Trade unions 1832 - 85 Flashcards
What are some laws passed in the entire period to do with trade unions?
Combination laws - 1799 Repeal of combination laws - 1824 Amendment to the repeal of combination laws - 1825 Trade unions are legal - 1871 Banned picketing - 1871 Repeal picketing ban - 1875 Employers and employees act - 1875
What happened to trade unions from 1830 - 50’s?
They weren’t very active or coordinated, between different factions
Small trade unions came up but were easily crushed by employers and easily threatened with being fired
Who thought of the GNCTU?
This was an idea by Robert Owen in 1834 to create a larger more combined national union. He made the General National Consolidated Trade Union, GNCTU
Why was the GNCTU created?
This was to increase trade unions effectiveness and uses, and to fight against the recurring economic crises and unemployment issues.
What happened to the number of members in the first few weeks?
It became over 1/2 million
How was the GNCTU structured?
It had multiple local trade unions that were under an umbrella union that corresponded to a main trade union
Why did the GNCTU fail?
Communication was poor because of not much use of rail and other methods of communication, and not much unity in what the unions wanted
Employers also made employees sign to say that they weren’t part of the GNCTU or were immediately fired.
How long did the GNCTU last?
A few months
When was there a resurgence in trade unions?
1850’s
What were model unions?
These were unions that had members from the elite working class like engineers They had high entrance fees to be selective with who entered the union
What was significant about 1871 for trade unions?
They were legally recognised so couldn’t be scammed as easily and picketing was banned, so they weren’t as effective which made them against Gladstone’s government, losing him
What was significant about 1874 for trade unions?
Picketing was now legal, and their employers could now face legal action if a contract is broken This gave the government more working class support
What happened to unionism at the end of the period?
Unions for unskilled workers became more common at the time, and they founded their own unions and had strikes and protests, such as matchmaker girls or dockers
