1.3) The Birth of a Union
In 1891 retailing employed 750,000 workers, many of them ruthlessly exploited. Brutally long working hours for very low pay was the norm with two thirds of the workforce also subjected to the 'living-in' system.
Representatives of 11 organisations met in 1891
to form the National Union of Shop Assistants
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In the 'better class' department stores a 70-hour week was standard and 80 to 90 hours a week was common in suburban shops.
Rules and regulations dominated the life of a shop assistant.
Below is a typical notice that appeared in shops at the time.
Store must open promptly at 6 am until 9 pm. all the year round.
Store must be swept counter, base shelves and showcases dusted.
Lamps trimmed filled and chimmney cleaned, pens made, doors and windows opened.
A pail of water and scuttle of coal must be brought in by each clerk before breakfast, if there is time to do so and attend customers who call.
Any employee who is in the habit of smoking Spanish cigars, getting shaved at a barber's shop, going to dances, and other such places of amusement will surely give his employer reason to be suspicious of his integrity and all round honesty.
Each employee must pay not less than one guinea per year to the church and attend Sunday School every Sunday.
Men are given one evening a week for courting purposes and two if they go to prayer meetings regulary.
After 14 hours work spare time should be devoted to reading good literature.
In 1891 a Bill was proposed to Parliament to limit the working hours of women and children in shops to 74 hours per week and for shop assistants to have one 'half-day' per week after 4 pm. The Bill was defeated!
Against this background Union activity in shops began, and rapidly spread.Shop assistants' meetings had to be held after closing time, often commencing at 10 pm and finishing at midnight - in time for last drinks.
On 18th March 1891 the Manchester and District Co-operative Employees' Association (MDCEA) was formed. Eleven days later but quite independently, the representatives of 11 shop assistants' organisations from cities around the country met to form the National Union of Shop Assistants.
The Union had arrived.
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