Munitions of War Act 1915
The Munitions of War Act 1915 was a British Act of Parliament that was passed on July 2, 1915, during the First World War . The law was intended to end the 1915 munitions crisis.
history
The munitions crisis caused the dissolution of the First Government under Herbert Henry Asquith and the formation of the Second Asquith Government with a Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George . This got a lot of power with this Act of Parliament.
It was abolished in 1919 with the Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919.
The German counterpart was the Hindenburg program .
text
According to Sir John Marriot:
“No private interest was to be permitted to obstruct the service, or imperil the safety, of the state. Trade Union regulations must be suspended; employers' profits must be limited, skilled men must fight, if not in the trenches, in the factories; man-power must be economize by the dilution of labor and the employment of women; Private factories must pass under the control of the State, and new national factories be set up. "
“No private interest was allowed to restrict the service of the state or security. Union rights must be suspended; Employers' profits must be limited; experienced men must fight in factories , if not in the trenches ; Manpower must be saved by diluting labor and employing women; Private factories must be under the control of the state and new national factories must be built. "
Act
The Act outlawed strikes and established industry committees. It was made a criminal offense for an employee to leave his current job in such a "controlled facility" without the consent of his employer, which in practice was "almost impossible".
Women (and unskilled workers) were asked to get involved in ammunition factories. Women were paid around 50 percent less than their male counterparts and had to quit their jobs after the war, yet the number of women in the factories rose from 200,000 to 950,000.
criticism
The strict rules on wages, hours and terms of employment were one of the biggest criticisms. The Clyde Workers' Committee was formed to defy the law.
literature
- Rubin, Gerry R. "Law, War and Economy: The Munitions Acts 1915-17 and Corporatism in Context." Journal of Law and Society 11.3 (1984): 317-333.
Individual evidence
- ↑ JAR Marriott, Modern England: 1885-1945 (4th ed. 1948) p. 376
- ^ GR Rubin, "The Origins of Industrial Tribunals: Munitions Tribunals during the First World War, The." Industrial Law Journal 6 (1977): 149.
- ↑ Angela Woollacott: On Her Their Lives Depend: Munitions Workers in the Great War . University of California Press, S. 90 .
- ↑ The Munitions of War Act, July 1915 , accessed April 4, 2020
- ↑ Red Clydeside and The Battle of George Square , accessed April 24, 2020