Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

Events

Leaflet entitled 'Printing Trades Joint Committee: General Strike Aftermath', May 1926

Following the end of the General Strike many workers lost their jobs as a direct result of their trade union membership and their loyalty to their fellow trade unionists during the strike. Many employers, with the tacit approval of government, grabbed the chance to punish a weakened trade union movement and established non-union only workforces and refused to reinstate trade unionists after the strike.

The two main Glasgow newspaper publishers, George Outram Ltd and James Hedderwick & Son, who were responsible for publishing the Glasgow Herald, Evening Times and Evening Citizen, were amongst the first employers in Scotland to adopt an anti-trade union employment policy within their publishing and printing arms. Both of these employers maintained this anti-trade union stance until the beginning of the Second World War.

The General Strike, although overwhelmingly supported, had a relatively slight impact within Glasgow. This was as a result of the TUCs decision not to call out workers in the engineering and shipbuilding trades until the 12th May, the day on which the General Strike was called off. The main impact of the strike on Glasgow was the disruption to transport and the loss of the daily press.

Source: Glasgow Trades Council Collection, Glasgow City Archives