On This Day / December 28, 1920
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19201228
Reference Date
19201228
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 28th December 1920, Belfast faced a “black Christmastime” as mass closures in the linen and textile industries left around 30,000 workers idle, pushing thousands of families into hardship at the year’s end. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Grim Christmas as Mills Close | On This Day – 28th December 1920
THIS morning some 30,000 employees engaged in the Belfast textile mills and factories commenced a long enforced ‘Christmas holiday’, extending over a period of practically five weeks until the end of January next.
This stoppage is probably the most serious in the history of the city as the number of unemployed exceeds even that created by the greatest strikes which have taken place in Belfast. It follows on top of a long period of ‘short time’ in the linen trade.
The crisis which has to be faced has been gradually reached from July last from when the working week has been curtailed according to requirements.
The unemployment arising out of the linen trade depression had grown to such dimensions that last weekend the police formed queues outside the Grand Central Hotel [in Royal Avenue] of women workers who were signing and receiving unemployment benefit inside.
The long stoppage now in force is bad for the city as well as a blow to the unfortunate employees.
Approximately 30,000 workers are affected and the loss in wages may be roughly estimated at between £60,000 and £70,000 weekly.
The situation even at the end of the period presents a black outlook. Even if trade brightened and the market righted itself, there is not enough flax to enable the mills to resume full-time again.
A large percentage of the textile trade’s employees are females and in many cases, owing to general unemployment and the expulsion of workers in July last, the earnings of the women of the household, to an extent, prevented complete privation and hunger.
It will thus be seen how grave is the stoppage which begins today from the point of view of one section of the population in particular, though it is a disaster for the whole city.
Unemployment benefit naturally engages attention at such a crisis. The new Unemployment Act, which covers all workers except those engaged in agriculture or domestic service, came into operation in November last and it requires four stamps on the worker’s card to qualify for benefit.
The general unemployment situation is bad enough but accentuated by the addition to the ranks of the workers of these 30,000 brings into prospect a black Christmastime in the city for a large proportion of the working population.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: As post-war boom gave way to slump, Irish workers were increasingly covered by gradual extension of the 1911 National Insurance Act.
One of a raft social welfare reforms introduced by the pre-war Liberal government, the Act covered workers in selected trades known to be susceptible to cyclical unemployment, such as linen manufacture.)
On This Day – 28th December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19201228
Reference Date
19201228
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 28th December 1920, Belfast faced a “black Christmastime” as mass closures in the linen and textile industries left around 30,000 workers idle, pushing thousands of families into hardship at the year’s end. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Grim Christmas as Mills Close | On This Day – 28th December 1920
THIS morning some 30,000 employees engaged in the Belfast textile mills and factories commenced a long enforced ‘Christmas holiday’, extending over a period of practically five weeks until the end of January next.
This stoppage is probably the most serious in the history of the city as the number of unemployed exceeds even that created by the greatest strikes which have taken place in Belfast. It follows on top of a long period of ‘short time’ in the linen trade.
The crisis which has to be faced has been gradually reached from July last from when the working week has been curtailed according to requirements.
The unemployment arising out of the linen trade depression had grown to such dimensions that last weekend the police formed queues outside the Grand Central Hotel [in Royal Avenue] of women workers who were signing and receiving unemployment benefit inside.
The long stoppage now in force is bad for the city as well as a blow to the unfortunate employees.
Approximately 30,000 workers are affected and the loss in wages may be roughly estimated at between £60,000 and £70,000 weekly.
The situation even at the end of the period presents a black outlook. Even if trade brightened and the market righted itself, there is not enough flax to enable the mills to resume full-time again.
A large percentage of the textile trade’s employees are females and in many cases, owing to general unemployment and the expulsion of workers in July last, the earnings of the women of the household, to an extent, prevented complete privation and hunger.
It will thus be seen how grave is the stoppage which begins today from the point of view of one section of the population in particular, though it is a disaster for the whole city.
Unemployment benefit naturally engages attention at such a crisis. The new Unemployment Act, which covers all workers except those engaged in agriculture or domestic service, came into operation in November last and it requires four stamps on the worker’s card to qualify for benefit.
The general unemployment situation is bad enough but accentuated by the addition to the ranks of the workers of these 30,000 brings into prospect a black Christmastime in the city for a large proportion of the working population.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: As post-war boom gave way to slump, Irish workers were increasingly covered by gradual extension of the 1911 National Insurance Act.
One of a raft social welfare reforms introduced by the pre-war Liberal government, the Act covered workers in selected trades known to be susceptible to cyclical unemployment, such as linen manufacture.)
On This Day – 28th December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19201228
Reference Date
December 28, 2020
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 28th December 1920, Belfast faced a “black Christmastime” as mass closures in the linen and textile industries left around 30,000 workers idle, pushing thousands of families into hardship at the year’s end. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Grim Christmas as Mills Close | On This Day – 28th December 1920
THIS morning some 30,000 employees engaged in the Belfast textile mills and factories commenced a long enforced ‘Christmas holiday’, extending over a period of practically five weeks until the end of January next.
This stoppage is probably the most serious in the history of the city as the number of unemployed exceeds even that created by the greatest strikes which have taken place in Belfast. It follows on top of a long period of ‘short time’ in the linen trade.
The crisis which has to be faced has been gradually reached from July last from when the working week has been curtailed according to requirements.
The unemployment arising out of the linen trade depression had grown to such dimensions that last weekend the police formed queues outside the Grand Central Hotel [in Royal Avenue] of women workers who were signing and receiving unemployment benefit inside.
The long stoppage now in force is bad for the city as well as a blow to the unfortunate employees.
Approximately 30,000 workers are affected and the loss in wages may be roughly estimated at between £60,000 and £70,000 weekly.
The situation even at the end of the period presents a black outlook. Even if trade brightened and the market righted itself, there is not enough flax to enable the mills to resume full-time again.
A large percentage of the textile trade’s employees are females and in many cases, owing to general unemployment and the expulsion of workers in July last, the earnings of the women of the household, to an extent, prevented complete privation and hunger.
It will thus be seen how grave is the stoppage which begins today from the point of view of one section of the population in particular, though it is a disaster for the whole city.
Unemployment benefit naturally engages attention at such a crisis. The new Unemployment Act, which covers all workers except those engaged in agriculture or domestic service, came into operation in November last and it requires four stamps on the worker’s card to qualify for benefit.
The general unemployment situation is bad enough but accentuated by the addition to the ranks of the workers of these 30,000 brings into prospect a black Christmastime in the city for a large proportion of the working population.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: As post-war boom gave way to slump, Irish workers were increasingly covered by gradual extension of the 1911 National Insurance Act.
One of a raft social welfare reforms introduced by the pre-war Liberal government, the Act covered workers in selected trades known to be susceptible to cyclical unemployment, such as linen manufacture.)
On This Day – 28th December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.