Bow Match Women's Strike Of 1888

EDM number 337 in 2013-14, proposed by Diana R Johnson on 02/07/2013.
Categorised under the topics of Cultural heritage, Equality, Industrial health and safety and Industrial relations.

That this House welcomes the first Match Women's Festival being held in London on 6 July 2013 to mark the 125 years since the 1888 strike by 1,400 mainly women workers at the Bryant and May factory in the Bow area of East London; notes modern research by the historian Louise Raw that proves that the strike was instigated, organised and led independently by the match women themselves and then supported by others, after many years of dangerous working conditions, poverty wages and bullying by the match women's employers; further notes that the match women's strike in 1888 led directly to the Great Dock Strike of 1889 in the same part of London and, therefore, set in train the historic events from which the Labour Party was created in 1900; and believes that the match women's victory was also an inspiration to the Suffragette movement and for all those campaigning for equality today, especially on issues such as violence against women.

This motion has been signed by a total of 115 MPs.