Trouble arose in Northumberland and Durham in Jan. 1910, with regard to the working of. the coal mines under the Eight Hours Act (the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1908), which came into operation, in those two counties, on Jan. i 1910. Agree- ments had been reached between the two coal owners' associa- tions and the respective miners' union in Dec. 1909, as to the working of the mines under the new arrangements; but a large number of men at the various mines repudiated the agreements, and refused to go down the pits. About 85,000 workpeople were involved in Durham, and about 30,000 in Northumberland. At most of the pits the strike was over by the end of Jan. ; but a minority of men stood out, and the strike was not finally settled until April. The aggregate duration of the dispute was about 1,280,000 working days in Durham and about 1,080,000 work- ing days in Northumberland.
Certain members of the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders stopped work in Aug. 1910, in breach of an agreement with the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation, at two shipyards, one on the Tyne and the other on the Clyde; and the Employers' Federation locked out the members of the Boilermakers' Society at all the federated shipyards on Sept. 3. About 25,000 workpeople were directly or indirectly affected.
A provisional agreement made between representatives of the parties on Oct. n 1910, was twice rejected by the work- people on a ballot vote, and it was not until Dec. that a final agreement supplementing that of March 1009 was reached, and accepted by the workers. Work was resumed on Dec. 15. The aggregate loss of time in this dispute was about 2,850,000 working days.
A strike of coal miners and surface workers in the Rhondda Valley began on Sept. i 1910 and continued for nearly a year, being settled in Aug. 1911. It arose out of a dispute at one pit concerning the price list for a particular seam, and was followed by sympathetic strikes at other pits belonging to the same employers. An agreement was finally reached on the price list, and on a guarantee of an average wage. About 12,800 men and boys were involved at the beginning of the strike.
The years 191 1-2-3 were years of violent, and almost continuous industrial unrest. Among the most important disputes of these years were those described below.
A series of seamen's and transport workers' strikes began in June 1911. The original occasion of the first dispute was a demand put forward by the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union for the formation of a conciliation board, consisting of representatives of the Union and of the Shipping Federation, to consider a programme of reforms desired by the Union. The Federation refused to discuss the demands, and the seamen and firemen came out on strike at various dates in June 1911, many of the principal ports being affected. (London was not affected till a little later.) Strikes of dock labourers, carters, tramway- men, and other transport workers occurred at some of these ports, partly in sympathy with the seamen, and partly in support of demands of their own for improved working conditions. Serious disorder occurred at Hull, Manchester and Salford.
Settlements were reached at various dates in July and Aug. affecting seamen and dockers at Hull and Goole; seamen and carters at Manchester; dock labourers and tramwaymen at Liverpool; and seamen and transport and other workers at Cardiff. There were also a large number of sectional settlements in the London dock, shipping, and transport trades.
The railway dispute of 1911 began with a strike of 1,000 railwaymen (goods porters, etc.) at Liverpool on Aug. 5, the men alleging their inability to get their grievances dealt with by the conciliation boards set up under the scheme of 1907. They were joined by railwaymen at Manchester and at many other centres. On Aug. 15 the executives of four of the rail- waymen's trade unions sent to the various railway companies a resolution, stating that they were being pressed by their members to declare a strike, and giving the companies 24 hours to decide whether they would immediately meet representatives of the workers to discuss their grievances. The Government
got into touch with representatives of the companies and of the trade unions on Aug. 16; and on the following day the Prime Minister announced that the Government was prepared to appoint immediately a Royal Commission, to investigate the working of the Railway Conciliation Agreement, and to report what amendments, if any, were desirable in the scheme. This announcement did not prevent a strike; but a provisional settle- ment was reached on Aug. 19, and work was generally resumed on Aug. 21 (except on one railway, where it was resumed on Aug. 23). The Royal Commission began its sittings on Aug. 23, and reported on Oct. 18. The trade unions, however, refused to accept the Commission's recommendations without various modifications; the railway companies, on their side, took the line that both sides were bound by the findings of the Commission. On Nov. 22 the House of Commons debated the question, and passed a resolution to the effect that the parties should be invited to meet with the view of discussing the best mode of giving effect to the report of the Royal Com- mission. The Board of Trade signified to the parties their readiness to call a fresh conference " on the understanding that the findings of the Royal Commission were accepted in principle and in substance." The parties accepted these conditions, and a conference was held, at which an agreement was reached, the recommendations of the Royal Commission being accepted with certain alterations and additions. The effect of the new agreement was to expedite the settlement by the conciliation boards of matters in dispute, to secure greater uniformity in the decisions of the conciliation boards, and to give such de- cisions greater finality than they had previously possessed.
The Cotton Weavers' Association of N. and N.E. Lancashire engaged in an active campaign in this year (1911) against the employment of non-unionists. The employers replied by a general lock-out, which began on Dec. 28, about 160,000 work- people being involved. This is exclusive of the workpeople in the spinning section of the trade, who were put on short time, or thrown out of work, owing to the stoppage of the principal outlet for their production. The chief industrial commissioner (Sir George Askwith) invited the parties to a conference, which was duly held; and an agreement was reached on Jan. 19 1912. Work was to be resumed on Jan. 22, under the old conditions of employment, on the understanding that no action should be taken for six months in the way of tendering notices or striking mills on the non-unionist question. It was also agreed that, at the end of that period, Sir George Askwith would, if requested, submit proposals for the settlement of the question.
The great coal strike of 1912 involved an aggregate loss of working time of over 30,000,000 working days in the coal mines alone. There was also, of course, much consequential un- employment and under-employment in other industries. The percentage unemployed among members of trade unions rose to 11.3% at the end of March 1912; while blast furnaces, steel sheet works, and the glass bottle industry, were brought almost to a standstill, and tinplate mills working were reduced to about 14% of the normal number.
The strike arose out of a demand by the Miners' Federation for the payment of a minimum wage for every man and boy working underground in the mines. A conference between repre- sentatives of the coal-owners and of the miners had discussed the question of the earnings of miners in " abnormal " places (i.e. in working places where, owing to the thinness of the seams, or other causes beyond their control, the hewers were unable to earn the recognized minimum or average rate for the district), and a considerable measure of agreement had been reached ; but at the annual conference of the Miners' Federation at Southport on Oct. 6 1911, it was decided " to take immediate steps to secure an individual district minimum wage for all men and boys work- ing in mines in the area of the Federation, without any reference to the working places being abnormal."
A ballot of the members of the Federation was taken on the question of handing in notices to establish the principle of an individual minimum wage, as expressed in the resolution quoted above. There was a large majority (445,801 to 115,721) in favour
