Agriculture Act 1920
Encyclopedia
The Agriculture Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. V c. 76) was an Act of Parliament
in the United Kingdom
passed in December 1920 by the Coalition Government.
It was designed to support price guarantees for agricultural products, and to maintain minimum wage
s for farm labourers. However, it proved ineffective; the guarantees were abandoned in July 1921, with the relevant parts of the Act repealed, and the price of wheat
crashed from 84s 7d a quarter
to 44s 7d within one year - a drop of 48%.
The Act had established wage committees to fix minimum agricultural pay; these, too, were soon abandoned. A replacement system of "conciliation committees" was set up to mediate between employers and labourers, but these had no legal powers, and the average weekly wage fell from 46s at the beginning of 1921 to 36s by the end of the year, and to 28s a week within eighteen months of the repeal.
The next attempt to fix agricultural wages would be Labour's Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act 1924
.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
passed in December 1920 by the Coalition Government.
It was designed to support price guarantees for agricultural products, and to maintain minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
s for farm labourers. However, it proved ineffective; the guarantees were abandoned in July 1921, with the relevant parts of the Act repealed, and the price of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
crashed from 84s 7d a quarter
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
to 44s 7d within one year - a drop of 48%.
The Act had established wage committees to fix minimum agricultural pay; these, too, were soon abandoned. A replacement system of "conciliation committees" was set up to mediate between employers and labourers, but these had no legal powers, and the average weekly wage fell from 46s at the beginning of 1921 to 36s by the end of the year, and to 28s a week within eighteen months of the repeal.
The next attempt to fix agricultural wages would be Labour's Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act 1924
Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act 1924
The Agricultural Wages Act 1924 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed in 1924 by the minority Labour Government....
.