34 / 44
Testing condenser tubes at John Brown & Co’s yard. Hostility to
women ‘dilutees’ is evident in the chalked message ‘WHEN THE
BOYS COME BACK WE ARE NOT GOING TO KEEP YOU ANY LONGER GIRLS’
T HE M U N I T I ON S
of
WA R AC T
On the one hand,the unions were strengthened by the shortage of labour
and they were soon able to achieve increased wages.On the other hand,the
Government greatly strengthened the employers’power by the Munitions
of War Act of 1915.The purpose of this Act was to allow the maximum
output of munitions, including warships, and its provisions were quite
dramatic – mainly that munitions factories, including shipyards
working mostly on orders from the Navy, should be declared‘controlled
establishments’where:
I
.
STRIKES WERE
MADE
ILLEGAL
II
.
DISPUTES WERE
TO
BE
SETTLED
BY
SPECIAL
MUNITIONS
TRIBUNALS
III
.
NO WORKER
COULD
BE
EMPLOYED WITHOUT
A
‘
LEAVING
CERTIFICATE
’
FROM
HIS
PREVIOUS
EMPLOYER
(
TO
SHOW
THAT
HE WAS
A
SATISFACTORY WORKER
AND WAS
LEAVING WITH
HIS
EMPLOYER
’
S
PERMISSION
)
IV
.
‘
DILUTION
’
OF
LABOUR WAS
TO
BE
ORGANISED
SO
THAT
SKILLED
WORK
COULD
BE
DONE
BY
UNSKILLED
MEN
AND WOMEN
.
32 materials of war