Workers’ Rights Flashcards
All 14 cards in this deck
Why did the General Strike of 1926 begin?
The TUC called it in support of the miners, whose owners wanted to cut their wages and increase their hours.
How did the General Strike of 1926 end?
The TUC called it off after nine days (4–12 May 1926); the miners stayed out but were eventually forced back on lower wages and longer hours.
True or false? The General Strike of 1926 made the trade unions stronger.
False. The strike failed: about half a million members left the unions in 1927 and union membership did not peak again until after the Second World War.
What did the Trades Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 do?
Made general and sympathetic strikes illegal, and meant union members had to opt in before their subscriptions could fund a political party such as Labour.
Name one 1980s law that reduced the power of the trade unions.
The Trade Union Act 1984, which required a secret ballot of members before a strike could be called.
What did the government do in 1925 to delay a coal strike?
It paid a subsidy to keep miners' wages up for nine months and appointed the Samuel Commission to look into the coal industry; its report in March 1926 backed wage cuts.
What was the British Gazette?
The government's newspaper during the General Strike of 1926, used, along with BBC radio, to put its case and urge strikers back to work.
How did the government keep essential services going in the General Strike?
It recruited volunteers, many of them students and middle-class men, to run trains and buses, and used troops to guard and move food from the docks.
Why did the miners strike in 1984?
The National Coal Board, backed by Margaret Thatcher's government, announced plans to close loss-making pits.
Who was Arthur Scargill?
The militant leader of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) who led the miners' strike of 1984–85.
How did Margaret Thatcher's government prepare for a miners' strike?
It built up large stocks of coal at power stations and converted some to use oil, so a strike could not quickly cause power cuts.
How did the miners' strike of 1984–85 end?
The miners went back to work in March 1985 without winning any concessions, and most remaining pits were closed over the following years.
How did the miners' strikes of 1972 and 1974 show union power?
In 1972 a seven-week strike won the miners a large pay rise. In 1974 their action forced a three-day week; Edward Heath called an election on 'Who governs Britain?' and lost.
What did the Employment Acts of 1980 and 1982 do?
They limited picketing to workers' own workplaces, restricted secondary (sympathy) action, and let unions be sued for damages over unlawful strikes.