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

Events

How the General Strike was ended, 13 May 1926

The end of the strike was bitter for those most closely involved in its organisation and for those who lost their jobs as a result of their trade union activity during the strike. Employer reprisals were swift and predictable.

The Tramways Department in Glasgow refused to reinstate 316 employees and George Outram & Co and James Hedderwick & Son, the two main Glasgow newspaper publishers refused to re-employ striking employees unless they gave up their trade union membership.

This line of anti-unionism was reflected in the pages of the Emergency Press, the joint publication of all six Glasgow newspaper proprietors during the strike. The Emergency Press emphasised any signs of weakening in the strike and used denigrating cartoons to boost the morale of the working population and to undermine the spirit of striking workers.