Trade Unions CH10

How they formed, key examples and significance

What reforms did the government carry out?

• 1912 Insurance Law expanded social security to workers in factories, mines and transportation companies

• 1914 - ten hour working day

• Laws on social insurance and sickness and accident insurance

• Better state-employee relations

• Legislation of trade unions in 1905

• Economic recovery in 1911

Why did the government stop reforms?

Due to fear of independent working class activity and revolutionaries working through trade unions. Therefore they were hesitant to introduce more reform because of the weaknesses revealed by the 1905 revolution to tsarist society which these groups could use to attract wider support.

What did the government do to trade unions?

• 497 trade unions were closed down and 604 denied registration between 1906 and 1910

• When strike activity increased, there were 3574 stoppages

What was the Lena Goldfields Massacre and what was its impact?

The Lena Goldfields Massacre in April 1912 was the shooting of unarmed demonstrators.

Cause: Workers in the Lena riverbanks in northern Siberia had goe on strike for better wages and better working conditions. In 1912, they had gone on strike over inedible horsemeat and the Bolsheviks helped to spread their activities.

Events: Many other miners supported the gold miners to petition when their leaders were arrested and troops were sent in, killing 270 and injuring 250.

The consequence was that it set a wave of strikes throughout Siberia. Its impacts was that it showed the states failure to pacify the working class in 1905 and reinforced the divide between the upper and working class.

Extent of opposition and influence

• Only 12% of enterprises experience a strike

• The economic recovery gave skilled labour more power in market place.

• Employers showed resistance with fines and lockouts such as in the St Petersburg Society of Mill and Factory Owners adding to limited opposition

• Closure of trade unions meant unions consisted of better paid male skilled workers in meta trades so not a fair representation of what trade unions consisted of usually with workers from different backgrounds and trades

• Trade union mainly limited to urban areas

• Economic depression and rise in unemployment meant that there was a political clampdown on opportunities for union action

• High threat from methods used through general strikes as this gathered huge numbers of people. This added pressure on the Tsar from the working class in trade unions as they were angered by the Fundamental Laws limiting their civil rights and therefore made opposition to the Tsarist regime rife. It also led people to turn to extremist organisations due to the lack of reform

• Support base of mainly working class had a greater motivation to improve civil rights and was the biggest support base leading to the government being pressured to set up the State Dumas but response from government deterred people away

• Easily infiltrated by the government and therefore a low threat

• Long term significance from the legislation of trade unions.

Examples of strikes

• Three quarter of strikes took place in St Petersburg and half were in metal trades

• The General Strike in St Petersburg in 1914 only brought a quarter of the manufacturing labour force out.

• Increase in strikes in 1912 due to economic depression

• Economic recovery in 1911 brought a new round of strikes