THE GENERAL STRIKE

THE GENERAL STRIKE

1. The Build up.

   • Caused by problems in the coal mining industry
     • Mine owners were trying to cut pay and increase working hours.
     • Conditions in the industry had been good during WW1 when the government had nationalised the mining industry
   • Coal was important to the economy- provided heat and power.
   • The unions for the miners, transport workers and railwaymen formed te Triple Industrial Alliance (TIA).
     • They agreed to support each other
   • In 1921, the miners went on strike.
     • The leader of the railway union (J.H. Thomas) refused to join in and the strike failed.
     • This event was known as Black Friday.
   • In 1925, the TIA threatened to strike again.
     • The Conservative government gave a 9 month subsidy to stop wage cuts
       • This was known as Red Friday (31 July 1925)
   • The government set up the Samuel Commission to investigate the problems of the mining industry.
     • It said the miners should take a small pay cut.
   • The miners were unrealistic and refused any wage cuts.
     • The motto of the miners was "Not a penny off the pay, not a minute off the day "

2. Government Tactics

   • The Government were well prepared for the strike.
   • The government gave the miners a Subsidy in 1925 to buy them time to prepare for the strike.
   • They divided the country into regions with a head quarters in each one.
   • Resources were stockpiled- such as food, emergency electricity to stop the strike having an impact.
   • Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) set up to recruit and train 'volunteer labour'. They could do the jobs whilst the strike havng impact.
   • The media was controlled- the government decided what the public would hear about the strike. This made many reports about the strike biased.
   • The government recruited special constables to help police the strike.
   • Plans were made for using the army to maitain supplies and fight against strikers.

3. The events of the General Strike 4 May -13 May 1926

   • TUC leaders called a General Strike for 4 May 1926. The TUC had not orgaised the strike properly- but millions of workers went on strike anyway.
   • The government produced a newspaper called The British Gazette to attack the strike.
     • The TUC had a newspaper called British Worker which was only 4 pages long because the governmet took control of supplies of newsprint.
   • The BBC refused to allow union leaders to speak on the radio.
     • The BBC said it did this because the courts had ruled the General strike as being illegal.
   • The strike was mainly peaceful but over 5,000 strikers were arrested.
     • The strike was successful and public transport did come to a stop.
   • After only 9 days the TUC called off the strike as they felt they were losing control of the strike.
     • They feared there could be a revolution.
   • In November 1926 the miners were forced back to work by hunger and poverty.
   • In 1927 the Conservative government made all general and 'sympathy' strikes illegal

4. The General Strike- a failure in Leadership

   • The TUC had never wanted a strike and wanted the miners to accept a pay cut. They tried to sort out the strike.
   • The TUC were against the strike because...
     • It challenged the rule of the government and was potentially revolutionary.
     • It was too big to control- public opinion could turn against unions completely if it went wrong.
     • The TUC thought the miners were unrealistic.
     • They were worried about Communism. There had been a Communist revoltion in Russia in 1917.
   • The TUC wanted a peaceful strike- not one that threatened the rule of the government.
     • But the government said the General Strike as an attack on the state- thw TUC were not in full control of the strike.