One hundred years ago
A very formidable strike is occurring on the Caledonian Railway. The men allege that they are worked to death, be- ing frequently kept on duty eighteen and twenty hours at a stretch, and paid for overtime only as ordinary time. They therefore demand a nine hours' stint, ex- tra pay for overtime, and double pay for Sunday labour. The last demand is ab- surd, as if the men object on religious grounds, they should not work; and if on social grounds, they should be con- tent with the overtime rate. Nine hours, too, is a short stint. Let them make the day ten hours, and demand overtime pay for work beyond that and for Sunday labour, and the whole public will be with them. The whole of the men Will, it is believed, be 'out' today; but the direc- tors declare they will not yield, partly because the demands are unreasonable, and partly because they were not sent in through the heads of departments — the last being mere dignified nonsense. We recommend the directors to offer fair terms of compromise, before a great ac- cident happens, or they will find the juries' verdicts affect their dividends. The public are sick of the over-working of railway servants, who, if they fall asleep, are liable to criminal penalties. We have known ourselves of pointsmen, not on the Caledonian, working twenty hours a day, at points where a pull at a wrong lever would cost fifty lives.
Spectator, 20 January 1883
Previous page
