ABSTRACT
This chapter examines one of the key events of the period: the 1897 strike and lockout as the culmination of a series of struggles throughout the century. The strike points up the specificity of industrial conflict in four areas: first, as the first major conflict in the engineering industry between employers and skilled artisans, after the engineering strike of 1852, it represented a major challenge to employers' dominance in a principal manufacturing industry. Second, it was the first major industrial strike to be primarily concerned with principles of labour substitution. Third, the 1897-8 conflict was concerned with the changes in the system of power relations that developed as the structure of work control altered. Finally, the strike and the Terms of Settlement which concluded it highlighted the way engineering employers perceived technical training, and thus influenced the development of technical education. An important political element was introduced with the setting up of negotiating machinery to deal with future disputes.
