The Munitions of War Act 1915 was a British

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

passed on 2 July 1915 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It was designed to maximize munitions output and brought private companies supplying the armed forces under the tight control of the newly created

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis ...

, under

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

. The policy, according to J. A. R. Marriott, was that: : No private interest was to be permitted to obstruct the service, or imperil the safety, of the State. Trade Union regulations must be suspended; employers' profits must be limited, skilled men must fight, if not in the trenches, in the factories; man-power must be economized by the dilution of labour and the employment of women; private factories must pass under the control of the State, and new national factories be set up. Results justified the new policy: the output was prodigious; the goods were at last delivered. The law imposed very strong regulations on wages, hours and employment conditions. It was a penal offence for a worker to leave his current job at such a "Controlled Establishment" without the consent of his employer, which in practice was "almost impossible" to obtain. The

Clyde Workers' Committee The Clyde Workers Committee was formed to campaign against the Munitions Act. It was originally called the ''Labour Withholding Committee''. The leader of the CWC was Willie Gallacher, who was jailed under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 to ...

was established to oppose the Act. The Munitions Act was a response to the

Shell Crisis of 1915 The Shell Crisis of 1915 was a shortage of artillery shells on the front lines in the First World War that led to a political crisis in the United Kingdom. Previous military experience led to an over-reliance on shrapnel to attack infantry in ...

when inadequate supplies of artillery shells and other munitions contributed to a political crisis for prime minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

and the formation on 17 May 1915 of a coalition government of all three major parties. The Act forbade strikes and lockouts and replaced them with compulsory arbitration. It set up a system of controlling war industries. It established munitions tribunals that were special courts to enforce good working practices. It suspended, for the duration, restrictive practices by trade unions. It limited labour mobility between jobs. The courts ruled the definition of munitions to be broad enough to include textile workers and dock workers. The law was repealed in 1919, but similar legislation took effect during the Second World War. As promised in 1915, under the

Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919 The Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919 was a British Act of Parliament passed on 2 June 1919, which gave soldiers returning from World War I their pre-war jobs back. The Restoration of Pre-War Practices (no. 3) Bill (UK) had its second rea ...

, the main features of the law were abolished regarding manning arrangements (in particular employment of women and unskilled workers), closed shop agreements, restriction of overtime and apprenticeship rules.

References

External links

Page from the Munitions of War Act, 1915

House of Commons debate on the Act, 1 July 1915

House of Lords debate on the Act, 13 January 1916
{{UK legislation 1915 in law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1915 Emergency laws in the United Kingdom United Kingdom in World War I 1915 in military history World War I legislation

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Further reading

External links