return to pre-war competitive business practices.
- Successful wartime actions by unions in Clydeside had given confidence that the trade unions could be a strong political force.
- At the end of the war, membership fell by 20% to about 4.3 million, but this was still stronger than the average pre-war membership.
- British trade failed to return to pre-war levels as they had lost dominance in foreign markets. This put pressure on the whole economy.
- Wages were progressively cut by employers seeking to stay competitive and profitable.
- The coalition of David Lloyd George was dominated by the Conservative Party, which opposed the trade unions.
- The govt, which had managed mines during the war, chose to return them to private mine owners in 1921. The mine owners cut wages and costs to raise profits.
Therefore, the unions became more important to the working classes.
What was Red Clydeside?
The growth of the trade unions led to an inccreased confidence in their ability to achieve change. One region of importance was Clydeside, Scotland, with a significant proportion of British munitions factories. During the war, the area attracted more workers. It had a strong association with socialist politics as a Labour stronghold, with the nickname ‘Red Clydeside’.
What was the Glasgow Rent Strike of 1915?
Events:
- In wartime Glasgow, there were about 70,000 more residents than there were pre-war. With the demaand for accomodation, landlords could raise rents; if tennants could not pay, they would be evicted. This hit hardest the women whose husbands were away with the army. Landlords could obtain a court order to allow the forcible eviction and to take property to make up the value the value of the missing rent.
- This led to protests, mainly led by women including one organiser, Mary Barbour. They blocked bailiffs entering properties and picketed the houses of landlords who had evicted tennants. By November 1915, there were 25,000 people involved in the strikes. Across Glasgow, committees of workers in munitions factories and dockyards threatened sympathy strikes in support of the protestors. This included every industrial area across Glasgow. To avoid strikes, the govt ordered the police to halt legal action against protestors.
Significance:
- This was a real concern for the govt.
- The govt was already wary of angering workers’ unions.
What was the 40-Hour strike?
Events:
- Govt policies required a 54-hour working week.
- On 27th January 1919, the Clyde Workers’ Committee began a strike in which 70,000 workers stopped working in Glasgow. On the 29th, they presented a petition for a 40-hour working week to the Lord Provost and requestd that it be presented to Parliament.
- On 31st January, 60,000 workers and their supporters gathered under a large red flag to hear the response. The response was a rejection - it had already been published in the first edition of the Glasgow Herald that morning. A small group that went into the City Chambers to discuss the matter, while other leaders gave speeches to the crowd.
- Fighting broke between the protestors and the police. The Sheriff read the Riot Act but by reports of witnesses, it was knocked from his hands. The fighting lasted several hours around Glasgow. Nineteen policemen and 34 strikers were injured.
- The govt deployed six tanks and many troops to restore order. Machine guns were sited on high buildings.
Significance:
- Although the event failed, subsequently the national engineering unions suceeded in obtaining a 47-hour working week.
- The events generated awareness of the potential of industrial action. The strong govt reaction showed how much of a threat industrial action could be.
- For the government, industrial actions were seen in the light of the Russian revolution as revolutionary actions, rather than simply demands for social reforms. Two leaders were given jail sentences, though ten were acquitted.
- It strengthened links between the Independent Labour Party and the unions, since the group presenting the petitions included Labour MPs. A number of militant leaders of 1919 became Labour MPs in the 1932 election.
What were the events of Black Friday, 1921?
The 1919 Sankey Comission recommended that the government retain control of the coal industry, but the government chose to return it to the former owners on 31 March 1921. The owners immediately reduced pay and locked out any miners who would not work for the lower rate.
Fearing the potential of the Triple Alliance to create large-scale disruption, the government used the 1920 Emergency Powers Act to recall troops from Ireland and abroad and positioned them to quell any strikes. In reality, the Triple Alliance was not a serious threat. Ernest Bevin’s transport workers and James Thomas’ rail workers did not join the strike. The Triple Alliance collapsed, since it only existed on the principle of mutua; support. The miners struck on their own, but were unable to sustain this. They were forced to accept significant wage decreases and return to work.
What was the impact of Black Friday?
The failed strike was named ‘Black Friday’ by historians of the labour movement since it was a failure to follow the principles of mass protest. It weakened the position of the trade unions by indicating that the threat of a united front was a myth. It also marked an end to government involvement in pay and employment reforms. For the rest of the inter-war period, the government maintained a non-interventionist stance. It put the trade unions onto the defensive, as opposed to the more aggressive stance that had been demonstrated in Clydeside in 1915 and 1919.
With the lack of governmental support and the collapse of the power bloc of the Triple Alliance, employers in all industries forced down wages. The trade unions were unable to prevent this.
What were the AEU and the TGW?
Amalgamated Engineering Union: was an alliance of nine smaller engineering unions formed around an older organisation, the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. It formed in 1921, and included unions like the Steam Engine Makers’ society and the Amalgamated Instrument Makers’ society. The strength of the AEU was that the members were all highly skilled craftsmen, and they could afford to pay one shilling per week. This made the AEU financially stable, with economic resources to fund strikes. This discouraged employers from getting into conflict with them.
Transport and General Workers’ Union: was the largest union. It formed in 1932 from 14 unions representing 350,000 workers, and what was unusual was that it had a particularly wide range of trades, including dock and road transport workers but also clerical and administrative workers.
However, many unions disliked the amalgamated unions, since they saw them as removing the independence of individual trade unions. Smaller unions met in councils of action to represent workers in their locality in industrial disputes.
Who was Manny Shinwell?
Who was he? - A Glaswegian working-class trade unionist. He had an interest in Marxism.
What was his role?
- A leader of the trade unions in Glasgow.
- Heavily involved in sailors’ unions.
- Leader of the 40-hour strike; he gave a speech and was present in the fighting. He served five months in jail for inciting large crowds of persons to form part of a riotous mob.
- Based on his support from workers, elected as a Labour MP in 1922 and 1928.
What is his signficance?
- A figurehead for trade union movement.
- As a Labour MP, he gave the trade unions parliamentary representation.
- He was a moderate figure in the trade union movement.
Who was James Maxton?
Who was he?
- A Glaswegian school teacher who was a firm believer n socialism.
What was his role?
- Central to formation of Scottish Socialist Teachers’ society.
- Worked closely with other Glaswegian socialists, like Shinwell.
- On the left of Independent Labour party.
- Opposed conscription, and spent one year in jail for organising strikes against conscription.
- Divisional organiser for the ILP.
- Elected as a Labour MP in 1922; he was a trouble-causing MP who was vocally critical of Conservative MPs.
- Leader of the Independent Labour Party from 1926.
What is his significaance?
- A very radical, a vocal leader of trade unions and Labour.
- Provided a voice for the radical left against Ramsay McDonald.
- His campaign slogian ‘Socialism in our time’ was hugely popular with Labour suppoters.
Who was Ernest Bevin?
Who was he?
- A Bristol dock worker.
What was his role?
- Leading member of the National Transport Workers’ federation.
What is his significance?
- His organisation skills and moderate voice were important to the Labour Party and Trade Unions.
- He opposed the formation of the Triple Alliance on the grounds that it was too militant.
- On Black Friday, he prevented the transport workers from joining the strike which led to its failure.
- His negotiation to withdraw the TGWU from the 1926 General Strke was a cause of the strike ending.
