Early Trade Unions
The formation of trade unions in the developing stages of the Industrial Revolution aided the start of reform which would eventually aid those being unfairly treated. During the 17th and 18th century, British workers commenced grouping themselves into trade unions in order to fight for their rights as workers and humans. Workers in various trades began to form groups and have strikes to protect and improve their working and living conditions. Factories were killing people, polluting them and put workers under so much stress and pressure. Many people believed the current system was flawed and the newly formed unions believed that focus from Labor should be to protect the workers and fix the issues. Once people realised that trade unions could have an impact, many trade unions were formed. This is because, if all the workers were to leave the factories, the factory would sit idle, thus no profits for the factory owners. These new mindsets influenced reform because they made people realise that they had a say and that their opinion can make a difference. They were able to make the government and owners of businesses doubt their decisions. This is evident by new acts being introduced, such as the factory acts and the mines acts. When trade unions were first formed, owners of factories and businesses were unhappy because they thought that no one had the right to tell them how to run their businesses. However, many politicians were influenced by people such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, who believed that if one person’s situation was bad, the entire community was that much weaker; if one person’s situation improved, the entire community was that much stronger. Therefore, what was bad for one individual was automatically bad for everyone; on the other hand, the good of the individual would inevitably lead to the good of the community. In 1833 The Crisis quoted that "National arrangements shall be formed to include all the working classes in the great organisation.” This exemplifies that people were forming trade unions in order to help others. Robert Owen also formed the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union where all the unions came together to fight for better working conditions. It gained over half a million followers within a week. The acts of the early trade unions actually made the government question whether they should be interfering and helping or not. This exemplifies that in order to achieve their goals, the workers had to potentially sacrifice their jobs just to make a stand and let their owners hear and see them. During the 18th century, when the industrial revolution prompted a wave of new trade disputes, the government introduced measures to prevent collective action on the part of workers. The Combination Acts, passed in 1799 and 1800, during the Napoleonic wars, made any sort of strike action illegal - and workmen could receive up to three months' imprisonment or two months' hard labour if they broke these new laws. This highlights that trade unions did influence reform, but in a bad way for them. Their voices were heard and because the public was indeed powerful, the government had to put a stop to it. Therefore, as a result of early trade unions, new ideas and perspectives were formed, ultimately helping future causes.
The Growth of Trade Unions
Due to the poor working conditions during the industrial revolution and the employee at the mercy of the employer, workers began to form large organisations called Trade Unions that would prevent further exploitation by opposing the Parliament and empowered the workers. [JL1] In fear of the workers rising against the government by having a substantial political influence due to Unions, Unions were banned in the 1820s to put a stop to the potential revolt of workers. The punishment for creating a Trade Union or to have any association with Unions was imprisonment. However, the ban did not slow down the production of these Unions nor the formation of new ones thus led to worker unions officially legal in many European countries in the 1870s; this demonstrated how even the law didn’t stop the ideals of the people. As the conditions of the economy improved in 1850s and 1860s during the industrial revolution the movement of the trade unions established a strong foundation with workers finally getting a reasonable amount of wage. In 1868 the British government supported these Unions forming the Trade Union Congress that further made Trade Unions an influence to reform. Membership in Trade Unions grew from approx. 100,000 in the 1850s to a million in 1874. The influx of trade unions forming and trade union membership gave the working class a voice in politics and helped pushed the idea of reform which bettered working conditions.