London matchgirls strike of 1888
Encyclopedia
The London match-girls’ strike of 1888 was a strike
of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory in Bow
, London
.
factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines, and the severe health complications of working with white phosphorus, such as phossy jaw
, but was sparked by the dismissal of one of the workers on or about 2 July 1888.
Annie Besant
had interested herself in the situation with her friend Herbert Burrows
and had published an article "White Slavery in London" in her halfpenny weekly paper "The Link" on 23 June 1888. This had angered the Bryant & May management who tried to get their workforce to sign a paper contradicting it, which they refused to do. This led to the dismissal of a worker (on some other pretext), which set off the strike.
Initiated by the workers themselves, the strike started immediately and 1,400 women and girls seem to have been on strike by the end of the first day. The management immediately offered to reinstate the sacked employee, but the women then demanded other concessions, particularly in relation to the unfair fines which were deducted from their wages. A deputation of women went to the management but were not satisfied. By 6 July the whole factory had had to stop work, on which day about a hundred of the women went to see Besant and to ask for her assistance. It has often been said that she started or led the strike but this is not so. She knew nothing of it until the deputation called to see her and was at first rather dismayed by the precipitate action they had taken and by the number of women who were now out of work with no means of support.
A strike fund was set up and some newspapers collected donations from readers. The women and girls also solicited contributions. Members of the Fabian Society
including George Bernard Shaw
, Sidney Webb and Graham Wallas
were involved in the distribution of the cash collected.
Meetings were held by the strikers and Besant spoke at some of them. Charles Bradlaugh
MP
spoke in parliament and a deputation of matchwomen went there to meet three MPs on 11 July. There was much publicity. The London Trades Council
became involved. At first the management were firm, but factory owner Bryant was a leading liberal and nervous of the publicity. Besant helped at meetings with the management and terms were formulated at a meeting on 16 July, in accordance with which it was offered that fines, deductions for cost of materials and other unfair deductions should be abolished and that in future grievances could be taken straight to the management without having to involve the foremen, who had prevented the management from knowing of previous complaints. Also, very importantly, meals were to be taken in a separate room, where the food would not be contaminated with phosphorus. These terms were accepted and the strike ended.
In 1891, the Salvation Army
opened up its own match factory in the Bow district of London, using less toxic red phosphorus and paying better wages. Part of the reason behind this match factory was the desire to improve the conditions of home workers, including children, who dipped white phosphorus-based matches at home. Several children died from eating these matches.
The Bryant and May
factory received bad publicity from these events, and in 1901 they announced that their factory no longer used white phosphorus. Ironically, the owners (Francis May and William Bryant), who were both Quakers
, had started importing red-phosphorus based safety matches from John Edvard Lundström
, in Sweden, in 1850. However, Bryant and May's safety matches sales had increased 10-fold by 1855 and Lundstrom was unable to increase his production any further; so they bought his UK Patent
, and with his assistance, built a model safety match factory in Bow. They started using red phosphorus in 1855, but could not compete on price against the much cheaper white phosphorus-based matches; hence the use of child labour.
The Salvation Army had the same problem; their own matches were initially three times the price of white phosphorus-based matches. They had some partial success, because many of their supporters refused to buy white phosphorus-based matches; they automated much of the match-making processes, but not box filling, thus bringing down costs; and, the use of child labour in dangerous trades was prohibited. The factory still struggled to compete on price; and after 1898 the War Cry
ceased to advertise their matches. Their last make-or-break advertisement was run on 24 February 1900. The Salvation Army match factory finally closed and it was taken over by Bryant and May on 26 November 1901.
In 1908 the British House of Commons
passed an Act prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches after 31 December 1910. This was the United Kingdom's implementation of the 1906 Berne Convention
on the prohibition of white phosphorus in matches.
.
Industrial action
Industrial action or job action refers collectively to any measure taken by trade unions or other organised labour meant to reduce productivity in a workplace. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a euphemism for strike, but the scope is much wider...
of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory in Bow
Bow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The strike
The strike was caused by the poor working conditions in the matchMatch
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...
factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines, and the severe health complications of working with white phosphorus, such as phossy jaw
Phossy jaw
Phossy jaw, formally phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, is an occupational disease of those who work with white phosphorus, also known as yellow phosphorus, without proper safeguards. It was most commonly seen in workers in the match industry in the 19th and early 20th century...
, but was sparked by the dismissal of one of the workers on or about 2 July 1888.
Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
had interested herself in the situation with her friend Herbert Burrows
Herbert Burrows
Herbert Burrows was a British socialist activist.Born in Redgrave, Suffolk, Burrows' father Amos was a former Chartist leader. He worked for the Inland Revenue and briefly studied at the University of Cambridge....
and had published an article "White Slavery in London" in her halfpenny weekly paper "The Link" on 23 June 1888. This had angered the Bryant & May management who tried to get their workforce to sign a paper contradicting it, which they refused to do. This led to the dismissal of a worker (on some other pretext), which set off the strike.
Initiated by the workers themselves, the strike started immediately and 1,400 women and girls seem to have been on strike by the end of the first day. The management immediately offered to reinstate the sacked employee, but the women then demanded other concessions, particularly in relation to the unfair fines which were deducted from their wages. A deputation of women went to the management but were not satisfied. By 6 July the whole factory had had to stop work, on which day about a hundred of the women went to see Besant and to ask for her assistance. It has often been said that she started or led the strike but this is not so. She knew nothing of it until the deputation called to see her and was at first rather dismayed by the precipitate action they had taken and by the number of women who were now out of work with no means of support.
A strike fund was set up and some newspapers collected donations from readers. The women and girls also solicited contributions. Members of the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
including George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, Sidney Webb and Graham Wallas
Graham Wallas
Graham Wallas was an English socialist, social psychologist, educationalist, a leader of the Fabian Society and a co-founder of the London School of Economics....
were involved in the distribution of the cash collected.
Meetings were held by the strikers and Besant spoke at some of them. Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866.-Early life:...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
spoke in parliament and a deputation of matchwomen went there to meet three MPs on 11 July. There was much publicity. The London Trades Council
London Trades Council
The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades Councils...
became involved. At first the management were firm, but factory owner Bryant was a leading liberal and nervous of the publicity. Besant helped at meetings with the management and terms were formulated at a meeting on 16 July, in accordance with which it was offered that fines, deductions for cost of materials and other unfair deductions should be abolished and that in future grievances could be taken straight to the management without having to involve the foremen, who had prevented the management from knowing of previous complaints. Also, very importantly, meals were to be taken in a separate room, where the food would not be contaminated with phosphorus. These terms were accepted and the strike ended.
The campaign against white phosphorus matches
Besant and others continued to campaign against the use of white phosphorus in matches.In 1891, the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
opened up its own match factory in the Bow district of London, using less toxic red phosphorus and paying better wages. Part of the reason behind this match factory was the desire to improve the conditions of home workers, including children, who dipped white phosphorus-based matches at home. Several children died from eating these matches.
The Bryant and May
Bryant and May
For the Bryant and May series of crime mystery books, see the author Christopher Fowler.Bryant and May was a United Kingdom company created in the mid-nineteenth century specifically to make matches. Their original Bryant and May Factory was located in Bow, London...
factory received bad publicity from these events, and in 1901 they announced that their factory no longer used white phosphorus. Ironically, the owners (Francis May and William Bryant), who were both Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, had started importing red-phosphorus based safety matches from John Edvard Lundström
John Edvard Lundström
Johan Edvard Lundström was a Swedish industrialist and inventor who pioneered the production of safety matches. Johan is spelt John outside Scandinavia.- Biography :...
, in Sweden, in 1850. However, Bryant and May's safety matches sales had increased 10-fold by 1855 and Lundstrom was unable to increase his production any further; so they bought his UK Patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, and with his assistance, built a model safety match factory in Bow. They started using red phosphorus in 1855, but could not compete on price against the much cheaper white phosphorus-based matches; hence the use of child labour.
The Salvation Army had the same problem; their own matches were initially three times the price of white phosphorus-based matches. They had some partial success, because many of their supporters refused to buy white phosphorus-based matches; they automated much of the match-making processes, but not box filling, thus bringing down costs; and, the use of child labour in dangerous trades was prohibited. The factory still struggled to compete on price; and after 1898 the War Cry
War Cry (Salvation Army newspaper)
The War Cry is the official news publication of the Salvation Army.-History:The first edition of The War Cry was printed on December 27, 1879 in London, England....
ceased to advertise their matches. Their last make-or-break advertisement was run on 24 February 1900. The Salvation Army match factory finally closed and it was taken over by Bryant and May on 26 November 1901.
In 1908 the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
passed an Act prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches after 31 December 1910. This was the United Kingdom's implementation of the 1906 Berne Convention
Berne Convention (1906)
The Berne Convention of 1906 is an international treaty negotiated in Bern in Switzerland which prohibits the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. The treaty also prohibits the import and sale of such matches....
on the prohibition of white phosphorus in matches.
Popular culture
In the 1960s, the British actor Bill Owen collaborated with songwriter Tony Russell to create a musical about the 1888 match-girls strike, eponymously named The MatchgirlsThe Matchgirls
In the 1960s, the British actor Bill Owen collaborated with songwriter Tony Russell to create a musical about the London matchgirls strike of 1888. The musical Premiered at the Globe Theatre, London on Tuesday 1 March 1966 and marked the first musical directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynne...
.