1.5) The Fight Against 'Living-In'
June 1901 saw a demonstration against 'living-in' which caused a major sensation and started the campaign against living in.
June 1901 saw a
demonstration against 'living-in'
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Thirteen shop assistants from William Whiteley's department store paraded with sandwich boards along Oxford Street to the West End of London. Their boards advertised a mass meeting against 'living-in' to be addressed by the great preacher Dr Clifford.
A wave of actions against 'living-in' followed. Some successfully secured the immediate ending of 'living-in' while others won improvements in conditions.
Men working at Messrs Daniels of Kentish Town were granted the right to 'live-out' in 1907. But the firm, discovering the changeoverwas costing them hundreds of pounds, reacted by dismissing workers who 'lived-out' one by one. The firm refused to negotiate the matter with the Union and the men went on strike. The strugglelasted for 16 weeks until Messrs Daniels signed an agreement tomake the firm a 'living-out' establishment.
In 1914, 400,000 workers still 'lived-in'. One of the main arguments put forward was that 'living-in' protected women and discouraged immorality.
'Living-in' lingered on into the 1920s when, after a long campaign,most workers had won the right to choose between taking board and being paid a full wage.
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