London builders' strike (1859)

[1] In 1856, building workers in Manchester secured the right to finish work at 1 on Saturdays, and this inspired those in London to start a new campaign for shorter hours.

In order to gain the support of both the OSM, the Operative Bricklayers' Society (OBS), and the unorganised carpenters, a Central Board agreed in 1858 to campaign for the nine-hour working day, the movement being led by George Potter.

[1] Further agitation proved equally unproductive, and in June and July, the OBS and the carpenters both voted in favour of a strike, but the OSM and its leader, Richard Harnott, remained opposed, as did the smaller unions.

Very few workers, even among non-unionists, would agree to sign this, and the Conference sent representatives to the rest of the country in an attempt to stop the deliveries of building supplies to London.

[1] Harnott arrived in London in September, and attempted to persuade the master builders to drop their Document, in exchange for abandoning the nine-hours policy which he had never supported.

Potter, by November, was ready to follow Harnott's approach, formally calling off the strike at Trollope's, and dropping the nine-hours claim, but the master builders were hopeful of success in the winter months, when less building work could be conducted, and continued their lockout.