What was the result of their campaign and what was so significant about the strike?
Three weeks after the strike, the Bryant and May company announced that it was willing to re-employ the dismissed women and would bring an end to the fine system. The women accepted the terms and returned. The matchgirls' strike was the first strike by unorganised workers to gain national publicity and was also successful in helping the formations of unions all over the country. (Explained in more depth in next page.) In 1901 the manager of Bryant and May announced it had stopped using yellow phosphorus, shown in advertisement below.
In 1891, The Salvation Army opened a new match factory in East London, using harmless red phosphorus and the workers were soon producing six million boxes a year. The workers were payed triple the amount of money and worked less hours a day. Most of the women from the Bryant and May company moved here instead.
In 1891, The Salvation Army opened a new match factory in East London, using harmless red phosphorus and the workers were soon producing six million boxes a year. The workers were payed triple the amount of money and worked less hours a day. Most of the women from the Bryant and May company moved here instead.