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Britain > Trade Unions > Flashcards

Trade Unions Flashcards

1
Q

What is the TUC and when was it formed?

A

The Trade Union Congress, founded in Manchester in 1868

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2
Q

What did the TUC do?

A

It acted as an administrative and organisational council to help the unions work together. It had no formal powerbut could act as an organisation to speak up for different unions.

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3
Q

Why was there an increase in industrial conflict just before WW1?

A

Partly due to the same issues of pay and working conditions of previous decades, but also over the issue of syndicalism. Workers were beginning to believe they could improve, not just their economic situation, but their social situation by industrial rather than political measures.

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4
Q

What is syndicalism?

A

A socialist concept of replacing the ownership and management of factories with syndicates, or committees of workers.

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5
Q

Why did the First World War generally improve the conditions of labouring classes?

A
  • the enlistment of 5 million men from a workforce of 15 million, left the remaining workers in a strong bargaining position
  • bonuses given to workers in key trades, like docks workers, were fixed sums, not percentages, and benefited the least-well paid
  • the inclusion of Labour in Asquith’s 1915 coalition gov strengthened the trade union voice in gov
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6
Q

What was the membership of trade unions during the war?

A

Over 5 million

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7
Q

Who was Manny Shinwell?

A

A Glaswegian working class trade unionist who had an interest in Marxism. He was a fugurehead for the trade union movement and as a Labour MP, he gave the trade unions parliamentary representation.

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8
Q

Who was James Maxton?

A

A Glaswegian who was the leader of the ILP during the 1926 General Strike and was a very radical, vocal leader who was a firm believer of Socialism.

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9
Q

What was the Triple Alliance?

A

An alliance formed between the National Transport Workers’ Union, the National Union of Railwaymen and the Miners’ Federation. Despite not being that strong an alliance, it did present a strong national front for the trade unions as they agreed to sympathy strike to support each other.

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10
Q

Who was Ernest Bevin?

A

A Bristol dock worker whose organisational 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 and on Black Friday, he prevented the transport workers from joining the strike, leading to its failure.

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11
Q

Who was James H Thomas?

A

A working class member of the rail and mining industries and was both a trade union leader an a Labour MP. He, like Bevin, held moderate views leading to him opposing Black Friday.

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12
Q

Why did conflict increase between employers and the trade unions after the war?

A
  • the gov 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 politicla force
  • despite membership falling by 20%, it was still stronger than pre-war membership
  • British trade failed to return to pre-war levels as they had lost dominance in the foreign markets, putting pressure on the economy
  • wages were progressively cut by employers seeking to stay competitve and profitable
  • the coalition of Lloyd George was dominated by the Conservatives who opposed trade unions
  • the gov, which had managed mines during the war, chose to return them to private owners in 1921
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13
Q

What two events made up Red Clydeside?

A

The Glasgow Rent Strike, 1915 and the 40-Hour Strike, 1919

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14
Q

What happened during the Glasgow Rent Strikes?

A

In wartime Glasgow, there were about 70,000 more residents. With the high demand for accomodation, landlords could raise rents and if tenants couldn’t pay, they would be evicted. This hit hardest the women whose husbands were away with the army. This led to protests, mainly led by women. They blocked bailiffs entering properties and picketed the houses of landlords. Across Glasgow, committees of workers in munitions factories and dockyard workers threatened sympathy strikes. To avoid this, the gov ordered police to halt legal action against protestors.

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15
Q

What was the significance of the Glasgow Rent Strikes?

A
  • real concern to the gov, since the army was already facing a shortage in shells
  • the gov was wary of the angering workers’ unions since the 1915 Munitions of War Act (stopped workers moving factories in persuit of better paid jobs)
  • the Glasgow Women’s Housing Association, the Clyde Workers’ Committee and the ILP worked together showing the potential cooporative pressure
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16
Q

What was the 40-Hour Strike?

A

Gov policies required a 54-hour work week. The Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia (Nov 1917) and the Spartacist uprising in Germany (Jan 1919) encouraged hopes for change. In Jan 1919, the Clyde Workers’ Committee began a strike in which 70,000 workers stopped working in Glasgow. They presented a petition for a 40-hour working week to the Lord Provost and requested it be presented to parliament. Workers gathered under a red flag to hear the response (rejected) and fighting broke out. Nineteen policemen and 34 strikers were injured. The gov deployed 6 tanks and many troops to restore order, they mounted machine guns on high buildings

17
Q

What was the signficance of the 40-Hour Strike?

A
  • althoughit failed, the national engineering unions managed to succeed in obtaining a 47-hour work week
  • it generated awareness of the potential of industrial action and the strong gov response showed how much of a threat it was
  • the gov saw the industrial action as revolutionary in light of Russia, rather than simply demands for social reforms.
  • it strengthened links between the ILP and the unions, since the group presenting the petitions included 2 Labour MPs.
18
Q

What did the Sankey report advise?

A

The mines should remain nationalised.

19
Q

What happened immediatley after the mines were returned to private ownership?

A

The owners reduced pay and locked out any miners who would not work for the lower rate.

20
Q

What did the government do, fearing the potential of the Triple Alliance to create large-scale disruption?

A

They used the 1920 Emergency Powers Act to recall troops from Ireland and abroad and postition them to quell any strikes

21
Q

What ended the Black Friday strikes?

A

Ernest Bevin’s transport workers and James Thomas’ rail workers did not join the strike. The Triple Alliance collapsed, the miners felt betrayed and continued to strike but were unable to sustain it. Eventually, they were forced to accept the wage decrease and return to work.

22
Q

What was the impact of Black Friday?

A

It weakened the position of the Trade Unions by indicating the threat of a united front was a myth. It also marked the end of gov involvement in pay and employment reforms. For the rest of the inter-war period, the gov took a non-interventionalist stance, putting the unions on the offensive.

23
Q

Without the power block of the Triple Alliance, what were employers in all industries able to do?

A

Force down wages

24
Q

What was the Council of Action?

A

In 1920, war between Britain and Russia seemed possible over the Russo-Polish War. The socialists were opposed to this as Russia was communist, so the trade unions and the Labour party created the Council of Action - a committee for organising political action.

25
Q

What was the AEU?

A

The Amalgamated Engineering Union - an alliance of 9 smalller egineering unions. The strength of the AEU was that all its members were highly skilled craftsmen, and they could affiord to pay 1 shilling a week, making the AEU financially stable.

26
Q

What was the TGWU?

A

The Transport and General Wokers’ Union was the largest union, forming from 14 unions representing 350,000 workers. It had a wide range of trades, from dock and road transport workers, to clerical and administrative workers

27
Q

When was the General Strike?

A

1926

28
Q

What were the reasons for the General Strike?

A
  • economic depression - the gov returned to the gold standard in 1925 which reduced the value of the pound, decreasing exports
  • fear of communism - in 1924, a fake letter linked the Labour Party to the Russian Communist gov, leading to the downfall of the MacDonald’s Labour gov
  • confidence in the TUC - in 1925 the TUC successfully supported a dispute between 150,000 textiles workers and their employers who were reducing wages.
29
Q

What was the event that triggered the General Strike?

A

In 1925, the coal mine owners declared a plan to abolish the national minimum wage, cut wages by 10-25% and maintain profit levels no matter how low wages fell

30
Q

What happened during the General Strike?

A
  • from the start, there was confusion over who should strike. In the end they all joined the strike as so what occured was a 9 day, large-scale general strike. By May 6th (3 days in) there was fighting between police and strikers in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. As a result, the gov recalled the army to London.
31
Q

How did the General Strike end?

A

On May 7th Samuel of the Commission offered to help the TUC end the strike. The TUC proposed; a national wages board to be established, a minimum wage for miners, workers forced out of mining to be offered alternative work and wages subsides to continue during negotiations. Samuel made it clear that these proposals would require the miners to accept reductions in wages, which the TUC agreed but the miners didn’t. On May 11th the TUC General Committee agreed to accept the proposals and the strike was over.

32
Q

How did the gov prepare for the General Strike?

A

they had used the 9 months to prepare by setting up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies, led by Winston Churchill. They called on middle class citizens and students to fill in the jobs such as tube drivers, lorry drivers, electrical plant workers etc. 26,000 special police officers were recruited.

33
Q

What kind of stance did the gov take during the General Strike?

A

A no-negotiation stance

34
Q

What role did the media play in the General Strike?

A
  • the media could have been used as a tool for the TUC but ironically, the involvement of the printers’ union in the strike meant fewer papers were published.
  • the Conservative goc used their journal the British Gazette to publish anti-strike propaganda and also attempted to dominate the BBC, but the company defended its role as an independent broadcaster
35
Q

How did the TUC fail in negotiations?

A

They led the negotiations on behalf of the miners, but failed to stand for their views. The leadership was confused and weak- stronger leadership may have created greater unity.

36
Q

How did public opinion aid the failure of the General Strike?

A
  • the middle class turned against the strike - gov propaganda made the TUC look unreasonable
  • fear of communism - the Communist Party supported the strikes and Russia sent a large financial donation (although they returned it), which created a fear of the TUC
  • the violence also destroyed the legitimacy of the strikers
37
Q

Outcomes of the General Strike.

A
  • to prevent another stike the gov passed the Trades Disputes Act in 1927, banning sympathetic strikes
  • the TUC was completely weakened - membership fell from 5.5 million to 3.75
  • the decision of the TUC was seen as a betrayal by the miners - relations between the two were damaged
  • in 1926, the gov suspended the Seven Hours Act, a law which had given miners 7 hour work days.
  • miners had continued striking, however by Nov, the majority had been forced to return to work due to financial hardship and they accepted the lower wages and longer working days

Britain (7 decks)

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