Combinations of Workmen Act 1825
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An act to repeal the Laws relating to the Combination of Workmen, and to make other Provisions in lieu thereof. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 6 Geo. 4. c. 129 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 July 1825 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes | Victuallers, etc. Act 1548, Journeymen Tailors (London) Act 1768 |
| Repealed by | Criminal Law Amendment Act 1871 |
Status: Repealed | |
The Combinations of Workmen Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 129) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which prohibited trade unions from attempting to collectively bargain for better terms and conditions at work, with the exception of increased wages and better working hours, and suppressed the right to strike.
Background
[edit]The 1825 act followed on from the Combination Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. 81) and the Combination of Workmen Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 95). The 1824 act repealed the acts of 1799 and 1800, but this led to a wave of strikes. Accordingly, the Combinations of Workmen Act 1825 was passed to reimpose criminal sanctions for picketing and other methods of persuading workers not to work.[1]
Content
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This law made illegal any combinations not for the purposes of pressing for wage increases or for a change in working hours.[2] Nonetheless, unions did now exist in Britain, unlike in continental Europe.
Repeal
[edit]The 1825 act was recommended for amendment by the majority report of the Eleventh and Final Report of the Royal Commissioners appointed to Inquire into the Organisation and Rules of Trade Unions and Other Associations in 1869.[3] It was wholly displaced by the Trade Union Act 1871.
See also
[edit]- UK labour law
- Le Chapelier Law 1791 in France sought to do the same
- The Making of the English Working Class by E. P. Thompson
Notes
[edit]- ^ Orth, John V (27 June 1991), "Conclusion", Combination and Conspiracy, Oxford University PressOxford, pp. 153–155, doi:10.1093/oso/9780198252993.003.0010, ISBN 978-0-19-825299-3, retrieved 12 July 2024
- ^ Frank, Christopher (January 2005). ""Let But One of Them Come before Me, and I'll Commit Him": Trade Unions, Magistrates, and the Law in Mid‐Nineteenth‐Century Staffordshire". Journal of British Studies. 44 (1): 76–77. doi:10.1086/426157. JSTOR 10.1086/426157.
- ^ (1868-1869) Parliamentary Papers vol xxxi, page xxiii
