The Combination Act 1799 (39 Geo. III, c. 81) titled An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen, prohibited
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
s and collective bargaining by British workers. The Act received royal assent on 12 July 1799. An additional Act, the Combination Act 1800, was passed in 1800 (39 & 40 Geo III c. 106).
Background
The 1799 and 1800 acts were passed under the government of
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...
as a response to
Jacobin activity and the fear of then-
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
the
Duke of Portland
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
that workers would strike during a conflict to force the government to accede to their demands. Collectively these acts were known as the Combination Acts. Under these laws any combination of two or more masters, or two or more workmen, to lower or raise wages, or to increase of diminish the number of hours of work, or quantity of work to be done, was punishable at
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
as a misdemeanor.
Significance
The legislation drove labour organisations underground. Sympathy for the plight of the workers brought repeal of the acts in 1824. Lobbying by the radical tailor
Francis Place
Francis Place (3 November 1771 in London – 1 January 1854 in London) was an English social reformer.
Early life
He was an illegitimate son of Simon Place and Mary Gray. His father was originally a journeyman baker. He then became a Marshalse ...
played a role in this. However, in response to the series of strikes that followed, the
Combinations of Workmen Act 1825 was passed, which allowed trade unions but severely restricted their activity.
See also
*
UK labour law
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...
*
Le Chapelier Law 1791, a similar law in France
*''
The Making of the English Working Class
''The Making of the English Working Class'' is a work of English social history written by E. P. Thompson, a New Left historian. It was first published in 1963 by Victor Gollancz Ltd, and republished in revised form in 1968 by Pelican, after ...
'' by E. P. Thompson
References
External links
Partial text of the Combination Act of 1800
{{GB legislation
Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1799
Legal history of the United Kingdom
History of labour law
United Kingdom labour law
Trade union legislation
British trade unions history