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Trade Unions - The founding of the ITGWU in 1909 - Coggle Diagram
Trade Unions - The founding of the ITGWU in 1909
Context
Larkin differed from Sexton due to his influence by Syndicalism
Syndicalism emphasised the importance of workers' control over the means of production involving direct action such as strikes
Syndicalism wanted power to be with 'One Big Union'
Larkin believed in bypassing traditional political structures to directly seize power through a general strike
Clash between Sexton and Larkin
Inevitable as Sexton saw Larkin as feckless and a threat to his leadership as he had charisma which Sexton lacked
Larkin wanted to use Belfast as a platform to unionise unskilled labour unlike Sexton
October 1909 Larkin's appeal for funds to support a strike in Cork was rejected by Sexton
As a result of his rejection Larkin told Sexton he intended to organise all unskilled labour and as a result of the Sexton suspended him in December 1908
1909 Larkin was arrested as trying to defraud the NUDL and Sexton was a witness and he was sentenced to 12 months to hard labour
The ITGWU
The Irish Transport and General Workers Union was founded on the 4th of January 1909
Was purely an Irish trade union unlike the NUDL which was "an Irish union for Irish workers"
Many Catholic dockers in Belfast joined the ITGWU unlike protestants who stayed with the NUDL
June 1911 established the newspaper 'The Irish Worker as a pro-labour alternative (reached circulation of nearly 100,000)
Their newspaper was provocative and always controversial taking a vicious aim
James Connolly and the creation of the Irish Labour Party 1912
James Connolly was a Marxist born in Edinburgh who was an orator and fine writer
From 1905 to 1910 Connolly was a full-time organiser in th US for Industrial workers and was appointed the ITGWU's Belfast organiser in 1911
In 1912 Connolly and Larkin formed the Irish Labour Party to contest in elections and provide labour representation as Home Rule represented the employers
Connolly was a revolutionary socialist so didn't believe in democracy but saw the party as a tactic for agitation
Connolly was more radical than Larkin
Connolly was also a member of the IRB and in 1913 helped establish the Irish Citizens army which participated in the 1916 Easter Rising
Successes of the ITGWU
Membership rose from 3,000 in 1911 to 8,000 in 1912 to 10,000 in 1913 mostly in Dublin
Success on the 22nd of August 1911 over 3000 women packers walked out of the Jacobs Biscuit Factory and was settled by Larkin securing better conditions and wages
Successful in securing wage increases for the Shipping Federation in Dublin 1911
March 1913 to May 1914 Sligo Dock Strike was a sympathetic strike for the boycotting of goods and it ended with the Sligo Steam Navigation company which raised wages and recognised the ITGWU
Didn't win all but when it did it won big and by summer 1913 was winning wage increases between 20% to 25% for its members
Growing Labour Militancy in Britain and Ireland 1911-1914
from 2010 trade picked up, unemployment fell so trade union membership expanded
Growth gave more confidence leading to more strikes 'the great unrest' within miners, railway, dock and tramway workers in Glasgow, Liverpool, Southampton and London
1911 to 1914 over 3000 strikes with over 1300 in 1913 alone
Most famous strike in Llanelli in South Wales which put a town under siege and led to death of two in August 1914
When union leaders supported strikes in was under the pressure from rank-and-file workers' action
Members thought they were held back by the negotiations angering them as officials were more interested in negotiations than settling the dispute which pushed them towards syndicalism forcing Asquith to military means