Combination Acts and the Tolpuddle Martyrs

In 1799 and 1800, amid fears of revolution inspired by France, Parliament passed the Combination Acts, which banned workers from joining together to demand higher wages or shorter hours. Unions continued in secret or as 'friendly societies' that offered sickness and burial benefits. Campaigners including Francis Place persuaded Parliament to repeal the Acts in 1824, although an 1825 law restricted strikes. Unions were legal, but members could still be prosecuted under other laws.

In 1834 six farm laborers in Tolpuddle, Dorset, who had formed a union to resist wage cuts, were convicted for swearing secret oaths and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. A mass protest and a petition with hundreds of thousands of signatures followed, and they were pardoned in 1836. The 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' became heroes of the labor movement, showing how public pressure could challenge harsh laws.