The nature of sweating and the origins of low pay legislation are of fundamental social, economic and moral importance. Although difficult to define, sweating, according to a select committee established to investigate the issue, was characterised by long hours, poor working conditions and above all by low pay. By the beginning of the twentieth century the government estimated that up to a third of the British workforce could be classed as sweated labour, and for the first time in a century began to think about introducing legislation to address the problem. Whilst historians have written much on unemployment, poverty relief and other such related social and industrial issues, relatively little work has been done on the causes, extent and character of sweated labour. That work which has been done has tended to focus on the tailoring trades in London and Leeds, and fails to give a broad overview of the phenomenon and how it developed and changed over time. In contrast, this volume adopts a broad national and long-run approach, providing a more holistic understanding of the subject. Rejecting the argument that sweating was merely a London or gender related problem, it paints a picture of a widespread and constantly shifting pattern of sweated labour across the country, that was to eventually persuade the government to introduce legislation in the form of the 1909 Trades Board Act. It was this act, intended to combat sweated labour, which was to form the cornerstone of low pay legislation, and the barrier to the introduction of a minimum wage, for the next 90 years.

The nature of sweating and the origins of low pay legislation are of fundamental social, economic and moral importance. Although difficult to define, sweating, according to a select committee established to investigate the issue, was characterised by long hours, poor working conditions and above all by low pay. By the beginning of the twentieth century the government estimated that up to a third of the British workforce could be classed as sweated labour, and for the first time in a century began to think about introducing legislation to address the problem. Whilst historians have written much on unemployment, poverty relief and other such related social and industrial issues, relatively little work has been done on the causes, extent and character of sweated labour. That work which has been done has tended to focus on the tailoring trades in London and Leeds, and fails to give a broad overview of the phenomenon and how it developed and changed over time. In contrast, this volume adopts a broad national and long-run approach, providing a more holistic understanding of the subject. Rejecting the argument that sweating was merely a London or gender related problem, it paints a picture of a widespread and constantly shifting pattern of sweated labour across the country, that was to eventually persuade the government to introduce legislation in the form of the 1909 Trades Board Act. It was this act, intended to combat sweated labour, which was to form the cornerstone of low pay legislation, and the barrier to the introduction of a minimum wage, for the next 90 years.

Top Secret is a teacher's resource designed to accompany the Stewie Scraps series of reading books. It consists of six sets of photocopiable worksheets exploring the children's understanding of each book in turn. There are teacher's notes that explain the tasks and give suggestions about use to help develop reading, writing and comprehension skills. The beginning of each section gives a brief synopsis about the book before going on to the tasks involved. Ending each section is a set of comprehension questions that allows you to determine whether the children have fully understood the books. All the Stewie Scraps series of books, as well as this resource, have been illustrated by Leighton Noyes, a noted children's book illustrator. Stewie also has his own website: www.stewie-scraps.co.uk. It contains excerpts from his stories, information about his family, the author and illustrator and a special 'Top Secret' area to be accessed only by those creative genius' possessing the password!

Your Chance to Score! is a teacher resource containing photocopiable worksheets as an extension to the books for reluctant readers Sam's Football Stories Set A. The book is divided into six sections, one for each book in Set A. Each section contains: - teacher's notes, with suggestions on how to use the stories to develop your pupils' reading and writing skills, and how to make best use of the worksheets; - six photocopiable worksheets related to each story; - photocopiable comprehension questions to help evaluate and assess how well each pupil has understood the story; - pupil friendly worksheets that create enthusiasm, willingness and co-operation.