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A-level Edexcel History Paper 3 Ireland and the Union c.7 Trade union militancy Summary Notes £4.99
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A-level Edexcel History Paper 3 Ireland and the Union c.7 Trade union militancy Summary Notes

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Condensed, easy to understand, evaluative notes for Chapter 7 Trade union militancy

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  • Chapter 7 trade union militancy
  • June 21, 2022
  • 8
  • 2021/2022
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3.7 TRADE UNION MILITANCY IN IRELAND, 1907-14
Introduct  Ireland = rural economy – pasture and tillage make up most income
ion and employment
 Industrial revolution  economic diversity  significant industries in
Ulster
o Step towards a modern economy meant the population enjoyed
healthy incomes
o Increased urbanisation meant city populations increased faster
than infrastructures could provide for
o Created a vast gap between the rich and poor
o Increased injustice as employers exploited workers
o Catholics failed to share the same employment opportunities as
Protestants, increasing industrial discontent
 Urbanisation  greater militancy as workers realised their rights and
conditions
o Driven by James Larkin
o Successfully organised the Irish workforce into unions to improve
conditions
o Threatened employers  confrontation and the emerging labour
movement which influenced industrial relations after 1913
How effective were the attempts to unionise trades and industry in the
years 1907-09?
Growth Context
of  Rapid urbanisation – e.g. Dublin population 180,000 1800 to
unionism: 290,000 by 1900
working  Workforce exploited for profits
and living  Lack of comprehensive unionisation for all workers
condition  Majority of unskilled workers in casual work (dockers, carters) only
s employed when necessary – excessive hours with no job security

Impact on working conditions
 Dangerous conditions
 Low wages – weekly cost of living 22 shillings and 5 pence, average
labourer earned 10 shillings
 Excessive hours – Belfast dockers worked 75 hours/week, but failed
to cover basic necessities
 20% of Belfast shipyard workers employed 1908-9 depression
 Reduced life expectancy – 1900-02 49.3 males and 49.6 females
 Mortality rate 153/1,000 in Belfast vs 169/1,000 in Dublin in 1900
 1901 – legal working age raised to 12

Impact on living conditions
 Rapid migration  insufficient infrastructure (slums, 20,000 families
lived in one room)
 50% of 1,254 local families in Dublin lived in poverty and failed to
meet basic health requirements
 Malnourishment as diets lacked necessary vitamins and minerals
 Dublin’s mortality rate in 1905 23/1,000 vs London’s 15.6/1,000
 Pulmonary TB = main cause of death – spread by a weakened
immune system, thrived in poor living conditions (tenements)
National  Vehicle for achieving better conditions for lower skilled dock workers
Union of who previously had no representation
Dock  Led by Larkin – recruited and organised Belfast dockers

, 3.7 TRADE UNION MILITANCY IN IRELAND, 1907-14
Labourer
s (1907) Aim (Belfast strike, 1907)
 Protect unskilled workers
 Better working and living conditions

Successes
 Larkin successfully united Belfast’s 3,100 dockers, both Protestant
and Catholics
 Broad strike, drawing support from carters and some skilled workers
in secondary strike action – no one willing to transport goods
elsewhere despite backleggers
 July – sympathetic PO Barrett refused to ride in a vehicle
transporting backleggers  mutiny as 300 other PO. refused to
protect backleggers  troops had to be drafted

Failures
 May 1907 – co-ordinated a strike against the Belfast Steamship
company for union recognition, shorter working hours and better
wages but they refused to consider
 10 August meeting attended by 10,000  clash with troops and 2
deaths
 Leader Sexton sought to find a deal – MC arbitrators, acting as a
mediator between the employer and employee
 Carter’s persuaded back to work after promises of wage increases,
but no union recognition  dockers isolated and defeated by the
end of August

Significance
 First time unskilled workers strike for their own benefit
 Opportunity for unskilled workers to assert themselves after
conservatism and skilled workers dominated TU before the 20 th
century
 Widespread worker solidarity  increasing the potency of WC
industrial actions
 Generated sympathy among Belfast WC
 United Protestants and Catholics – potential to overcome religious
barrier and unite against employers
 Positive experience from the POV of further, future action
 Eventually defeated with a failure to achieve demands
 Worker’s position didn’t improve significantly – arguably due to
Sexton’s backtracking who sought to diffuse the explosive situation,
undermining the effectiveness of strike action and left many
vulnerable
 Alienated Larkin who felt disappointed by NUDL leadership and its
conservative feelings towards the August meeting
The Irish Context
Transport  Belfast dock strike evidenced growing WC voice and confidence in
and TU but worker’s conditions failed to improve substantially
General  Larkin disappointed by the NUDL  created a new union to co-
Workers ordinate workers: the ITGWU,
Union  Broad organisation for all trades, but specifically unrepresented
(1909) unskilled workers meant it would promote a much larger
membership

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