Circular letter issued by the Gas Stokers Defence Committee in 1873 seeking support for William Cutler, prosecuted under the Master and Servant Act 1867. The Appeal letter is signed by George Potter, Daniel Guile and Henry Broadhurst. Cutler was a fire iron forger with a five year employment contract at Hague & Co. in Sheffield. In 1873, his union, the Birmingham, Dudley & Sheffield Amalgamated Operative Fire Iron Makers' Association took strike action in support of a claim for 20% increase in wages. Summonsed by his employer for breach of contract (which had more than two years to run), Cutler was fined over £11. However, as he still refused to work for the company, he was sentenced to three months in Wakefield prison, and fined a further £11 on his release. Despite the Defence Committee's support for his case, the Appeal was lost. The 1875 Employers and Workmen Act replaced the Master and Servant Act and made employers and workers equal partners in a civil contract.
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Circular letter issued by the Gas Stokers Defence Committee in 1873 |
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Maker |
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Production Date |
1873 |
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Format |
Letter |
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Copyright |
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Holding Institution |
TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University |
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