on SAF’s terms would have meant a complete surrender of the demands and strike actions that had been advanced by local unions.The leaders on the central level were aware of the dissatisfaction among the members concerning the policy of concession. The labour movement’s interests were considered to be threatened. Furthermore, this dissatisfaction was fanned not only by young socialists but spread in far wider political circles.The employers’ general lock-out was met by a general strike.397 Although the issue about a general regulation of the contract of employment was put in the background during the general strike, the worker’s duty of obedience did not turn into an uncontroversial topic. Although LO’s secretariat had declared that there were no principal objections to the employer’s right to direct and distribute work, there were a lot of objections on the shop floor. According to a statement by SAF, made immediately before the general strike of 1909, the battle had been extended to more frontlines than the employer’s right to dismiss workers, namely to principal conflicts concerning the setting of wage rates and the workers’ refusal to obey agreements that had been confirmed by their principal organisations. Moreover, SAF asserted that the battle also concerned the employer’s right to direct and distribute work and themselves without the workers’ interference to appoint foremen.398 In the shadow of the great conflict, the committee of 1907 was dissolved during the fall of 1909. From the committee’s minutes one can conclude that two of the members, Hjalmar von Sydow (1862-1932) and Herman Lindqvist (1863-1932), had been unable to attend a large number of meetings.This is understandable in the light of the fact that they not only were members of parliament, but furthermore held the presidency in SAF and LO respectively, which were the two main antagonists in the general strike. However, the two combatants were to meet again and p a r t i v, c h a p t e r 8 194 397 Schiller 1967, pp. 202-206, 226-235, 273. 398 Adlercreutz, A1954, p. 352.
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