Trade Unions - Effect of the General Strike - Were the govt effective in dealing with it?

Question 1

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

Explain how the government’s key aims were achieved

Answer 1

• The government’s key aims were achieved - the strike did not last long and had no lasting impact
• There was no serious threat of revolution - the government was not close to needing to call upon military forces,
• & the response of the middle and upper classes meant that the political system was never in danger

Question 2

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

How did a law being passed strengthen the govt even further

Answer 2

• The Trade Disputes Act 1927 which was passed to restrict future strikes
• (i) general and sympathetic strikes were made illegal
• (ii) strike action was restricted to specific disputes
• (iii)banned the use of union funds for political purposes (e.g. the Labour Party) unless individual members chose to contribute by ‘contracting in

Question 3

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

Unions were ……….. - when strikers returned to work, it was clear that their leaders had….

Answer 3

Unions were weakened - when strikers returned to work, it was clear that their leaders had achieved nothing and had presided over a catastrophe.

Question 4

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

What evidence is there of employers making workers lives more difficult once they returned to work

Answer 4

• Many employers even made union membership a barrier to employment

Question 5

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

What evidence is there of employers making workers lives more difficult once they returned to work
-example - Glasgow

Answer 5

• In Glasgow, 368 of 5000 tramway workers were suspended; many workers struggled to get their old jobs back, while wages were often cut
• The coal miners remained locked out until Nov 1926, and were forced back into work by hunger

Question 6

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

What evidence is there of employers making workers lives more difficult once they returned to work
-example - Yorkshire

Answer 6

• In Yorkshire, miners were forced to accept 7 &1/2 hour days (up from 7), and in South Wales and the North East, miners’ wages were cut

Question 7

Govt were successful in dealing with the strike

Describe the diunity which emerged from the trade union movement

Answer 7

• The trade union movement became deeply divided -
• many were angry at the lack of protection won by the TUC for those workers involved in the strike, and membership declined from 5.2 to 4.4m
• The unions acknowledged that capitalism was not at an end and worked to improve relations with employers

Question 8

Govt were not successful in dealing with the strike

Long-term consequences in politics

Answer 8

Although the union threat subsided, the concerns that led to the dispute discontent continued and these had some significance in future years.
Eg helped Labour win election in 1929 and contributed to concerns in the 1930s.

Question 9

Govt were not successful in dealing with the strike

Union power continued

Answer 9

• The TUC proceeded in much the same way as it had before the strike
• the government may have been victorious
• but there was no dramtic decline in membership
• & strikes continued to be used (albeit with caution and with fewer days of work lost)
• Furthermore, the decline was consistent with a decline from 1921-26 before the General Strike suggesting it was not a result of this.

Question 10

Govt were not successful in dealing with the strike

The unions had never been revolutionary

Answer 10

• The idea that ending the strike constituted the defeat of a revolutionary threat is far-fetched.
• Most trade unionists worked hard to show that militancy was about a specific grievance, and stressed the General Strike not a political revolution
• They preferred a more pragmatic and less confrontational approach which was welcomed by employers who (of course) preferred good relations with their workforce

Question 11

Conclusion -

Arguably, the General Strike was no more than an …….. ………. over the wages of coal miners and any analysis which goes beyond this ………… … …………
However for many, who were concerned about the potential extent of the growth of trade union power the strike did confirm that…

Answer 11

Arguably, the General Strike was no more than an industrial dispute over the wages of coal miners and any analysis which goes beyond this constitutes an exaggeration
However for many, who were concerned about the potential extent of the growth of trade union power the strike did confirm that government / parliament had the power to dominate the trade unions