The Workers Defence Corps ( WDC ) was an Australian communist paramilitary organisation during the Great Depression .
63-639: The WDC was based on similar organisations formed in Britain during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike by the Communist Party of Great Britain for protecting picket lines from police and paramilitaries, which the WDC also undertook. The organisation was first active in 1929 during the Northern Coalfields lockout , where it was used to coerce strikebreakers and defend picket lines from police. The organisation
126-448: A wealth effect . Additionally, international interest rate differentials affect exchange rates and consequently exports and imports . These various channels are collectively known as the monetary transmission mechanism . Consumption, investment and net exports are all important components of aggregate demand . Consequently, by influencing the general interest rate level, monetary policy can affect overall demand for goods and services in
189-550: A Red Army that would eventually lead a nationwide Communist revolution . Members of the WDC were involved in the 'Battle of Bankstown ,' in which several hundred New Guardsmen brawled with Bankstown locals, workers, Unemployed Worker's Movement members and WDC members. The New Guard was reportedly defeated, with their vehicles heavily damaged. The riot then continued as the crowd searched Bankstown for New Guardsmen or police officers. This article about an organisation in Australia
252-404: A bank to buy assets for its business. In return, the bank charges the company interest. (The lender might also require rights over the new assets as collateral .) A bank will use the capital deposited by individuals to make loans to their clients. In return, the bank should pay interest to individuals who have deposited their capital. The amount of interest payment depends on the interest rate and
315-402: A certain sense of complacency amongst some pension actuarial consultants and regulators , making it seem reasonable to use optimistic economic assumptions to calculate the present value of future pension liabilities. Because interest and inflation are generally given as percentage increases, the formulae above are (linear) approximations . For instance, is only approximate. In reality,
378-576: A delegation of 4,000 strikers, which marched to the grounds accompanied by a marching band. On 11 May 1926, the Flying Scotsman was derailed by striking miners at Cramlington , a short distance North of Newcastle upon Tyne . The British Worker , alarmed at the fears of the General Council of the TUC that there was to be a mass drift back to work, claimed: "The number of strikers has not diminished; it
441-406: A few months before being forced, by their own economic needs, to return to the mines. By the end of November, most miners were back at work. However, many remained unemployed for many years. Those still employed were forced to accept longer hours, lower wages, and district wage agreements. The effect on British coal mines was profound. By the late 1930s, employment in mining had fallen by more than
504-416: A month or a day, but they are usually annualized . The interest rate has been characterized as "an index of the preference . . . for a dollar of present [income] over a dollar of future income". The borrower wants, or needs, to have money sooner, and is willing to pay a fee—the interest rate—for that privilege. Interest rates vary according to: as well as other factors. A company borrows capital from
567-442: A move that could have proved unnecessarily antagonistic to the strikers, to arm the soldiers. Baldwin, however, had insisted otherwise. In Plymouth , tram services were restarted, with some vehicles attacked and windows smashed. However, not all strike actions in the city were confrontational; a football match, attended by thousands, occurs between a team of policemen and strikers, with the strikers winning 2–0. The supporters included
630-700: A national bargaining force until the establishment of the National Union of Mineworkers . The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 banned sympathy strikes , general strikes , and mass picketing , creating a system whereby trade union members had to 'opt-in' to paying the political levy to the Labour Party. In the long run, there was little impact on trade union activity or industrial relations. The TUC and trade union movement remained intact and did not change their basic policies. Keith Laybourn says that historians mostly agree that "In no significant way could
693-399: A nine-month subsidy would be provided to maintain the miners' wages and that a Royal Commission , under the chairmanship of Sir Herbert Samuel , would look into the problems of the mining industry and consider its impact on other industries, families, and organisations dependent on coal supply. The Samuel Commission published a report on 10 March 1926 recommending that national agreements,
SECTION 10
#1732856128402756-572: A third from its pre-strike peak of 1.2 million miners, but productivity had rebounded from under 200 tons produced per miner, to over 300 tons by the outbreak of the Second World War . The split in the miners that resulted from Spencerism and the agreement of the Nottinghamshire miners to return to work, against the policy of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain divided the coal miners as
819-429: Is where Assuming perfect information, p e is the same for all participants in the market, and the interest rate model simplifies to The spread of interest rates is the lending rate minus the deposit rate. This spread covers operating costs for banks providing loans and deposits. A negative spread is where a deposit rate is higher than the lending rate. Interest rates affect economic activity broadly, which
882-411: Is 10% per annum (before tax). The real interest rate measures the growth in real value of the loan plus interest, taking inflation into account. The repayment of principal plus interest is measured in real terms compared against the buying power of the amount at the time it was borrowed, lent, deposited or invested. If inflation is 10%, then the $ 110 in the account at the end of the year has
945-578: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 1926 United Kingdom general strike [REDACTED] Trades Union Congress [REDACTED] Government of the United Kingdom Walter Citrine A. J. Cook Jessie Eden George V Stanley Baldwin The 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It
1008-454: Is a revolutionary move which can only succeed by destroying the government and subverting the rights and liberties of the people". Baldwin was now concerned about the TUC and printers' action interfering with the freedom of the press. King George V tried to stabilise the situation and create balance saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge them." The TUC feared that an all-out general strike would bring revolutionary elements to
1071-460: Is expected from a risky investment is the risk premium . The risk premium an investor requires on an investment depends on the risk preferences of the investor. Evidence suggests that most lenders are risk-averse. A maturity risk premium applied to a longer-term investment reflects a higher perceived risk of default. There are four kinds of risk: Most investors prefer their money to be in cash rather than in less fungible investments. Cash
1134-658: Is increasing. There are more workers out today than there have been at any moment since the strike began". However, the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union applied for an injunction in the Chancery Division of the High Court to enjoin the General-Secretary of its Tower Hill branch from calling its members out on strike. Mr Justice Astbury granted the injunction by ruling that no trade dispute could exist between
1197-425: Is on hand to be spent immediately if the need arises, but some investments require time or effort to transfer into spendable form. The preference for cash is known as liquidity preference . A 1-year loan, for instance, is very liquid compared to a 10-year loan. A 10-year US Treasury bond , however, is still relatively liquid because it can easily be sold on the market. A basic interest rate pricing model for an asset
1260-456: Is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited , or borrowed (called the principal sum ). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, the compounding frequency, and the length of time over which it is lent, deposited, or borrowed. The annual interest rate is the rate over a period of one year. Other interest rates apply over different periods, such as
1323-401: Is the reason why they are normally the main instrument of the monetary policies conducted by central banks . Changes in interest rates will affect firms' investment behaviour, either raising or lowering the opportunity cost of investing. Interest rate changes also affect asset prices like stock prices and house prices , which again influence households' consumption decisions through
SECTION 20
#17328561284021386-592: The Dawes Plan was implemented. It allowed Germany to re-enter the international coal market by exporting "free coal" to France and Italy, as part of their reparations for the war . This extra supply reduced coal prices. In 1925, Winston Churchill , the chancellor of the Exchequer , reintroduced the gold standard . This made the British pound too strong for effective exporting to take place from Britain. Furthermore, because of
1449-536: The Pentonville Five . The Winter of Discontent was the period between November 1978 and February 1979 in the United Kingdom characterised by widespread strikes by private, and later public, sector trade unions demanding pay rises greater than the limits the Labour government had been imposing, against Trades Union Congress (TUC) opposition, to control inflation. Interest rates Heterodox An interest rate
1512-507: The federal funds rate (FFR). This is the rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans of federal funds , which are the reserves held by banks at the Fed. Until the 2007–2008 financial crisis , the Fed relied on open market operations , i.e. selling and buying securities in the open market to adjust the supply of reserve balances so as to keep the FFR close to the Fed's target. However, since 2008
1575-505: The funding positions of pension funds as "without returns that outstrip inflation, pension investors face the real value of their savings declining rather than ratcheting up over the next few years". Current interest rates in savings accounts often fail to keep up with the pace of inflation. From 1982 until 2012, most Western economies experienced a period of low inflation combined with relatively high returns on investments across all asset classes including government bonds. This brought
1638-681: The nationalisation of royalties, and sweeping reorganisation and improvement should be considered for the mining industry. It also recommended a reduction by 13.5% of miners' wages, along with the withdrawal of the government subsidy. Two weeks later, the prime minister announced that the government would accept the report if other parties also did. A previous royal commission, the Sankey Commission in 1919, had failed to reach an agreement, producing four different reports with proposals ranging from complete restoration of private ownership and control, to complete nationalisation. David Lloyd George ,
1701-406: The real interest rate they require to receive, or are willing and able to pay, plus the rate of inflation they expect. The level of risk in investments is taken into consideration. Riskier investments such as shares and junk bonds are normally expected to deliver higher returns than safer ones like government bonds . The additional return above the risk-free nominal interest rate which
1764-764: The 2000s. During an attempt to tackle spiraling hyperinflation in 2007, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe increased interest rates for borrowing to 800%. The interest rates on prime credits in the late 1970s and early 1980s were far higher than had been recorded – higher than previous US peaks since 1800, than British peaks since 1700, or than Dutch peaks since 1600; "since modern capital markets came into existence, there have never been such high long-term rates" as in this period. Possibly before modern capital markets, there have been some accounts that savings deposits could achieve an annual return of at least 25% and up to as high as 50%. (William Ellis and Richard Dawes, "Lessons on
1827-525: The General Strike be considered a turning point or watershed in British industrial history." There have been no further general strikes in Britain, as union leaders such as Ernest Bevin , who had coordinated the strike, considered it a mistake; they decided that action by political parties was a better solution. However, the country came close to a one-day general strike on 31 July 1972 over the imprisonment of
1890-595: The Government, which is the lawfully constituted authority of the country and represents therefore...the authority of God himself." The government had been preparing for the strike over the nine months in which it had provided a subsidy by creating organisations such as the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies . It was ready and able to do whatever it could to keep the country moving. It rallied support by emphasizing
1953-542: The Government, who are doing their part, confident that you will cooperate in the measures they have undertaken to preserve the liberties and privileges of the people of these islands. The laws of England are the people's birthright. The laws are in your keeping. You have made Parliament their guardian. The General Strike is a challenge to Parliament and is the road to anarchy and ruin". Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin , 6 May 1926, British Gazette On 5 May 1926, both sides gave their views. Churchill commented as editor of
Workers Defence Corps - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-457: The Phenomenon of Industrial Life... ", 1857, p III–IV) The nominal interest rate is the rate of interest with no adjustment for inflation . For example, suppose someone deposits $ 100 with a bank for one year, and they receive interest of $ 10 (before tax), so at the end of the year, their balance is $ 110 (before tax). In this case, regardless of the rate of inflation, the nominal interest rate
2079-714: The TUC General Council visited 10 Downing Street to announce its decision to call off the strike if the proposals worked out by the Samuel Commission were respected and the government offered a guarantee there would be no victimization of strikers. The government stated that it had "no power to compel employers to take back every man who had been on strike". However, the TUC agreed to end the dispute without such an agreement. Various strikes continued after this as their unions negotiated deals with companies for their members to return to work. The miners maintained resistance for
2142-460: The TUC and "the government of the nation" and that except for the strike in the coal industry, the general strike was not protected by Trade Disputes Act 1906 . In addition, he ruled that the strike in the plaintiff union had been called in contravention of its own rules. As a result, the unions involved became liable, by common law, for incitement to breach of contract and faced potential sequestration of their assets by employers. On 12 May 1926,
2205-453: The TUC that a general strike "in defence of miners' wages and hours" was to begin on 3 May, a Monday, at one minute to midnight. The leaders of the Labour Party were troubled about the proposed general strike because they were aware of the revolutionary elements within the union movement and of the damage that they might do to the party's new reputation as a party of government. During
2268-534: The actual conduct of monetary policy implementation has changed considerably, the Fed using instead various administered interest rates (i.e., interest rates that are set directly by the Fed rather than being determined by the market forces of supply and demand) as the primary tools to steer short-term market interest rates towards the Fed's policy target. Financial economists such as World Pensions Council (WPC) researchers have argued that durably low interest rates in most G20 countries will have an adverse impact on
2331-503: The amount of capital they deposited. Base rate usually refers to the annualized effective interest rate offered on overnight deposits by the central bank or other monetary authority. The annual percentage rate (APR) may refer either to a nominal APR or an effective APR (EAPR). The difference between the two is that the EAPR accounts for fees and compounding, while the nominal APR does not. The annual equivalent rate (AER), also called
2394-442: The annual coupon divided by its current market price. Yield to maturity is a bond's expected internal rate of return , assuming it will be held to maturity, that is, the discount rate which equates all remaining cash flows to the investor (all remaining coupons and repayment of the par value at maturity) with the current market price. Based on the banking business, there are deposit interest rate and loan interest rate. Based on
2457-495: The country's economy . However, a low interest rate as a macro-economic policy can be risky and may lead to the creation of an economic bubble , in which large amounts of investments are poured into the real-estate market and stock market. In developed economies , interest-rate adjustments are thus made to keep inflation within a target range for the health of economic activities or cap the interest rate concurrently with economic growth to safeguard economic momentum . In
2520-426: The economic processes involved in maintaining a strong currency, interest rates were raised, which hurt some businesses. Mine owners wanted to maintain profits even during times of economic instability, which often took the form of wage reductions for miners in their employment. Miners' weekly pay had been lowered from £6 to £3 18 s. over seven years. Coupled with the prospect of longer working hours for miners,
2583-680: The economy and hence output and employment . Changes in employment will over time affect wage setting, which again affects pricing and consequently ultimately inflation. The relation between employment (or unemployment) and inflation is known as the Phillips curve . For economies maintaining a fixed exchange rate system , determining the interest rate is also an important instrument of monetary policy as international capital flows are in part determined by interest rate differentials between countries. The Federal Reserve (often referred to as 'the Fed') implements monetary policy largely by targeting
Workers Defence Corps - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-405: The effective annual rate, is used to help consumers compare products with different compounding frequencies on a common basis, but does not account for fees. A discount rate is applied to calculate present value . For an interest-bearing security, coupon rate is the ratio of the annual coupon amount (the coupon paid per year) per unit of par value, whereas current yield is the ratio of
2709-479: The fore and limited the participants to railwaymen , transport workers , printers , dockers , ironworkers , and steelworkers , as they were regarded as pivotal in the dispute. In a rare political radio broadcast, Archbishop Francis Cardinal Bourne , the leading Catholic prelate in Britain, condemned the strike, knowing that many strikers were Catholic. He advised that, "It is a direct challenge to lawfully constituted authority.... All are bound to uphold and assist
2772-446: The front page indicated 200 LGOC buses 'on the streets'. Only 86 LGOC buses, however were operating. On 7 May 1926, the TUC met with Samuel and worked out a set of proposals designed to end the dispute. The Miners' Federation rejected the proposals. The British Worker was increasingly difficult to operate, as Churchill had requisitioned the bulk of the supply of the paper's newsprint so it reduced its size from eight pages to four. In
2835-458: The gap. This particularly benefited the strong coal industries of the United States, Poland, and Germany. In the early 1880s, coal production was at a peak of 310 tons per man annually, but in the four years preceding the war, this amount had fallen to 247 tons. By the 1920–1924 period, this had fallen further to just 199 tons. Total coal output had been in decline since 1914 as well. In 1924,
2898-441: The government and the TUC; the latter not being in control of the strike. On this first day, there were no major initiatives and no dramatic events except for the nation's transport being at a standstill. "Constitutional Government is being attacked. Let all good citizens whose livelihood and labour have thus been put in peril bear with fortitude and patience the hardships with which they have been so suddenly confronted. Stand behind
2961-429: The government feared a right-wing backlash so the fascists formed the so-called "Q Division" under Rotha Lintorn-Orman to combat the strikers. On 6 May 1926, there was a change of atmosphere. The government newspaper, British Gazette , suggested that means of transport into London began to improve compared to the first day with volunteers, car sharing, cyclists, private buses, as well as strikebreakers. A statement on
3024-452: The government newspaper British Gazette : "I do not agree that the TUC have as much right as the Government to publish their side of the case and to exhort their followers to continue action. It is a very much more difficult task to feed the nation than it is to wreck it". Baldwin wrote, "The general strike is a challenge to the parliament and is the road to anarchy". The British Worker , the TUC's newspaper, wrote: "We are not making war on
3087-491: The industry was thrown into disarray. When mine owners announced that their intention was to reduce miners' wages, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain rejected the terms: "Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day." The Trades Union Congress responded to the news by promising to support the miners in their dispute. The Conservative government, under Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin , decided to intervene by declaring that
3150-484: The locked-out miners. The government was well prepared, and enlisted middle class volunteers to maintain essential services. There was little violence and the TUC gave up in defeat. From 1914 to 1918, the United Kingdom participated in World War I . Heavy domestic use of coal during the war depleted once-rich seams . Britain exported less coal during the war than it would have in peacetime, allowing other countries to fill
3213-550: The meantime, the government took action to protect the men who decided to return to work. On 8 May 1926, there was a dramatic moment on the London Docks . Lorries were protected by the Army. They broke the picket line and transported food to Hyde Park . That showed that the government was in greater control of the situation. It was also a measure of Baldwin's caution, in place of Churchill's more reactionary stance. Churchill had wanted, in
SECTION 50
#17328561284023276-461: The next two days, frantic efforts were made to reach an agreement between the government and the mining industry representatives. However, they failed, mainly because of an eleventh-hour decision by printers of the Daily Mail to refuse to print an editorial ("For King and Country") condemning the general strike. They objected to the following passage: "A general strike is not an industrial dispute. It
3339-511: The past two centuries, interest rates have been variously set either by national governments or central banks. For example, the Federal Reserve federal funds rate in the United States has varied between about 0.25% and 19% from 1954 to 2008, while the Bank of England base rate varied between 0.5% and 15% from 1989 to 2009, and Germany experienced rates close to 90% in the 1920s down to about 2% in
3402-468: The people. We are anxious that the ordinary members of the public shall not be penalized for the unpatriotic conduct of the mine owners and the government". In the meantime, the government put in place a " militia " of special constables called the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) of volunteers to maintain order in the street. A special constable said: "It was not difficult to understand
3465-427: The rates are historical. There is a market for investments, including the money market , bond market , stock market , and currency market as well as retail banking . Interest rates reflect: According to the theory of rational expectations , borrowers and lenders form an expectation of inflation in the future. The acceptable nominal interest rate at which they are willing and able to borrow or lend includes
3528-426: The relationship between supply and demand of market interest rate, there are fixed interest rate and floating interest rate. Interest rate targets are a vital tool of monetary policy and are taken into account when dealing with variables like investment , inflation , and unemployment . The central banks of countries generally tend to reduce interest rates when they wish to increase investment and consumption in
3591-433: The relationship is so The two approximations, eliminating higher order terms , are: The formulae in this article are exact if logarithmic units are used for relative changes, or equivalently if logarithms of indices are used in place of rates, and hold even for large relative changes. A so-called "zero interest-rate policy" (ZIRP) is a very low—near-zero—central bank target interest rate. At this zero lower bound
3654-470: The revolutionary nature of the strikers. The armed forces and volunteer workers helped maintain basic services. The government used the Emergency Powers Act 1920 to maintain essential supplies. On 4 May 1926, the number of strikers was about 1.5–1.75 million. There were strikers " from John o' Groats to Land's End ". The reaction to the strike call was immediate and overwhelming, surprising both
3717-469: The same purchasing power (that is, buys the same amount) as the $ 100 had a year ago. The real interest rate is zero in this case. The real interest rate is given by the Fisher equation : where p is the inflation rate. For low rates and short periods, the linear approximation applies: The Fisher equation applies both ex ante and ex post . Ex ante , the rates are projected rates, whereas ex post ,
3780-448: The strikers' attitude toward us. After a few days I found my sympathy with them rather than with the employers. For one thing, I had never realized the appalling poverty which existed. If I had been aware of all the facts, I should not have joined up as a special constable". It was decided that fascists would not be allowed to enlist in the OMS without first giving up their political beliefs, as
3843-492: The then prime minister, offered reorganisation, which was rejected by the miners. After the Samuel Commission's report, the mine owners declared that miners would be offered new terms of employment, which included lengthening the work day and reducing wages depending on various factors. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain refused the wage reduction and regional negotiation. The final negotiations began on 1 May but failed to achieve an agreement, leading to an announcement by
SECTION 60
#17328561284023906-560: Was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners . Some 1.7 million workers went out, especially in transport and heavy industry . It was a sympathy strike , with many of those who were not miners and not directly affected striking to support
3969-521: Was reformed in 1931 to defend Communist meetings from the growing fascist New Guard . The WDC is most notable for its clashes with the New Guard, but also engaged in bank robberies and reprisals against police officers. Most of which failed. The WDC did have a successful string of weapons thefts. The WDC assisted the Unemployed Workers Movement in opposing evictions. The WDC saw itself as
#401598