Impact of the Liberal Social Reforms - the workers

2. Problems facing
workers
Working conditions in the
early-1900s were very poor.
Workers were expected to
labour for long hours and
there were numerous health
and safety problems in
different jobs.

3. Working hours
In 1908 a maximum working
day of eight hours was
introduced for miners.
In 1911 the Shops Act limited
working hours (60 maximum)
for assistants and also
guaranteed them a half day
off each week.

4. Working hours
Working fewer hours reduced
accidents in mines as miners
were not as tired as they had
previously been.
The Shops Act helped as it
was in workplaces that had
ignored previous voluntary
measures to limit hours.

5. Working hours
Most workers were not
covered by these laws, so did
not benefit from any reduction
in their hours.
Miners also saw their wages
cut with shorter hours, so
many of them now faced
additional financial problems.

6. Low wages
The ‘sweated trades’ such
as tailoring and lace making
were very difficult. Workers
faced low wages and harsh
working conditions.
The 1909 Trade Boards Act
tried to set minimum wages
these jobs. 200,000 workers
were covered by this.

7. Low wages
In 1912 the government
passed the Coal Mines
(Minimum Wage) Act.
This meant local trade
boards would negotiate a
minimum wage (with miners
and employers) which all
miners must be paid.

8. Low wages
With the introduction of trade
boards, this gave workers the
opportunity to negotiate with
their employer for a pay rise.
This and changes to miners’
wages gave some low paid
workers saw a boost in their
weekly incomes, meaning
more money for food or rent.

9. Low wages
As with working hours, most
workers were not covered by
these laws, so did not benefit
from any minimum income.
Even those in the sweated
trades saw little benefit. It
took up to nine months to
implement minimum wages,
and they were often low.

10. Trade unions
In 1901, a railway trade union
went on strike due to the poor
treatment of one of their
members.
The Taff Vale railway
company sued them and the
trade union was fined
£23,000 by the court.

11. Trade unions
Unions could not afford to go
on strike and this reduced
their ability to negotiate on
behalf of their members.
The 1906 Trade Disputes
Act said that trade unions
could not be sued for loss of
earnings during a strike.

12. Trade unions
By allowing trade unions to
strike, this gave unions more
power when negotiating with
employers.
This made it easier for them
to secure higher wages or
better working conditions for
their workers.

13. Trade unions
Trade unions tended to focus
on large workplaces –
meaning workers in jobs such
as domestic service were not
covered (especially women).
Other employers stopped
workers from joining a trade
union.

14. Workplace safety
People faced unsafe working
conditions and got little help if
they were injured at work.
The 1906 Workmen’s
Compensation Act let 6
million more workers claim for
a variety of workplace injuries
and diseases.

15. Workplace safety
An injured employee could
now get compensation, which
might prevent them from
falling into extreme poverty
when they were out of work.
In addition, employers
improved safety for all
workers to avoid having to
pay compensation.

16. Workplace safety
Although workers were
eligible for compensation,
many could not afford to go to
court to get this money,
limiting its impact.
Members of trade unions
could get help but not all
workers were members, or
indeed allowed to be.