Matchgirls' Strike of 1888 Worksheets
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Fact File
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Table of Contents
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Summary
- Historical Background
- Matchgirls’ Strike
- Aftermath
Key Facts And Information
Let’s know more about the Matchgirls’ Strike of 1888!
In July 1888, the Bryant & May match factory in Bow, London, England, experienced a strike among its female employees and adolescent girls. Initially, the demonstrators were protesting the dismissal of a worker after employees had declined a request from Bryant & May management to denounce an article about the appalling working conditions at the factory. The strikers persisted in their industrial action in order to negotiate the halt of unjust deductions from pay and other enhancements to working conditions, despite the fact that management had pledged to rehire the discharged worker. They achieved success with the assistance of social activist Annie Besant.
Depiction of 1888 Matchgirls’ Strike
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- Women comprised the majority of the workforce in the ‘sweated trade’ of matchmaking. The hours were lengthy, the wages were low, and those who were found to be unsatisfactory were subjected to severe fines. In addition, there were severe health complications, including phossy jaw, a cancer that was caused by the white phosphorus used in the match heads. One of the largest and most well-known factories that were established to manufacture matchboxes and their contents was Bryant & May, which had its premises in Bow, East London.
- Bryant & May employed nearly 5,000 individuals in the 1880s, with the majority being female and Irish or of Irish descent. The number of employees fluctuated with the seasonal fluctuations of the market. By 1895, the figure had decreased to 2,000, with between 1,200 and 1,500 of them being women and young girls.
- The matchboxes were manufactured through a perspiration system in domestic outwork. The labourers were not protected by the Factory Acts, which is why this system was preferred. These employees received 2 ¼ to 2 ½ pence (d) per gross carton. The workers were required to contribute glue and thread from their funds.
- The labourers were compensated at varying rates for completing a 10-hour day, contingent upon the nature of the work they performed. The cutters received 2 ¾d for three gross boxes, the packers received 1 shilling (s) 9d per 100 boxes tied up, and the frame-fillers were paid 1s per 100 frames completed. A weekly wage of approximately 4s was provided to individuals under the age of 14.
- The supervisors imposed a series of fines, which were directly deducted from the wages of the majority of workers. Thus, they were fortunate to receive the complete amount. The sanctions were as follows: 3d for having dirty feet (many of the workers were barefooted due to the prohibitive cost of shoes), an untidy workbench or talking; 5d for tardiness, and a shilling for having a burnt match on the workbench.
- The boys who transported the frames from the drying furnaces had to be compensated by the women and girls who were responsible for boxing up the matches. Additionally, they were required to provide their own glue and brushes. A fine of 6d was imposed on a girl who accidentally spilt a tray of matches.
Bryant & May illustrated guide distributed to the Church of Congress
- Bryant & May recognised the existence of phossy mandible. If an employee complained of toothache, they were instructed to either have their teeth extracted promptly or be terminated. In the 1870s and 1880s, the matchmakers were engaged in organised political activity. The match manufacturers were vehemently opposed to an attempt to impose a tax on matches in April 1871, and the national press criticised the proposal. The trade was prosperous, and substantial profits were generated; however, the protests that occurred in 1881, 1885 and 1886 in pursuit of improved conditions did not yield satisfactory results.
- Clementina Black, an English suffragist, delivered a discourse on female labour at a Fabian Society meeting in London in June 1888. Annie Besant, a social activist and member of the audience, was appalled upon learning about the wages and working conditions of the women employed at the Bryant & May match factory.
- Besant conducted interviews with several employees of Bryant & May the following day. She discovered that the women worked 14 hours per day for a weekly salary of less than 5s. Nevertheless, the Bryant & May management imposed a system of penalties that prevented them from receiving their full wage every time. These fines ranged from three pence to one shilling.
- Talking, dropping matches or using the lavatory without authorisation were among the infractions. These women were employed from 6.30 am in the summer and 8.00 am in the winter until 6.00 pm. A sanction of half a day’s pay was imposed on tardy employees.
- In addition, Besant discovered that the phosphorus used to create the matches had a significant impact on women’s health. This resulted in hair loss, skin yellowing and phossy mandible, a type of bone cancer.
- The entire side of the face transformed green to black, resulting in the discharge of foul-smelling pus and, ultimately, mortality. Despite the fact that Sweden and the United States had prohibited the use of phosphorus, the British government had chosen not to emulate their actions, contending that it would inhibit free trade.
- Besant published an article in The Link, her publication, on 23 June 1888. The article, White Slavery in London, expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment of the women at Bryant & May. The company responded by attempting to compel its employees to submit a statement expressing satisfaction with their working conditions. The administrators of the group were terminated when a group of women declined to sign. The response was immediate; 1,400 women at Bryant & May went on strike.
Sarah Chapman
MATCHGIRLS’ STRIKE
- The female workers initiated a strike on or around 2 July 1888. By the conclusion of the first day following the dismissal, approximately 1,400 women and girls declined to report to work. The women demanded additional concessions, notably in relation to the unfair fines that were deducted from their wages, after management promptly offered to reinstate the sacked employee. Management was approached by a delegation of women, including Sarah Chapman and Mary Cummings, who were dissatisfied with their response.
- The entire factory had ceased operations by 6 July 1888. On the same day, approximately one hundred women visited Besant to request her assistance. It is frequently asserted that she initiated or directed the strike; however, she was unaware of its existence until the delegation contacted her.
- She was initially apprehensive about the hasty course of action they had taken and the number of women who were now unemployed and without any means of support.
- The strikers conducted meetings, and Besant addressed several of them. On 11 July 1888, a delegation of matchwomen visited Parliament to confer with three Members of Parliament (MP), and Charles Bradlaugh, an MP, delivered a speech. The London Trades Council became involved, and there was substantial media coverage. Initially, the management was resolute; however, Bryant, the proprietor of the factory, was a prominent Liberal and was apprehensive about the publicity.
- At a meeting on 16 July 1888, Besant assisted in the formulation of provisions that would eliminate fines, deductions for the cost of materials and other unfair deductions.
- Additionally, grievances could be submitted directly to management without the need to involve the supervisors, who had previously prevented management from being aware of previous complaints. An essential supplementary term was that meals were to be consumed in a distinct room to prevent the contamination of the food with phosphorus. The strike was terminated upon the acceptance of these terms.
AFTERMATH
- Later, in 1888, the Union of Women Matchmakers (later the Matchmakers’ Union) was established in response to the strike’s success. It was the largest union of women and girls in the country at the time of its establishment, and it sparked a surge of collective organising among industrial workers. These incidents resulted in adverse publicity for the Bryant & May factory, which subsequently discontinued the use of white phosphorus in 1901. In 1850, Francis May and William Bryant, the proprietors, initiated the importation of red-phosphorus-based safety matches from John Edvard Lundström in Sweden.
- Nevertheless, Bryant & May’s safety match sales had increased by a factor of 10 by 1855, and Lundström was unable to increase his production further. Consequently, they acquired his British patent and, with his assistance, constructed a model safety match factory in Bow. They initiated the use of red phosphorus in 1855 but were unable to compete on price with the significantly less expensive white phosphorus-based matches. Consequently, they employed juvenile labour.
- The House of Commons passed an Act in 1908 that prohibited the use of white phosphorus in matches after 31 December 1910. This was the United Kingdom’s implementation of the 1906 Berne Convention, which prohibited the use of white phosphorus in pyrotechnics.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Matchgirls' Strike of 1888
- What was the Matchgirls' Strike of 1888?
The Matchgirls' Strike of 1888 was a protest by female workers at the Bryant & May match factory in London against poor working conditions, low wages, and the use of toxic white phosphorus, which caused severe health issues.
- Who led the Matchgirls' Strike?
A social reformer and journalist, Annie Besant played a key role in publicising the strike through her article "White Slavery in London." However, the strike was organised and led by the matchgirls themselves, including figures like Sarah Chapman.
- How did the strike begin?
After Bryant & May pressured workers to deny poor working conditions in response to Besant’s article, a group of matchgirls protested on 5 July 1888. The strike quickly grew, and around 1,400 workers joined.