Combination Act 1799

{{Infobox UK legislation

| short_title = Combination Act 1799

| type = Act

| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain

| long_title = An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen.

| year = 1799

| citation = 39 Geo. 3. c. 81

| introduced_commons =

| introduced_lords =

| territorial_extent = Great Britain

| royal_assent = 12 July 1799

| commencement = 12 July 1799{{efn|Section 1.}}

| repeal_date = 29 July 1800

| amends =

| replaces =

| amendments =

| repealing_legislation = Unlawful Combinations of Workmen Act 1800

| related_legislation = Combinations of Workmen Act 1825

| status = Repealed

| original_text = https://books.google.com/books?id=zr8uAAAAIAAJ&hl=es&pg=PA342

}}

{{Infobox UK legislation

| short_title = Unlawful Combinations of Workmen Act 1800

| type = Act

| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain

| long_title = An Act to repeal an Act, passed in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen"; and to substitute other provisions in lieu thereof.

| year = 1800

| citation = 39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 106

| introduced_commons =

| introduced_lords =

| territorial_extent = Great Britain

| royal_assent = 29 July 1800

| commencement = 29 July 1800{{efn|Section 1}}

| repeal_date = 21 June 1824

| amends =

| replaces =

| amendments = Combination of Workmen Act 1824

| repealing_legislation = Masters and Workmen Arbitration Act 1824

| related_legislation = Combinations of Workmen Act 1825

| status = Repealed

| original_text = https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=48AuAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA847

| collapsed = yes

}}

The Combination Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. 81) titled "An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen", prohibited trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. The act received royal assent on 12 July 1799.

An additional act, the {{visible anchor|Combination Act 1800}} (39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 106), was passed the following year.

Background

The 1799 and 1800 acts were passed under the government of William Pitt the Younger as a response to Jacobin activity and the fear of then-Home Secretary the Duke of Portland that workers would strike during a conflict to force the government to accede to their demands. Collectively these acts were known as the Combination Acts.{{cite book |author1=Rodney Mace |title=British Trade Union Posters: An Illustrated History |date=1999 |publisher=Sutton Publishing |isbn=0750921587 |page=13}} Under these laws any combination of two or more masters, or two or more workmen, to lower or raise wages, or to increase or diminish the number of hours of work, or quantity of work to be done, was punishable at common law as a misdemeanour.{{cite book |title=The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge |volume=IV |date=1848 |publisher=Charles Knight |location=London |page=791}}

Significance

The legislation drove labour organisations underground. Sympathy for the plight of the workers brought repeal of the acts in 1824. Lobbying by the radical tailor Francis Place played a role in this. However, in response to the series of strikes that followed, the Combinations of Workmen Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 129) was passed, which allowed trade unions but severely restricted their activity.