The Development of Trade Unions for the Unskilled

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The Development of Trade Unions for the Unskilled The 'new model unions' were for the skilled workers and only covered a small section of the working class which meant a great mass of unskilled and semi-skilled workers remained largely unorganised this was with exceptions of the Miners' National Union and the Agricultural Labourers' Union. During the 1880s the unskilled workers were organised into what is called 'new unionism'. These new unions' main features were that they charged minimal subscriptions and adopted a much more militant stance towards the employers; this meant that the unions were prepared to use the strike weapon to gain their objectives. The new unions also did not seek to exclude workers and they were organised across whole industries rather than just individual crafts. The new unions developed during the 1880s because there were fundamental changes taking place in society. Industrialisation had caused a huge drift between the employer and employee. The employers saw themselves as part of the 'middle class'; this made the workers more class conscious and believed they had to fight to obtain a higher standard of living. The new unions provided an outlet for this class feeling which was waiting to be tapped. The opportunity for improvement came with an improvement in overseas trade which meant there was almost full employment for a time. The 'bargaining position' of unions strengthened in these conditions because the employers could rarely break the strikes by bringing in new workers. By 1884 the agricultural labourer had been given the vote which gave the workers a spirit of determination to campaign for favo... ... middle of paper ... ... a legal activity once again and said, "An action against a Trade Union . . . in respect of . . . damages . . . shall not be entertained by any court," this removed the 'cloud' of the Taff Vale case. The Osbourne case and judgment which happened in 1908-9 was also nullified by two acts. These acts were the 1911 Payment of Members Act and the 1913 Trade Union Act. Therefore on the eve of the First World War trade unions had overcome all legal obstacles; they now had the right to picket, the power to strike and play an important role in politics. Bibliography * An Introduction to Nineteenth-Century British History 1800-1914, Michael Lynch, Hodder and Stoughton. * Britain Since 1700, RJ Cootes, Longman Group, 1985. * Mastering Modern British History, Norman Lowe, Palgrave Master Series, 1998.

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