ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon one manifestation of class antagonism industrial conflict and disputes through which working people attempt to secure concessions regarding their pay and the terms of their employment from their employers. It focuses upon such tensions by examining the use of, and debates about, the use of loans of poor relief and social assistance during periods of industrial conflict, in particular strikes and lock-outs. The chapter also focuses upon relationships between poor relief and industrial disputes, and the role of loans within those relationships. It examines what has become known as the Merthyr Tydfil Judgment that has framed the approach to the relief of workers involved in industrial disputes for the past century or so. The amounts were substantial enough for the Ministry of Fuel and Power to be concerned that their repayment may cause disruption to wartime coal production.
