This was the Jubilee year, you remember, of Queen Victoria's reign, but it is chiefly memorable to railwaymen, not for the Jubilee celebrations, but for the spontaneous strike of enginemen on the Midland Railway Company. Earlier in the chapter I have indicated a state of affairs that was not happy, but on July 15th of 1887 new regulations were issued for enginemen, the most serious effect of which was to abolish what was known as the guaranteed week's wages, a condition which Midland enginemen had enjoyed for some time, but which, the Company contended, was being abused by the men. Some of them, it was said, could not be found or would not report for duty towards the end of the week. Even if that were so, the Company's action was still a drastic mistake, but the men denied that it was so, except in one or two isolated cases. The Company, however, resorted to the great injustice of punishing all the men for the alleged offences of the few.
Mr. Sunter, as General Secretary of the Associated, recognised at once the serious nature of this action, and all it might involve. He therefore issued an immediate circular to all branches, relating the position, and he consulted the solicitors to the Society upon the legal position. The men concerned, badly organised as they were, took the matter into their own hands. They were indignant at what they regarded as both an insult and an injury, and decided to strike. A large number of them were entirely unorganised, some belonged to the A.S.R.S., and four hundred or so were members of our Society. Without consulting anybody, or waiting for the sanction of any Executive, they decided to strike, and on August 5th they were out, leaving the Midland system in a state of disorganisation far more serious than their own. After they had been out some days, the Executive of the A.S.L.E. & F, met on August 8th to review the whole position, and to decide upon a policy. All the enginemen were then out, and on August 8th it was:—
"Proposed by Frederick Lumb, seconded by Samuel Holland, that all our Midland members be instructed to cease work at once.-Carried."
