The Workers' Institute building, which now stands on the Museum's site, is a lasting monument to the determination of the women chainmakers to fight for a minimum wage. They had won a victory not just for themselves, but for poorly paid workers in general.
The 1910 action was an important test case for the Trade Boards Act. The Chain Trade Board was the very first one set up to fix a minimum wage in the trade. If it had failed, then the Boards for other industries would have followed. Instead it was practically the first time in our history that the Government accepted that working people were entitled to a living wage.
Trade Boards for box making, lace making and the making of "off-the-peg" clothes were set up shortly afterwards, and in each case a minimum wage was agreed without the need for strike action. Other trades, however, were caught up in a wave of strike action, from brick and metal trades, through to biscuit makers, rag pickers and distillery workers. It affected thousands of unskilled and unorganised men and women, who were working for less than £1 a week. All won the right to a minimum wage.
The newspaper article shown here, finishes with a hope that the women chainmakers, who were not in the union, would promptly join. In fact, there was a significant rise in the membership of the National Federation of Women Workers (N.F.W.W.).
Union membership amongst other trades also increased. Numbers in tailoring shot up. A Card and Box Makers' Union was formed. A successful nine month strike of the hollow-ware workers of Lye led to the setting up of a 1,200 strong branch of the N.F.W.W.
This whole period in history helped to establish Britain as a leader in low pay legislation. The minimum wage we have today has its roots in the victory of 1910.
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| Updated: | Mon 25 Jun 2007 - 0 |
| Interpretation written by | Barbara Harris |
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