match girls

Question 1

what was one of the most prominent factories that made matches?

Answer 1

Bryant and May factory in London

Question 2

what did phossy jaw cause?

Answer 2

caused by the white phosphorus that was used to make the matches light
caused their jaws to rot- their teeth fell out

Question 3

how much was a girl paid per week?

Answer 3

around 20 pence

Question 4

how much was a woman paid per week?

Answer 4

40 pence

Question 5

what happened in 1882?

Answer 5

money was deducted from their wages to fund a new statue of Prime Minister William Gladstone

Question 6

when did the women go on strike?

Answer 6

July 1888

Question 7

what did Annie Besant do?

Answer 7

she helped to organise the strike action and supported the workers

Question 8

what was Besant’s publication called?

Answer 8

White Slaves of London

Question 9

how many more workers cam out in support of the strike?

Answer 9

1400

Question 10

what did Besant ask for?

Answer 10

higher wages for the women and registered them for strike pay

Question 11

how did Besant raise awareness?

Answer 11

she wrote articles in support of the women
held public meetings to raise awareness of the match factory conditions
marched the women in a procession to the Houses of Parliament

Question 12

what did the employers agree to?

Answer 12

the demands and removed the system of deductions and fines
the workers were given a pay rise

Question 13

what happened a year after the match girls strike?

Answer 13

the London Dockers went on strike- demanding better pay and working conditions

Question 14

what were the dockers striking for?

Answer 14

a wage rise- from 5 pence an hour to 6 pence an hour

Question 15

what did the dockers want for overtime?

Answer 15

8 pence an hour

Question 16

how many hours of work did the dockers want a day and why?

Answer 16

4 hours because they had to compete for work- they would regularly go days without work and just turn up in the morning to see if they were needed- they wanted stability

Question 17

who was the dockers leader?

Answer 17

Ben Tillet

Question 18

what did Ben Tillet encourage the men to do?

Answer 18

march through London to raise the profile of the strike and get support
the men carried rotten vegetables and fish heads to show the public what they and their families were living on

Question 19

why did the men picket the gates of London docks?

Answer 19

to put pressure on the managers and stop any blackleg labourers entering the docks to do the work

Question 20

what did the strike action do for the docks?

Answer 20

closed the whole of the Port of London- the largest port in the world

Question 21

what support did the Dockers strike get?

Answer 21

the support from the Lord Mayor of London and Cardinal Manning

Question 22

what did Australia do?

Answer 22

TUS in Australia gave £30,000 to keep the strike action going

Question 23

what did the Dockers receive?

Answer 23

the men received their pay rise and a guaranteed 4 hour day

Question 24

what was significant about the Dockers Strike in the short term?

Answer 24

they were militant
they picketed to keep out replacement labourers
the biggest port in the world was brought to a standstill
they had public support
sympathy strikes broke out all over London- postmen, coalmen, railway porters
they were given food relief
a gift of £30,000 from TUS in Australia- enabled the dockers to stay on strike
employers were forced to give in to most of the demands- the strike was successful at defeating the employers

Question 25

how was the Dockers Strike significant in the long term?

Answer 25

encouraged the growth of TUS
1888-1891 TU membership doubled
there was a huge rally on May Day 1890 demanding an 8 hour day
trade was good, wages were improving and unemployment was down
encouraged workers to turn to politics
Labour Party was formed in 1893
encouraged employers to fight back- used lockouts to starve workers back to work and Blacklegs to break the strike