Red Unrest The terms ‘Red Clydeside’ refer to the years of intense labour conflict in Glasgow and the urban areas around the city on the banks of the River Clyde from 1914 to 1922. Among the leading activists were James Maxton (1885-1946), John Wheatley (1869-1930), Harry McShane (1891-1988), William Gallacher (1881-1965) and John Maclean (1879-1923). Workers protested against low wages, bad working conditions and the rising prices due to wartime inflation (which had raised the cost of living by about fifty per cent). They also opposed the system of dilution, the use of unskilled male and female workers in areas which were normally reserved for skilled workers. In 1915 the British government passed the Munitions of War Act in order to ensure the uninterrupted production and supply of munitions for the armed forces. It became an offence for a worker to leave his job to work for another firm without his employer’s agreement. The Act also stated that a worker could not refuse to work ov