Trade Unions and strikes Flashcards
What was the first form of Trade Union?
-Model unions
Who were the Model Unions open to?
-Skilled workers (high membership fees)
What legislation regarded model unions in the 1870s?
-Trade Union Act 1871: Trade unions given legal recognition
-Criminal Law amendment act 1871: Made picketing practically illegal
-Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875: Legalised picketing
What were New Unions
-Open to unskilled workers due low subscription fees
-formed before and during strikes during 1880s
-Involved socialist leaders: Fabian Annie Bessant and Ben Tillet, Burns and Thomas Mann
By 1886, how much of the labour force was in a union?
-10%
a)What was the Match Girl strike, b) How many involved, c) When and d ) leader/ helped by e) outcome
a)Strike of match girls in Byrant and May over damaging chemicals
b) 1400
c) 1887
d) Fabian Annie Bessant
e) Wages and conditions improved
a)Who established Gas workers union, b) their demands, c) outcome?
a) Established by socialist Will Thorne (in 1889)
b)London workers went on strike Demanded 3x8 hour shifts (therefore claiming 8 hr day)
c) Strike won immediately, 20,000 members and grew nationally
a)Who led the dockers strikes, b) their demands, c) what did they achieve d) who helped
a) Socialists Tillet, Mann and Burns - London Dockers strike (100,000 large)
b)Struck for 6d/hr and minimum of 4hr day (dockers = casual labour)
c)Achieved “Dockers tanner”
d) Australian donation of 30k and intervention of London Mayor
What did the strikes in London inspire to be created?
-Miner’s Federation: covered most coal miners apart from county unions in NE and South Wales
How did owners respond to growing strikes?
-Shipping Federation began to use blacklegs and agreed with non-union workers
-1897 national lock out of engineers over demand for 8hr day and lasted 6 months with scabs
What was the Lyons v Wilkins 1896 judgment?
-Made pickets practically illegal again
What was conciliation in the context of trade unions?
-Conciliation was the process of government intervention into employee and employer relations and find a compromise
What two acts helped conciliation
1) Conciliation Act 1896
2) Arbitration Act 1890 (used by Askwith to break strikes)
What did the Taff Vale judgment 1901 decide?
- Taff vale judgment made unions liable for any economic loss caused by a strike
What did the Lyons v Wilkins and Taff Vale judgment signal to working class and trade unions?
-Needed to support a separate party that had their interests in mind: INCREASING SUPPORT FOR LABOUR AS TU PARTY
What did the Trades Dispute Act 1906 do?
-Reversed the Taff vale judgement: unions now had civil immunity for the damage caused by strikes
a)What did the Osbourne Judgment 1909 state and b) what was the consequence of this, c) ?
a)Made Trade union funds being used for political reasons illegal
b) Meant Labour party would not be able to put up Candidates to stand for seats as they used union funds for this (MP were unpaid positions until 1911)
a)What was the Coal strike in 1910, B) where, c) demands , d) what was achieved?
a) 10 Month for coal strike despite leadership opposing it
b) Northumberland
c) Wanted an 8 hr day
d)three shifts (instead of 2) which created more domestic demands for mothers
-Askwith resolved strike with conciliation
a)What did the Coal workers want in the strike in July 1910 and b) did they achieve this
a) wanted to increase wages to compensate for reduction of hours
b) No, scabs used and 1 worker was killed by troops sent by Churchill (Home secretary)
-After 10 months they were “starved back” to work
a)What were the Strikes in the Singer Factory and B) were they successful?
a)Singer Factory in Glasgow making sewing machines where woman were paid piece-rate
-Women went on strike in March (11,000 workers)
b) failed, 400 strikers and syndicalist workers removed
What did Mann and Tillet create to amalgamate all 30 dockers-related unions in 1911?
-Transport Workers Federation
What did London Dock strike achieve after threatening food supplies in London?
-Wage rise and cut in working day from 12 hours to 10 hours
What happened for the Liverpool Lock outs in August?
-Led to riots, 3500 troops and 2 strikers killed
-ended by Askwith , rep from board of trade, who enabled union recognition through conciliation
a) What did Miners call for in 1912, b) what was TU leaders feelings towards it, c) what did it achieve
a) National strike for minimum wage
b) leaders were reluctant but 4/5 of miners vote for it (set up for Feb 1912): shows workers were more militant than leaders (explains why coal union last to join LRC)
c) Led to Asquith passing Coal Mines Act 1911- implemented local negotiations and forced owners to accept it
-Cost £94,000
What is the Triple Alliance and when was it established?
-Agreement between miners union, NUR (railway) and transport Workers federation (dockers) to coordinate strike action in sympathy strikes
-Involved 1.3m workers and threatened a general strike
(in reality was about leaders attempting to impose control over members since many strikes had been done without approval of the leaders)
How much had strikes decreased durng ww1?
-1913 = 1400+
-1914 = 972
-1919 = 1400+
Why had strikes decreased during the war?
-Treasury Agreements 1915 and Munitions Act: Compulsory arbitration ( representative in conciliation)
- wages increased in exchange for non-strike agreements
What was Jolly George strike?
-Political strike in 1920 which saw workers refusing to arm Jolly George Boat with guns to be used against Bolshevik Russia in war against Poland
What was the Red Clyde strike?
-Workers wanted reduction of working week from 54 to 40 to help unemployed( it failed)
-A worker brandished a red flag (Russian) - seemed communist
What did the restoration of Pre-war practices Act do?
-Reversed the changes of 1915- Ended nationalisations of railways and mines
What did miners strike for in 1919 and was it successful?
-6 hr work day
-30% wage increase- Emergency Powers Act saw 6m wage increase
-nationalisation: was recommended but rejected by Cons. in Coalition government
When did the Triple Alliance collapse?
-April: no joint negotions of strikes
-Black Friday
What did the return to the Gold standard do?
-Led to mine owners cutting wages and lengthening working day
-led to May 4th General Strike
How many workers were involved in General strike?
-1m miners
-1.5m other workers
What was membership of unions in a)1914, b) 1919-20, c)1920-22, d) 1926?
a) 4m
b)8m
c)2.5m people left unions
d) 4m+
What did the Sankey commission state?
-stated coal mines should remain nationalised
What did the Trades Dispute Act 1927 do?
-makes secondary industrial action illegal
-banned unions in civil service
