Walter Ritchie Rollo (November 25, 1875 – March 13, 1957) was a Canadian

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and politician in the early 20th century, and was a cabinet Minister in the

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

- Labour

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

from 1919 to 1923.

Early life

Born in

Linlithgowshire West Lothian, also known as Linlithgowshire (its official name until 1925), is a counties of Scotland, historic county in the east central Lowlands of Scotland. until 1925. It is bounded geographically by the River Avon, Falkirk, Avon to the wes ...

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in 1875, he emigrated to Canada in 1883 and was a broom-maker in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

by 1899. He married Margaret Bell of

Berlin, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a 1916 referendum change ...

in the same year. When the 9lst Regiment Canadian Highlanders was formed in Hamilton in 1903, Rollo enlisted and rose over time to become its

colour sergeant Colour sergeant (CSgt or C/Sgt) is a rank of non-commissioned officer found in several armies and marine corps. Australia In the Australian Army, the rank of colour sergeant has only existed in the Corps of Staff Cadets at the Royal Military ...

Labour leader

Rollo was secretary of the Hamilton Trades and Labour Council from 1906 to 1919. In 1919, he also became editor of the ''Labor News'', a Hamilton-based union paper.

Political career

Rollo was involved in politics at all levels. In 1916, he was appointed as a member of Ontario's Organization of Resources Committee which was established to improve Canada's war effort in the Province. He had also been a member of the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

in Hamilton for several years. In 1907, Rollo was elected as the President of the newly formed

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

, and would become its leader in 1917. He stood for election in Hamilton West in the following campaigns: :* in the 18 November 1914 by-election, which he lost by only 39 votes, :* in the federal 1917 general election, where he came in second, :* in the Ontario 1919 general election, which he won. In his campaign, signs were posted that read: "Your Vote for Walter Rollo is a nail in the coffin of the profiteer." He and

Morrison Mann MacBride Morrison Mann MacBride (August 20, 1877 June 5, 1938) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the riding of Brant South from 1919 to 1926 and the riding of Brantford from 1934 ...

were instrumental in negotiating a coalition government between the Independent Labour Party and the

under E.C. Drury, which lasted until 1923. As a result of those negotiations, the ILP had the right to nominate two of its members to the new government: Rollo became the Province's first

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

a position that had been created immediately before the election by the previous Conservative government of William Hearstand Harry Mills became the first Minister of Mines. This caused a confrontation within the ILP, as MacBride had sought to be nominated to the Labour position. During his time as Minister, Rollo brought in several enhancements to Ontario's labour laws: :* the ''Minimum Wage Act'', which set minimum wages for female employees, :* the ''Wages Act'' was amended to provide that 70% of any wages due to a worker was exempt from seizure, :* the ''One Day's Rest in Seven Act'', which provided (with certain exceptions) that employees were entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest every seven days, :* improvements to

workmen's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

benefits

Aftermath

After his defeat in the 1923 general election, Rollo was appointed as an adolescent school inspector for the City of Hamilton, and he was still working as a school attendance officer there in 1938, and as a part-time school assessment adviser in 1950. He died in 1957.

References

External links