Trade Unions and Strikes Become Legal in the United Kingdom

1871 to 1875
A mug commemorating the Blackburn Cotton Riots, May 1878
Image Source: www.cottontown.org
Legalizing labor strikes did not lesson confrontations between labor and management, especially in the textile industry. A mug commemorating the Blackburn Cotton Riots, May 1878. Image from Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for use in the Cotton Town digitisation project: www.cottontown.org.

In England the Trade Union Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict c 31) legalized trade unions for the first time. However the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1871 was passed at the same time, making picketing illegal. Only in 1875, with the passage of the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875, was union picketing and normal strike activity legalized.

Timeline Themes

Social / Political
Economics