Download Full Version ebook - Visit ebookmeta.

com

Instant Raspberry Pi The Beginner s Guide to

Raspberry Pi setup 1st Edition Ashwin Pajankar

https://ebookmeta.com/product/instant-raspberry-pi-the-
beginner-s-guide-to-raspberry-pi-setup-1st-edition-ashwin-
pajankar/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD NOW

Discover More Ebook - Explore Now at ebookmeta.com

 Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) ready for you
Download now and discover formats that fit your needs...

Start reading on any device today!

Practical Linux with Raspberry Pi OS: Quick Start 1st

Edition Ashwin Pajankar

https://ebookmeta.com/product/practical-linux-with-raspberry-pi-os-
quick-start-1st-edition-ashwin-pajankar/

ebookmeta.com

Raspberry Pi Pico Beginner s Guide The Latest Guide to

Master Your Raspberry Pi Pico and Build Amazing Project
Greham O Wilson
https://ebookmeta.com/product/raspberry-pi-pico-beginner-s-guide-the-
latest-guide-to-master-your-raspberry-pi-pico-and-build-amazing-
project-greham-o-wilson/
ebookmeta.com

Raspberry Pi Image Processing Programming: With NumPy,

SciPy, Matplotlib and OpenCV, 2nd Edition Ashwin Pajankar

https://ebookmeta.com/product/raspberry-pi-image-processing-
programming-with-numpy-scipy-matplotlib-and-opencv-2nd-edition-ashwin-
pajankar-2/
ebookmeta.com

Murder of Identity - Ellie Quickie Cozy Mystery 08

Veronica Heley Et El

https://ebookmeta.com/product/murder-of-identity-ellie-quickie-cozy-
mystery-08-veronica-heley-et-el/

ebookmeta.com
Pixie Rebels 07 0 Wings of Valor 1st Edition Martha Carr
Michael Anderle

https://ebookmeta.com/product/pixie-rebels-07-0-wings-of-valor-1st-
edition-martha-carr-michael-anderle/

ebookmeta.com

Crave the Night Midnight Breed 12 1st Edition Lara Adrian

https://ebookmeta.com/product/crave-the-night-midnight-breed-12-1st-
edition-lara-adrian/

ebookmeta.com

Conflicted Memory Military Cultural Interventions and the

Human Rights Era in Peru 1st Edition Cynthia E. Milton

https://ebookmeta.com/product/conflicted-memory-military-cultural-
interventions-and-the-human-rights-era-in-peru-1st-edition-cynthia-e-
milton/
ebookmeta.com

500 AP Environmental Science questions to know by test day

Third Edition Anaxos

https://ebookmeta.com/product/500-ap-environmental-science-questions-
to-know-by-test-day-third-edition-anaxos/

ebookmeta.com

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Production A Volume in the

Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology
Second Edition Timothy E. Lipman
https://ebookmeta.com/product/fuel-cells-and-hydrogen-production-a-
volume-in-the-encyclopedia-of-sustainability-science-and-technology-
second-edition-timothy-e-lipman/
ebookmeta.com
Between Two Islands Dominican International Migration
Sherri Grasmuck

https://ebookmeta.com/product/between-two-islands-dominican-
international-migration-sherri-grasmuck/

ebookmeta.com
I dedicate this book to my wife, Kavitha, and my elder sister, Savita Gadhave.
Contents

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Why am I writing this book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Who this book is for? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
How is this book organized? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
What this book is not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
About the Reviewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Errata and Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
How to Help the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

1. Single Board Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 History of SBCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Various popular SBC families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 Raspberry Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 Banana Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.3 Cubieboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.4 Intel Galileo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3 SoC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2. Introduction to Raspberry Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1 Popular Raspberry Pi models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1.1 Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1.2 Raspberry Pi 2 Model B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.3 Raspberry Pi 3 Model B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2 Raspberry Pi cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.1 Raspberry Pi Official case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.2 Pimoroni Pibow case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2.3 Raspberry Pi acrylic case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.2.4 Other cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3 Where to buy Raspberry Pi and the cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
CONTENTS

3. Setting up Raspberry Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.1 Hardware required for the setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.1 Raspberry Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.2 Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.3 I/O Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.4 microSD card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.5 Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1.6 Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.1.7 Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.2 Preparing microSD card manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.1 Download the required freewares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.1.1 Download Acclerator Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.1.2 Win32DiskImager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.1.3 WinZip or WinRaR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.2 Download and extract the Raspbian OS image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.3 Writing the OS image to the microSD card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.4 Altering the contents of config.txt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.3 Booting up the Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.4 Configuring the Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

4. Raspbian and useful Linux commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

4.1 Raspbian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.2 config.txt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.3 Connecting Raspberry Pi to a network and the internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.3.1 WiFi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.3.2 Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.3.2.1 Static IP address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.3.2.2 Dynamic IP address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.3.2.3 Verifying connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.4 Important Linux commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.1 updating the Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.1.1 Updating the firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.1.2 Updating and Upgrading Raspbian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.2 Shutting down and restarting Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.3 Getting help on Linux commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.4 Network related commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.4.1 ifconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.4.2 iwconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.4.3 iwlist wlan0 scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.4.4.4 ping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.4.5 System Information Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.4.5.1 CPU related information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
CONTENTS

4.4.5.2 Memory related information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

4.4.5.3 System and version information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.4.5.4 Partition related information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.4.5.5 Other useful commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

5. Connect to Pi remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.1 Enabling Pi for SSH from raspi-config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.2 Checking connectivity with Pi from our computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.3 PuTTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.4 Accessing Raspberry Pi Desktop remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.5 WinSCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.6 Connecting to Raspberry Pi using Linux or Mac OS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.6.1 Remote login with SSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.6.2 X11 Forwarding using SSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.6.3 SCP for file transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

6. Other Models of Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
6.1 Raspberry Pi Model 1 B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.1.1 Setting up Raspberry Pi Model 1 B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
6.2 Raspberry Pi Model 1 A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
6.2.1 Setting up and accessing Raspberry Pi Model 1 A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
6.3 Raspberry Pi Model 1 A+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6.3.1 Setting up and accessing Raspberry Pi Model 1 A+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
6.4 Raspberry Pi Zero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.4.1 Setting up and accessing Raspberry Pi Zero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

7. Miscellaneous Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
7.1 Taking the backup of microSD card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7.2 Expanding the filesystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
7.2.1 Always take backup before expanding the filesystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
7.3 Changing the hostname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
7.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

8. Overclocking Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
8.1 Risks of Overclocking Raspberry Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
8.2 Installing heatsink on Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
8.2.1 Procuring heatsinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
8.3 Overclocking the Pi with raspi-config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
8.4 Overclocking the Pi with /boot/config.txt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
8.4.1 Options in /boot/config.txt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
8.4.2 /boot/config.txt options for various models of Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
CONTENTS

8.4.2.1 Options for Pi B and Pi B+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

8.4.2.2 Options for Pi 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
8.4.2.3 Options for Pi 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
8.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

9. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my wife, Kavitha, and elder sister, Savita Gadhave for encouraging me to write
this book and share my knowledge with rest of the world. I also thank Leanpub for providing a great
platform to authors like me who wish to reach more people. Finally, I thank reviewer of this book,
Prasad Gadhave who helps me in making this book better.
Preface
When I first saw a bunch of kids booting up a strange-looking PCB (Printed Circuit Board) with
Linux, I literally jumped in excitement. When I asked them what it was, they said, “Raspberry Pi”.
This is how I was introduced to Raspberry Pi. The occasion was a Hackathon organized at my
former workspace for the specially abled kids. When I saw those lovely and creative kids using a
little computer, I immediately decided to explore it and after six months my first book on Raspberry
Pi¹ got published.
It has been a while since my first book got published. Raspberry Pi underwent major revisions since
then. Multiple newer and more powerful models of Pi have been introduced. When people approach
me for guest lectures and talks on this topic, they have a common complaint. And the complaint
is that they find it very difficult to get started with the concept the of the Single Board Computers
and first setup of Raspberry Pi. I do agree with this, as I found it a bit tedious to overcome the
first hurdle of unfamiliarity with the Single Board Computers. So I decided to write and publish
a dedicated book on introducing Raspberry Pi to the beginners. Leanpub’s continuous publishing
model is truly revolutionary. It allows me to update and correct the book often. This book has all
the much-needed information for the beginners to get started with Raspberry Pi. I intend to update
the book continuously as and when needed. I hope that this book will serve as the one stop shop for
all the Raspberry Pi setup related queries for all the Raspberry Pi beginners. The book is and, will
always be free for all. That’s my promise to all of my readers!
The book also has the references to the material available on various websites where readers can
further explore the topics in detail.

Why am I writing this book?

As I said earlier, I found it quite difficult to get started with Raspberry Pi and I do not want the same
to happen to other beginners. I have been told many times that due to lack of reliable material for
the setup, many enthusiasts have abandoned the dreams to learn and to innovate with Raspberry
Pi. It is really disheartening to see this happen. Because Raspberry Pi is such an excellent platform,
that once we get started with this, there is no looking back. With Python as its companion, it is a
very powerful tool for learning and innovation. It can either be used as a general purpose Linux
computer, or as an IoT (Internet of Things) platform. I use it to explore various advanced topics
in Computer Science like Machine Learning, Parallel Programming, Digital Image Processing, and
Computer Vision. I hope this book will be all a novice need to get started with Raspberry Pi. I am
planning to write a series of books with Raspberry Pi exploring various areas in Computer Science.
This book serves as the forerunner for the other upcoming books which I intend to write.
¹https://www.packtpub.com/hardware-and-creative/raspberry-pi-computer-vision-programming
Preface iii

Who this book is for?

This book is addressed to beginners of the Raspberry Pi, interested to learn in less time how to get
started with this family of wonderful Single Board Computers. However, this book is not for people
completely new to the world of Computer Science. I assume that you have a decent knowledge of
computers and you are not new to most fundamental concepts related to it. The perfect reader of
this book may be both, a hobbyist and a student, who is familiar with the computers, and wants to
learn a more powerful tool to explore Computer Science further. Makers and hackers will also find
this book interesting. Finally, you are someone who has no idea why (s)he is reading the book, you
might get interested in Raspberry Pi. I hope all the readers will enjoy reading this book as much as
I enjoyed writing this.

How is this book organized?

This book is and will always be an In Progress book (this is the basis of Leanpub). I will often update
the book. Also, all the chapters in this book will be reused in all the books I intend to write on
Raspberry Pi. This book covers following topics as of December 2016.
Chapter 1 introduces readers to the philosophy of single board computers. It covers history,
applications, advantages, and limitations of Single Board computers. It mentions other popular
Single Board Computer platforms.
Chapter 2 introduces readers to Raspberry Pi family. It discusses various popular models and their
hardware specifications. This chapter covers Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+, Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, and
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.
Chapter 3 is a complete guide to the setup of Raspberry Pi from scratch. After following this chapter,
readers will have a functioning Raspberry Pi computer with them.
Chapter 4 is about Raspbian and useful linux commands. It also has instructions to connect
Raspberry Pi to a network.
Chapter 5 explores various methods to connect to Raspberry Pi remotely.
Chapter 6 introduces the other models of Pi which are not covered in the second chapter. This chapter
covers Raspberry Pi 1 Model A, Raspberry Pi 1 Model B, Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+, and Raspberry
Pi Zero.
Chapter 7 has few tips for taking backup and configuration options of Pi.
Chapter 8 introduces user to the concept of overclocking. We will overclock Raspberry Pi 1 Model
B+, Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, and Raspberry Pi 3 Model B in this chapter.
Preface iv

You will also find several asides, each one starting with an icon on the left. Let me explain them.

This a warning box. The text contained explains important aspects or gives important in-
structions. It is strongly recommended to read the text carefully and follow the instructions.

This is an information box. This may contain link to an external webpage relevant to the
topic under discussion.

This is a tip box. It has suggestions to the reader that could simplify the learning process.

This is an exercise box. This will contain an exercise which will aid the readers to explore
the topic further.

What this book is not?

This is not a cookbook of projects for intermediate or advanced learners. This book is not for learning
Python programming from scratch. It does not have any tips or tricks for Python. It does not explore
any Python library. It is also not a book for IoT (Internet of Things), Home Automation, or Robotics
applications. I have written other books on these topics. Readers can go through my profile page on
Leanpub² to check the other books I have written.
²https://leanpub.com/u/ashwinpajankar
Preface v

About the Author

When someone asks me about my career, I like to say I am someone who loves to work on
Automation, Software Testing, Single Board Computers, and IoT. I am also interested and have
worked in the areas of Computer Science like Parallel Programming, Image Processing, and Wireless
Communications.
I was raised in a small town in India. Like thousands of other folks of my age, I finished my
undergraduate studies in Computer Science and Engineering and joined workforce when I was in
my early twenties. After couple of years of stint in a multinational IT services company, I decided to
pursue further studies. I took admission to IIIT Hyderabad³ and graduated with MTech in Computer
Science & Engineering. I was lucky enough to able to fund my graduate studies with various grants,
loans, and scholarships. After finishing graduate studies I joined workforce again. I am planning to
work till my brain is working (which is an awful lot of time :) ).
I have work experience in software development and testing till now. Recently, I find myself
increasingly involved in Software Design, Architecture, and Innovation in IoT space. Till now, I
have trained more than a thousand professionals for technical skills. More than tens of thousands
of copies of my books published through Packt and Leanpub have been purchased till now.
I have work experience in various programming platforms like C, C++, Java, Python, and bash
scripting. I have also worked with all the major databases like Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM
DB2, Teradata, MySQL, and sqlite. In IoT domain, I have worked on Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Banana
Pro, Intel Edison, and Grove sensors.
I have never had privilege of working on web or mobile programming. Yet, I have rudimentary
understanding of XML, HTTP protocol, and web-services. Recently, I have started learning PHP by
myself to be able to code for the web.
This is my fifth book and I am planning to write at least three to four books per year. All the books
will be free and published on Leanpub. This is link to my LinkedIn⁴ profile. Please feel free to contact
me for providing your valuable feedback on my writing style.
³www.iiit.ac.in
⁴https://in.linkedin.com/in/ashwinpajankar
Preface vi

About the Reviewer

Prasad Gadhave is a freelance programmer and a tech enthusiast. His professional experiences
include diverse technical areas like Programming, 4G communications, Computer Hardware, Net-
working, and Vehicle assembly automation. He had brief stint as a young owner of an independent
tech business and he is aspiring to be a tech entrepreneur. He has finished his high school with
commerce as major and currently pursuing his studies towards earning an undergraduate degree in
commerce.

I would like to thank my mother Savita Gadhave for encouraging me to share my knowledge
with the world.
Preface vii

Errata and Suggestions

I am aware of the fact that there are several errors in the text. Unfortunately, English is not my
mother language and this is one of the main reasons I prefer lean publishing: being an in-progress
book I have all the time to check and correct them. I have decided that once this book reaches the
end, I will look for a professional editor that helps me to fix all the errors in my English. However,
feel free to contact me to let know every type of mistake. On the other end, I am totally open to
suggestions and improvements about book content. I like to think that this book will save your day
every time you need to understand an aspect related to Raspberry Pi Setup. So, please feel free to
suggest any related topic you want me to add to the book or to let me know book parts that are not
clear or well explained.
You can contact me on LinkedIn⁵.
⁵https://in.linkedin.com/in/ashwinpajankar
Preface viii

How to Help the Author

This is my fourth technical book. As I mentioned earlier, English is not my mother language. I am
really pleased when I hear any feedback from my dear readers on any aspect of the book.
If you really want to help me, you may consider to:

• give me your valuable feedback about unclear things or errors in the text and the examples
• write a small review about what you think of this book in the feedback section⁶
• use your favorite social network or blog to spread the word. The suggested hashtag for this
book on Twitter is #InstantRPi⁷

Also, if you want to collaborate with me on any technical project, you can reach me on LinkedIn⁸.

⁶https://leanpub.com/InstantRPi/feedback
⁷https://twitter.com/search?q=#InstantRPi
⁸https://in.linkedin.com/in/ashwinpajankar
1. Single Board Computers
A single-board computer (will be referred as SBC from henceforward throughout the book) is a fully
functional computer system built on a single printed circuit board. A SBC has microprocessor(s),
memory, input/output, and other features required of a functional computer.
Unlike a desktop personal computer, most of the SBCs do not have expansion slots for peripheral
functions or expansion. As all the components are integrated on a single PCB, we cannot upgrade a
SBC.
Few SBCs are made to plug into a backplane for system expansion. SBCs come in many varieties,
sizes, shapes, form factors, and set of features. Due to the advances in the electronics and
semiconductor technologies, prices of most SBCs are very low. One of the most important features of
SBCs is being cost effective. With a prices around $50 a piece, we have in our hand a development tool
suitable for new applications, hacking, debugging, testing, hardware development, and automation
systems.
SBCs usually come in following form factors,

• AdvancedTCA
• CompactPCI
• Embedded Compact Extended (ECX)
• Mini-ITX
• PC/104
• PICMG
• Pico-ITX
• PXI
• Qseven
• VMEbus
• VPX
• VXI
Single Board Computers 2

1.1 History of SBCs

Dyna-Micro was the first true SBC. It was based on the Intel C8080A and used Intel’s first EPROM,
the C1702A. The dyna-micro was re-branded and marketed by E&L Instruments of Derby, CT in
1976 as the MMD-1 (Mini-Micro Designer 1). It became famous all around as the leading example
of microcomputers.

MMD-1

SBCs were very popular in the earlier days of computing, as many of the home computers were
actually SBCs. However, with the rise of PCs, the popularity of SBCs declined. Since 2010, there is
resurgence in the popularity of SBCs again due to lower production costs associated with SBCs.
Single Board Computers 3

BBC Micro was built around a MOS Technology 6502A processor running at 2 MHz.

BBC Micro
Single Board Computers 4

Ferguson Big Board II was a Zilog Z80 based computer running at 4MHz.

Ferguson Big Board II

Single Board Computers 5

Nascom was another Zilog Z80 based computer.

Nascom

This link¹ has a nice article on SBCs in PDF format.

¹http://www.newark.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/cms/asset/pdf/americas/common/NE14-ElectronicDesignUncovered-
Dec14.pdf
Single Board Computers 6

1.2 Various popular SBC families

Let’s have a look at various SBC families.

1.2.1 Raspberry Pi
It is a credit-card sized computer designed by Raspberry Pi Foundation, UK. It is the best-selling
computer of UK.

Raspberry Pi

Visit Raspberry Pi Homepage² for more information.

²https://www.raspberrypi.org/
Single Board Computers 7

1.2.2 Banana Pi
The Banana Pi is a series of credit card-sized low cost SBCs. Its design is influenced by Raspberry
Pi.
Banana Pi software is compatible with Raspberry Pi boards. Banana Pi also can run NetBSD,
Android, Ubuntu, Debian, Archlinux, and Raspbian OS images. It uses the Allwinner system on
chip.

Banana Pi

Banana Pro

This³ is the link to Banana Pi’s developer’s website.

³http://www.lemaker.org
Single Board Computers 8

1.2.3 Cubieboard
Cubieboard is a single-board computer, made in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. It can run Android
4 ICS, Ubuntu 12.04 desktop, Fedora 19 ARM Remix desktop, Arch Linux ARM, a Debian-based
Cubian distribution, and OpenBSD. It uses the AllWinner A10 SoC.

Cubieboard 5

This⁴ is the link to Cubieboard’s website.

⁴http://cubieboard.org
Single Board Computers 9

1.2.4 Intel Galileo

Intel Galileo is the first in a line of development boards based on Intel x86 architecture and is
designed for the maker and education communities. Intel released two versions of Galileo, referred
to as Gen 1 and Gen 2.
The Intel� Galileo Gen 2 development board is a microcontroller board based on the Intel Quark
SoC X1000 application processor, a 32-bit Intel Pentium brand system on a chip.

Intel Galileo Gen 2

This⁵ is the link to Galileo’s webpage on Intel website.

⁵http://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/embedded/products/galileo/galileo-overview.html
Single Board Computers 10

1.3 SoC
You must have noticed the abbreviation SoC in the earlier text. A system on a chip or system
on chip (SoC or SOC) is an integrated circuit (IC) that has all the components of a computer
on a single chip. SoCs are very common in the mobile electronic devices because of their low
power consumption, and versatility. SoCs are widely used in mobile phones, SBCs, and embedded
hardware. A SoC has both, the hardware and the software needed for its operation.
Single Board Computers 11

1.4 Summary
In this chapter we familiarised ourselves with SBCs. We also got to know few of the most popular
SBCs of the past and the future.

As an exercise to this chapter, explore all the hyperlinks mentioned in the chapter.
2. Introduction to Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a family of credit card-sized SBCs developed in the United Kingdom by the
Raspberry Pi Foundation. Raspberry Pi Foundation was founded in 2009. The aim behind developing
Raspberry Pi is to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools and developing
countries by providing a low cost computing platform.

You can read more about Raspberry Pi Foundation at their website¹.

Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Raspberry Pi was released in 2012. It was a massive hit which sold
over two million units in two years. Subsequently, Raspberry Pi Foundation revised versions of the
Raspberry Pi. They also released other accessories for the Pi.

Check Raspberry Pi Product Page² for more information.

¹https://www.raspberrypi.org/about
²https://www.raspberrypi.org/products
Introduction to Raspberry Pi 13

2.1 Popular Raspberry Pi models

Let’s have a look at few most popular models of Raspberry Pi.

2.1.1 Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+

Specifications of Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ are as follows,

Type Raspberry Pi Model 1 B+

Release Date July 2014
Architecture ARMv6
SoC Broadcom BCM2835
CPU 700 MHz single-core ARM1176JZF-S
GPU Broadcom VideoCore IV @ 250 MHz
Memory 512 MB (shared with GPU)
USB 2.0 ports 4
Video Output HDMI rev 1.3 and Composite Video RCA jack
On-board storage Micro SDHC slot
On-board network 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
Power source 5V via MicroUSB
Power ratings 800 mA (4W)
Introduction to Raspberry Pi 14

Following is the top view of B+ model.

Following is the bottom view of B+ model.

Introduction to Raspberry Pi 15

2.1.2 Raspberry Pi 2 Model B

Specifications of Raspberry Pi 2 Model B are as follows,

Type Raspberry Pi Model 2 B

Release Date February 2015
Architecture ARMv7
SoC Broadcom BCM2836
CPU 900 MHz 32-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A7
GPU Broadcom VideoCore IV @ 250 MHz
Memory 1 GB (shared with GPU)
USB 2.0 ports 4
Video Output HDMI rev 1.3 and Composite Video RCA jack
On-board storage Micro SDHC slot
On-board network 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
Power source 5V via MicroUSB
Power ratings 800 mA (4W)

Following is the top view of 2B model. Locations of all the components are same. The difference
between B+ and 2B is the processor (Broadcom BCM2836) and the RAM (1GB).
Introduction to Raspberry Pi 16

Following is the bottom view of 2B model.

Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
schools conducted by the companies. One steam railroad also
provided a training course for women clerks and telegraphers. An
interesting development in special training which accompanied the
growth of welfare work in munition and other plants was the
opening of several courses for would be “welfare supervisors” in a
number of the newer universities. A fairly long list of training courses
was given for London alone by the National Union of Women
Workers, but examination of the list shows that only a few were
special war courses, and that most of them covered professional
work for the minority, and not industry or trade for the many.[97]
Some employers were said to prefer entirely untrained women to
those who had gone through short emergency courses, because the
latter were prone to overestimate the value of their training. But on
the whole the classes were believed to give a much better start to
the woman who realized that they left her, after all, still a beginner.
But the keen demand for workers, the high wages and high cost of
living were all unfavorable to the extension of formal training
schemes. Some classes were closed after the first year of war for
lack of pupils. Others were discontinued when the trade schools
were taken over for training in munitions work. Whatever the value
of the provisions for training, it is evident that the great majority of
women learned their new tasks without any such help, entirely in the
workshop.
 CHAPTER VIII
Women and the Trade Unions

The war apparently proved a great stimulus to trade unionism

among women workers in England. Prior to the war, as in other
industrial countries, women workers were notoriously hard to
organize, and formed but a small minority of trade union
membership. In 1913 nearly 4,000,000 men and only 356,000
women were said to be members of English trade unions. Aside from
the fact that before the war most women were found in unskilled
and low paid occupations in which union organization had made but
little progress even among men, the usual explanation of the
difficulty of organizing them was that most of them were young and
expected to marry within a few years and to withdraw from industry.
The one exception to this condition was the cotton textile trade, in
which a large proportion of the women belonged to labor unions.
Out of the whole number of organized women, 257,000 were in the
textile trades. As already indicated, many of the unions in the skilled
trades would not admit women members and were unfavorable to
any extension of their work.
Two special organizations were devoted to the promotion of trade
unionism among women. The older, the Women’s Trade League, was
made up mainly of affiliated societies and was formed with the idea
that a place could be found for women in existing organizations. But
in many trades where there were large numbers of women unions
did not exist, or the men’s unions forbade the employment of
women. The National Federation of Women Workers gave its
attention to these occupations. Its membership was stated to be
about 20,000 in 1913.
During the war the number of women trade unionists increased
at an unprecedented rate. At the end of 1914 their number was
officially reported as 472,000, at the corresponding period in 1915 as
521,000, and at the end of 1916, 1917 and 1918, respectively, as
approximately 650,000, 930,000 and 1,224,000—an increase of
nearly 160 per cent between 1914 and 1918. During the same
period the number of male trade unionists increased about 45 per
cent.[98] Out of 1,220 craft and trade unions, 837 had only male
members, 347 included both men and women and 36 were
composed wholly of women. The latter included some 95,000
members, and the largest of them were the National Federation of
Women Workers and the National Federation of Women Teachers.
A report by the factory inspectors enumerated ten important
trades, including several of the textiles, boots and shoes, furniture,
cutlery, fancy leather goods and tobacco, in which the number of
women unionists was 365 per cent greater in 1914 than in 1917,
rising from 41,778 in 1914 to 152,814 in 1917. A small but
interesting union was that made up of women oxy-acetylene
welders, a skilled trade which women had entered for the first time
during the war. Its membership was mainly made up of educated
women who were active in securing “equal pay” for themselves.
Detailed figures for seven individual trades are as follows:

NUMBER OF WOMEN
TRADE UNION MEMBERS[99]
Industry 1914 1917
Woolen 7,695 35,137
Hosiery 3,657 17,217
Textile bleaching, dyeing, finishing 7,260 22,527
Boot and Shoe 10,165 ...
Tobacco 1,992 2,225
Solid leather case and fancy leather negligible 1,372
Furniture 300 15,236

Another development of trade unionism among women during

the war was that for the first time in the so-called “mixed unions,”
composed of both men and women members, a large number of
women were elected as branch secretaries and local officials. This
change was forced by the withdrawal of men for military service, but
the new officers were reported to be “as a whole extremely
satisfactory.”[100]
It is generally believed that the chief reason for the growth of
trade unionism among women during the war was the increase in
their wages, together with the resentment aroused at the same time
by frequent failure to achieve “equal pay for equal work.” Other
causes sometimes mentioned cover many of the principal effects of
the war on women workers. Women’s customary docility was said to
be reduced by the absence of their men folk on military service,
forcing them more often to assume the initiative. The public
recognition of the value of women’s work likewise increased their
self-confidence. Contact with the stern realities of war was believed
to have reduced the irresponsibility of the younger workers and the
petty caste feeling frequent among women of all ages. The shortage
in the supply of workers strengthened labor’s general position, and
government acknowledgment of the importance of trade unionism
also weakened opposition by employers.
But in spite of the growth in unionism some complaints were
made that it was even harder than usual to interest certain of the
new workers in organization because they were so consciously
working only for the duration of the war. Women have been found
who believed in the value of the unions sufficiently to keep up the
dues of the men whose places they were taking, but who refused to
join themselves.
The principal agency concerned with unionizing women munition
workers during the war period was the National Federation of
Women Workers, which is reported to have more than tripled its
membership during the war.[101] Under its energetic secretary, Miss
Mary Macarthur, it was credited with securing legislation and official
action in behalf of the women war workers, in addition to its
organizing work. Its breezy little monthly paper, The Woman Worker,
which sheds much light on the point of view of the woman trade
unionist toward events of the day, was started in January, 1916.
In its task of organizing munition girls, the Federation of Women
Workers had the advantage of an informal alliance with the
Amalgamated Society of Engineers. In May, 1915, this strong union
rejected a plan to admit women workers on the ground that it would
prevent excluding them from the trade after the war. But the
following month the A. S. E. arranged with the federation to set up
joint committees to fix wage scales for women and to support the
Federation in enforcing the demands jointly agreed upon. Somewhat
contradictory reports were received on the results of this action. The
federation praised the society’s help highly, saying that several new
branches were “literally made by A. S. E. men,”[102] though a writer
in the Women’s Industrial News stated that the one or two cases of
A. S. E. action in behalf of the women “have had no pressure behind
them,” and secured only “negligible” results.[103]
The substitution question, it has been shown, emphasized the
unfriendly attitude of many unions in the skilled crafts toward the
woman worker. Some unions, for instance the two covering tramway
employment, flatly voted down the admission of women without
making any such substitute arrangements for them as did the A. S.
E. In a number of cases, even where they were forced to permit
“dilution,” they seem to have retained an attitude of hostility or
suspicion. Numerous individual instances of this kind may be found
in the pages of the Dilution Bulletins. In some cases tools were
purposely set wrong or were not supplied at all, and unfavorable
reports of the women’s work were made without substantial basis.
Other unions—apparently on the whole the newer and more
radical bodies—did let in the women workers. The waiters’ union
even opened a class to train them to replace the interned enemy
aliens. The steam railway organization admitted them, though not
exactly on the same terms as men. The women substitutes naturally
appear to have had a “smoother path” under these circumstances
than where the policy of exclusion was maintained.
 Since the armistice there has been a decline in the number of
women trade unionists, and it is doubtful if the war level will again
be reached for some time to come. There is, however, a greatly
increased interest in trade unionism among English working women,
which will undoubtedly be maintained under the changed conditions
of peace and reconstruction. The movement is, of course, closely
connected with the way the “dilution” problem is settled. This will be
discussed in the chapter dealing with the situation during the first
few months after the armistice.
 CHAPTER IX
Control of Women Workers
Under the Munitions Act

The munitions act set up an unprecedented degree of

governmental control over the workers through three different
methods—the prohibition of strikes, a restriction of the right of the
individual to leave work and the establishment of special “Munition
Tribunals” to regulate the leaving of work and to punish breaches of
workshop discipline.

Prohibition of Strikes and Lockouts

The prohibition of strikes and lockouts was the most inclusive of
the three. It applied not only to all “munitions work” as defined by
the act,[104] but also to all work done “in or in connection with”
munitions work, and to any other work to which the act should be
applied by proclamation on the ground that stoppage of work would
be “directly or indirectly prejudicial” to “the manufacture, transport
or supply of munitions of war.”[105] Strikes or lockouts were
forbidden unless a dispute had been referred to the Board of Trade,
which for twenty-one days had taken no action toward settling it.
Further provisions for a more prompt settlement of disputes were
included in the second amending act, in August, 1917. The penalty
for violations by either employer or employe was a fine which might
be as high as £5 (about $24) per man per day. Disputes might be
referred by the Board of Trade for settlement to any one of several
subordinate bodies. Ordinarily the one used for men’s work was the
“Committee on Production in Engineering and Shipbuilding.”[106]
After the passage of the first amending act[107] in January, 1916,
the “Special Arbitration Tribunal” authorized by it to advise regarding
conditions of women’s work was the body generally chosen by the
Minister of Munitions to settle disputes involving women.
The clause prohibiting strikes was adopted undoubtedly as the
result of the strikes of “engineers” on the Clyde early in 1915, and
other disturbances on war work, which followed after the “industrial
truce” of the first few months of the war had once been broken. This
in turn apparently occurred on account of the rising cost of living
and the failure at the time to increase wages proportionately or to
limit profits. The prohibition was roundly denounced by the labor
and radical groups as having “given rise to more strikes than it has
prevented,”[108] and strikes did, indeed, increase proportionately
faster after the passage of the act. For several months beginning
with May, 1917, the unrest was so serious that official committees of
inquiry were appointed.
No figures are at hand to show the extent of the strikes in which
women participated. Though comparatively infrequent among
women workers, yet even there they occurred in defiance of the law.
The Woman Worker recorded a case at a shell filling factory, where
because a canteen attendant was, as they thought, unjustly
dismissed, the girls refused to go back to work after the noon hour,
and began to throw the china and food about in the canteen.[109]
There was some feeling among women as well as men war
workers that following a strike government officials quickly adjusted
grievances which had previously gone unremedied for months. Yet,
even if the strike prohibition was not a complete success, officials
believed that it operated to reduce the number of minor disputes.

“Leaving Certificates”
After the keen demand for labor arose in the industry, the “labor
turnover” of experienced workers in munition factories reached
abnormal proportions, causing loss of time and often of skill. The
frequent changes and the resulting interruption to production
became the subject of serious complaints from employers.
To diminish this “labor turnover” a system of “leaving certificates”
or “clearance cards” was put into effect. No person leaving munitions
work could be given work by another employer for six weeks unless
he or she had a “leaving certificate.” The certificate was required to
be granted by the employer on discharging the worker, and might be
granted by a Munitions Tribunal if “unreasonably” withheld. This was
the only condition inserted in the original act to prevent a certificate
from being wrongfully withheld. The giving of employment contrary
to these provisions, or the falsifying of a “leaving certificate,” were
serious offenses under the act, punishable by a maximum fine of
£50 (about $240). “Leaving certificates” might be required “in or in
connection with munitions work” in any kind of establishments to
which the regulations were applied by order of the Ministry of
Munitions. In July, 1915, an order was issued requiring them in all
engineering, shipbuilding, ammunition, arms and explosive
establishments and establishments producing substances required
for such production. In May, 1916, all “controlled establishments”
not previously included, and certain places providing electric light or
power for munitions work, were added to the list.
The leaving certificate requirements were said to be the only
feature of the munitions acts approved by employers, but no part
was more unpopular with the workers. It was charged that skilled
workers were tied to unskilled jobs and thus rendered powerless to
move to better wages and working conditions. The following
quotation from The Woman Worker[110] illustrates the labor point of
view:
The first Munitions Act came quietly—on tip-toe,
like a thief in the night, and not one woman worker
in a thousand knew of its coming.
Their shackles were riveted while they slept....
 The foreman’s reply to the complaining one is no
longer: “If you don’t like it you can leave it.” She
can’t.
If she tries, she will find that no other employer
will be allowed to engage her, and unless she can
persuade a Munitions Court to grant a leaving
certificate, six weeks’ idleness must be her portion.
And we know what that means to many a woman
worker. Long before the six weeks are up, her little
treasures, if she has any, are gone and God help her
then.
... One great danger of the new conditions is
that sweating and bad conditions may be
stereotyped.
The other day a munition worker, who was being
paid 12s. weekly, had a chance of doing the same
work for another employer at 1 pound weekly, but
the Court refused her permission to make the
change. And thus we have a concrete case of the
State turning the lock in the door of the sweaters’
den.
Some people hold very strongly that these
leaving certificate clauses of the Munitions Act are
altogether unnecessary. They hamper and irritate
men and women alike, and so far from accelerating
output, may actually diminish it. Under the Defence
of the Realm Act, it is already illegal for employers
to incite munition workers to change their
employment, and that should have been sufficient.
The stringency of the leaving certificate clauses in their original
form was indicated by the fact that in the munitions act amendment
of January, 1916, several conditions were added making them more
favorable to the workers. If an employer refused a certificate when a
worker was dismissed, or failed to give a week’s notice or a week’s
pay in lieu of notice, except on temporary work, the tribunal could
now make him pay as much at £5 (about $24) for the loss of time,
unless it appeared that the worker was guilty of misconduct to
secure dismissal. A number of other conditions under which a
certificate must be granted were laid down by the amending act.
They included failure to provide employment for three or more days,
failure to pay standard wage rates, behavior of the employer or his
agent toward the worker in a way to justify his leaving, end of
apprenticeship and existence of another opening where the worker
could be used “with greater advantage to the national interest.” Even
The Woman Worker admitted of the amendment act: “Certainly in
many ways it is an improvement over the old one. The workers have
new rights; and if they are strong enough and clever enough to take
advantage of them much can be done.”
Difficulties still arose, however. Though on some government
contracts, such as clothing, the system was not in force, it was often
believed that the cards were required on every form of government
work. They were indeed necessary in so many factories that
employers hesitated to take workers without them, which made it
hard to secure work in a munitions plant for the first time. Often the
workers did not know their rights under the act to secure certificates
or damages from the tribunals under certain conditions. It was
finally decided that dismissal because of trade union membership
was illegal, “tending to restrict output.” By the help of the Federation
of Women Workers three girls dismissed for joining the federation
secured compensation for their dismissal from the local Munitions
Tribunal, and the firm was finally fined for the act by the central
court.
Nevertheless, in spite of all concessions, which officials of the
Ministry believed had removed the admitted injustices of the act in
its original form, the certificate system continued to cause much
irritation among the workers. The official commissions to investigate
the industrial unrest prevailing in the summer of 1917 named the
operation of the system among its chief causes. It was because of
the workers’ protests that the second amendment to the munitions
act, passed August 21, 1917, gave the Ministry of Munitions power
to abolish the “leaving certificate” system if it thought it could be
done “consistently with the national interest.” Trade union leaders
informed the government that they could not keep their members in
line unless the system was given up. The Ministry issued an order
abolishing the certificate after October 15, 1917.[111] Workers were
merely required to remain on some kind of war work, except by
permission of the Ministry, and at least a week’s notice or a week’s
wages was necessary before leaving. No report was made as to how
the change worked. It remained in force until two days before the
armistice, when an order allowed employes to shift from munitions
to nonwar work.

Munitions Tribunals
In addition to appeals for leaving certificates, the Munitions
Tribunals dealt with breaches of workshop discipline, and with cases
of disobedience to the instructions of the Ministry of Munitions.
These courts were set up throughout the country. Each consisted of
a chairman, chosen by the Ministry of Munitions, and four or more
“assessors,” taken from a panel, half of whom represented
employers and half employes. The “assessors” served in rotation, a
session at a time. There were two classes of tribunals, “general,”
dealing with all offenses, and “local,” with those for which the
penalty was less than £5 (about $24). The latter handled the great
majority of the cases, settling 3,732 between July and December,
1916, whereas the general tribunals took up only 182. Under the
original munitions act the general tribunals had the power to
imprison for nonpayment of fines, but this aroused such resentment
among the workers that it was taken away by the first amendment
act.
The Munitions Tribunals, like leaving certificates, were a source of
much annoyance to working women. Complaints were made that the
representatives of the Ministry of Munitions had no understanding of
the labor point of view, so that there was always a majority against
the employes. Instances were given in which the tribunals refused
certificates to a woman receiving 10s. ($2.40) a week, though she
had a chance to double her wages, and to girls working seventy to
eighty hours weekly several miles from home, while a factory having
eight hour shifts had opened close at hand. Fines, unlike those
imposed by employers, did not have to be “reasonable” in the legal
sense of the word, and their size was not known to the workers
beforehand. An employe summoned before a tribunal lost at least a
half day’s and sometimes a full day’s work, or several hours of sleep
if a night worker. Previous to January, 1916, women workers might
be obliged to appear before a tribunal composed entirely of men.
But by the amending act, as the “direct outcome of a scandalous
case” in which three girls who had left their jobs because of “gross
insult” were obliged to explain the circumstances with no woman
present,[112] it was required that at least one of the assessors
representing the employes should be a woman in every case in
which women were involved.
Whatever the justice of the employes’ contentions, certainly the
decisions rendered by the tribunals during their first few months of
activity, for which alone figures are available, were generally
unfavorable to the workers. From the beginning of their work to
November 27, 1916, 814 cases involving 3,672 persons were heard
against employes. Convictions against 2,423 of these were secured,
and fines amounting to £2,235 were imposed. Against employers
there were but eighty-six cases involving ninety-four persons, fifty-
six persons convicted, and a total in fines of £290. Out of 3,014
requests for leaving certificates, only 782 were granted.
 CHAPTER X
Wages

Perhaps no one factor in the working conditions of women is

more vital to their welfare than the wages they receive. A study of
the changes in wages brought about by the war is therefore of
special importance. Ordinarily women seldom do precisely the same
work as men, and they ordinarily receive wages not more than half
as high. Did the difference continue when the women took up men’s
jobs? The fear that the women would lower the rates established by
the men’s trade unions was, as we have seen, probably the main
reason for the opposition of male trade unionists to “dilution.” In
what measure was the women’s demand for “equal pay for equal
work” attained? The replacement of enlisted men by women and the
extensive use of women in the manufacture of munitions invested
women’s work as never before with the character of a national
service, and this also led to a demand for more adequate wage
standards. In considering the subject of wages it should always be
kept in mind that, roughly speaking, at the beginning of the war
wages and prices were about half as high in England as in the
United States, though the difference in prices was not so great
during 1917 and 1918.

Governmental Wage Regulation

in the Munitions Industry
All three of the factors enumerated above—namely, public
recognition of their services to the state, the women’s demand for
“equal pay for equal work” and the effort of the men’s unions to
maintain wage standards—seem to have played a part in forcing
governmental regulation of the wages of women workers. Munitions
work was of course the storm center of disputes throughout the war.
Many complaints were made of the inadequate wages paid the
first women to be employed on munitions work. An official
report[113] admits that women munitions makers taking up men’s
jobs in the industry before the Treasury Agreement permitting
substitution was made in March, 1915, were paid only 2½d. (5
cents) to 4d. (8 cents) an hour. Twelve to fifteen shillings weekly
($2.88-$3.60) was said to be the usual pay for women in Manchester
and on the Clyde. In October, 1914, a leading armament firm hired a
number of women to take the place of skilled and semi-skilled men
in shell making at 15 per cent lower wages than were paid the men.
[114]

The first attempt to secure equal pay for the women who
replaced men was made in February, 1915, through the “Shells and
Fuses Agreement” of the “Committee on Production,” which provided
for equal pay on skilled work. But most of the operations on which
women were being substituted were unskilled or semi-skilled and on
the latter the employers’ federation ordered the usual women’s
rates. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers, which had assented
to the agreement, now awoke to conditions and protested, but in
the words of two students of British labor during the war, “it was too
late.” They “never again caught up with the situation. Multitudes of
women were poured into the engineering trades at a low wage
scale.”[115]
The next effort of the trade unionists was the securing of a
clause in the Treasury Agreement in March to the effect that “the
relaxation of existing demarcation restrictions or admission of semi-
skilled or female labor shall not affect adversely the rates paid for
the job.” Miss Sylvia Pankhurst immediately sent an inquiry to Lloyd
George, asking for an interpretation of this somewhat ambiguous
statement. She received the reply:
 Dear Miss Pankhurst: The words which you
quote would guarantee that women undertaking the
work of men would get the same piece-rates as
men were receiving before the date of this
agreement. That, of course, means that if the
women turn out the same quantity of work as men
employed on the same job, they will receive exactly
the same pay.

Yours sincerely,
(Signed) D. Lloyd George.
She then asked if they were to receive the same war bonuses
and increases as men, and what was to be paid women time
workers; but her second letter was not answered.
The complaints and agitation continued. Mrs. Pankhurst escorted
a procession of women to interview the Minister of Munitions about
wages on munitions work. Examples of sweated wages were cited in
Parliament. In reply to this deputation, Lloyd George announced his
policy in regard to the payment of women munition workers as
follows:
The government will see that there is no
sweated labor. For some time women will be
unskilled and untrained; they can not turn out as
much work as the men who have been at it for
some time, so we can not give the full rate of
wages. Whatever these wages are, they should be
fair, and there should be a fixed minimum, and we
should not utilize the services of women in order to
get cheaper labor.
Finally, in October, 1915, the Ministry sent out to all “controlled
establishments” a circular of recommendations for wage rates for
women “on men’s work,” drawn up by a Wages Subcommittee of the
Central Labor Supply Committee, composed of a woman trade
unionist and three representatives of the engineering trade. The
circular, which is always referred to as “L2,” fixed a prescribed (not a
minimum) time rate of £1 ($4.80) weekly, and the same piece rates
for women as for men. The committee had urged that the time rate
should be a minimum but to this the Ministry was not willing to
agree. A special paragraph emphasized that women doing skilled
men’s work should be paid the men’s rate. The Ministry had no
power to enforce the recommendations, however, and they were by
no means universally observed. Opinions as to their efficacy vary
from the official view that “National factories were instructed to
adopt these provisions, and many, though not all, private firms put
them into force.”[116] to the radical criticism that the
“recommendations might have been of value had there been any
means of enforcing them. As it was, the circular was merely an
expression of opinion which [tended to lull the public] into a state of
security unjustified by facts.”[117] The Woman Worker even went so
far as to say that “in January last [1916], a very important firm
stated that they were the only firm in the United Kingdom that were
paying wages in accordance with Mr. Lloyd George’s circular.”[118]
In the fall of 1915 the trade unionists entered on an active
campaign to give the Ministry power to fix wages for women and
unskilled and semi-skilled men, the men’s unions fearing the
permanent lowering of their standard rates, and the women’s
organizations being perhaps more concerned in behalf of the
underpaid women themselves. In January, 1916, the men’s unions
demanded, as the price of their continued help in promoting
“dilution,” that the provisions of “L2” should be made compulsory. By
the amending act of January 27, 1916, the Ministry of Munitions
were empowered to fix wage rates for all females and for semi-
skilled men on skilled work in munition plants where clearance cards
were required. The National Federation of Women Workers was
active in securing the change, and its magazine describes the
struggle in its usual picturesque style.[119]
 Wage Fixing for
“Women on Men’s Work”
In a month the provisions of Circular L2 were made compulsory.
[120] The directions were “on the basis of setting up of the machines
being otherwise provided for. They are strictly confined to the war
period.” Women time workers of eighteen years and over on men’s
work were to be paid a pound ($4.80) for a week of the usual hours
worked by men in engineering. Rates for piece work and for work
ordinarily done by “fully skilled” men were to be the same as those
customarily paid men, but women were not to be put on any form of
piece work until “sufficiently qualified.” The principle of “equal pay
for equal work” was further laid down specifically in the following
clause: “The principle upon which the directions proceed is that on
systems of payment by results—equal payment shall be made to
women as to men for an equal amount of work done.” Further
safeguards of the rates included giving women the same overtime,
night shift, Sunday and holiday allowances as the men, and
providing that piece rates should not be cut. Women were to be paid
at the rate of 15s. a week ($3.60) for time lost by “air raids” or other
causes beyond the workers’ control. The order was applied only to
controlled establishments in engineering and allied industries on the
ground that it was designed primarily to meet conditions in those
trades.[121]

Wage Fixing for

“Women Not on Men’s Work”
The regulation of wages for women doing men’s work covered
only part of the munition workers, however. As The Woman Worker
remarked, “What about the women who are doing important work
not recognized as men’s work? There are many more of these; they
are, generally speaking, much worse off; they are less able to
protect themselves; and, therefore, this claim on the Minister to
fulfill his pledged word is even stronger than for the others.”[122]
The Wages Subcommittee which drafted L2 had drawn up wage
recommendations for them in November and December, 1915, but
no action was taken on the recommendations. The standard of
wages among this group of women at the time is illustrated by the
rates fixed in an important trade agreement reached in November,
1915, and covering the whole Midlands area. Its weekly rate for an
adult woman was 16s. ($3.84). In March, 1916, under powers given
the Ministry of Munitions by the munitions amendment act, a
“Special Arbitration Tribunal” was established to settle disputes
regarding women’s wages referred to it under the anti-strike clauses
of the munitions acts, and to advise the Minister on wage awards for
women munition makers. The tribunal consisted of a secretary and
half a dozen members, two of whom were women. In Miss Susan
Lawrence it had a woman long active in behalf of the women
workers, and in Mr. Ernest Aves an expert on minimum wage
regulation. The tribunal is said to have been “perhaps more
important and successful than was expected.”[123] The National
Federation of Women Workers at once brought before it several
cases dealing with the wages of munition workers in individual
factories on “work not recognized as men’s work.” In general the
awards made in these cases gave time workers about 4½d. (9
cents) an hour, and piece workers a guaranteed minimum of about
4d. (8 cents), with the provision that the piece rates should yield the
ordinary worker at least a third more.
The Minister of Munitions then asked the special tribunal for
recommendations as to a general wage award for females on “work
not recognized as men’s work.” Because precedent and data were
lacking it was said to be extremely difficult to fix these rates. But
finally the tribunal made a recommendation along the lines of its
special awards, which was issued as an order on July 6, 1916.[124]
Four pence (8 cents) an hour was guaranteed piece workers of
eighteen or over and adult time workers were given 4½d. (9 cents).
A half penny an hour additional was given for work in the danger
zone, and special rates might be fixed for dangerous or unhealthy
processes. Special rates could be set for workers of special ability.
The rates were expressly limited to the war period, “depending on
exceptional circumstances arising from the present war.” The award
was applied to about 1,400 arms, ammunition, explosives and
shipbuilding firms, covering these trades with a few exceptions of
firms in the rural districts.
The effect of this order was to raise wages in firms where women
had always been employed. Employers complained of difficulties
where only part of their women employes were on government
work, and of failure to provide special rates for the training period.
On the other hand, its provisions aroused a storm of criticism from
women trade unionists, who charged that the fixing of standard
rather than minimum rates was in contravention of Lloyd George’s
pledges. The official retort to this was that “the only undertaking ...
by the Minister ... related to the wages of women on men’s
work.”[125] No special allowances for overtime, night and Sunday
work or for time lost by no fault of the workers were included. The
piece work rates were not arranged so that the average worker
could earn a higher rate. Only munition work in the narrow sense
was covered, and important war industries where leaving certificates
were required were omitted, such as the chemical, rubber, cable and
miscellaneous metal trades. The Women’s Trade Union League and
the National Federation of Women Workers immediately organized a
deputation of protest to the Ministry. As a result, a revision of the
award was issued in September, which restored the extra payments
for overtime and night work, and stated that unless a special
exemption was granted by the Ministry, piece rates must be such as
to yield a worker of “ordinary ability” a third more than her time
rate.[126]

Revision of Award for

“Women on Men’s Work”
 By this time also, according to the official view “it had become
increasingly apparent ... that the provisions of Circular L2 ... were
too rigid.” No time rates between the £1 a week and the skilled
men’s rate were allowed, and women doing especially laborious or
responsible work could not receive special pay.
A violent controversy had likewise been going on for months as
to the payment of women doing part of the work of skilled men. The
unions claimed that the understanding was that women should
receive the skilled men’s rate no matter how small a part of the work
they did; the employers said that such an arrangement was entirely
unreasonable. The Central Munitions Labour Supply Committee, the
author of the original “L2,” was called on for advice.
Recommendations acceptable both to it and to the Special
Arbitration Tribunal were finally worked out and issued as an order
January 1, 1917.[127] Even the trade unionists acknowledged that an
improvement had been made, and that the standard time rate was
less likely to be used as a maximum. The £1 time rate was payable
for a working week of forty-eight hours. Any overtime up to fifty-four
hours was payable at 6d. (12 cents) an hour, and beyond that at
men’s rates. Special rates, not laid down in the order, might be fixed
for women time workers on “work customarily done by semi-skilled
men,” on specially laborious or responsible work, or where any
“special circumstances” existed. Under this clause a number of
appeals were carried to the Special Arbitration Tribunal, and special
awards made. The clause giving women on skilled work the same
rates as men was reenacted, but it was stated that “a further order
on this subject will shortly be issued.” This was done on January 24.
[128]

The compromise adopted set off a special class of women who

did only part of a skilled man’s work, according to a plan worked out
by the Dilution Commission in the Clyde district nearly a year before.
In this class were to be placed all women who did not do the
“customary setting up” of the machines, or who required supervision
beyond that usual for the men. Such women were to serve a three
months’ “probationary period,” receiving the specified time rate for
four weeks, and then rising by equal weekly increments to the
skilled men’s rate at the end of the thirteenth week. But, by special
permission of the Ministry of Munitions, a maximum of 10 per cent
of the skilled men’s rate might be deducted to meet the additional
cost of extra setting up and extra supervision. The time rate, which
remained £1 for a forty-eight hour week was to be the minimum in
all cases, however. A woman doing all the work of a skilled man was
still to be paid his rate. Other clauses relating to overtime, cutting of
piece rates, allowances for lost time and so on, were the same as in
previous orders for “women on men’s work.” The order was applied
to some 3,585 “controlled establishments” in arms, ammunition,
ordnance, various other forms of “engineering” and miscellaneous
metal trades.

Extension of Award Covering

“Work Not Recognized as Men’s Work”
Meanwhile, in October, 1916, “munitions” establishments not
included in the outstanding wage order for women and girls on
“work not recognized as men’s work” were notified that they would
shortly be covered unless they could show reasons to the contrary.
Many protests from employers resulted, but early in January the
former order was reissued with slight modifications and made
applicable to a wider range of establishments.[129] It now covered
about 3,875 “controlled establishments,” including other forms of
engineering, miscellaneous metal trades, and chemicals, asbestos,
rubber and mica, as well as munitions work in the narrow sense of
the term. The chief modifications were a probationary period (one
month for adult women) during which a half penny an hour (1 cent)
less might be paid, and permission to apply for a special rate for girls
in warehouses as distinct from factories. A companion order fixed
rates a farthing an hour lower for about fifty factories in rural
districts.[130]
 Wage Awards for Women Woodworkers
Besides “men’s” and “women’s” work, a third set of governmental
wage awards covered women in the woodwork industry where large
numbers were employed, especially on woodwork for aeroplanes.
The trade unions had agitated the question vigorously on the basis
of maintaining their standard rates. But the administration felt that
“the aircraft industry has extended enormously since the war began
... to legislate for women’s wages on the customs existing prior to
the war might unduly hamper the development of the trade.” The
wages fixed in September, 1916, on the basis of recommendations
by the Special Arbitration Tribunal were 5d. (10 cents) an hour for
experienced adult time workers, and a guarantee of 4½d. (9 cents)
for piece workers.[131] These rates were about ½d. (1 cent) an hour
higher than those for women not on men’s work, thus approximating
the “men’s work” awards. Extra rates were payable for overtime, and
the various precautionary clauses of the earlier awards were
repeated, except that no recognition of the equal pay principle
appeared. The order covered some ninety establishments. Early in
1917 the Special Arbitration Tribunal was asked to advise on rates
for woodwork in general. The tribunal found it difficult to preserve
the scheme of the men’s rates in the trade, and finally drew up a
concise interim order with minimum rates similar to those for
ordinary processes on woodwork for aeroplanes.[132]

General Increases Based on

Cost of Living Changes
A new bone of contention appeared in the battle to maintain
men’s wage standards for women munition workers when the rising
cost of living brought the men in the engineering and shipbuilding
trades a general advance of 5s. weekly from April 1, 1917, with the
promise that further advances of this kind would be made three
times a year if necessary. The Ministry of Munitions held that the
terms of the award were such[133] that it did not apply to women’s
wages. But under pressure from the Federation of Women Workers
the Ministry, on April 16, announced the advancement of the
standard time rate for women replacing men from 20s. ($4.80) to
24s. ($5.76) weekly,[134] to go into effect from April 8. On work “not
recognized as men’s work” the gain for adult women was 1d. (2
cents) an hour for time work and ¾d. (1½ cents) for piece work.
[135] The advance was likewise applied to woodworking processes.
[136]

Following another war bonus of 3s. (72 cents) weekly to men

workers, awarded by the Committee on Production, the women’s
Special Arbitration Tribunal granted adult women a second general
advance of 2s. 6d. (60 cents) in August, 1917, with half as much to
girls under eighteen.[137] This applied to all “controlled”
establishments, having a far wider range than any previous wage
order. The powers of the Ministry over women’s wages had been
extended by the amendment to the munitions act which allowed
“leaving certificates” to be abolished. If this was done, as it was, the
Ministry might fix wages in any trade in or in connection with
munitions work. Another important extension of the wage awards
about this time was their application to Ireland, where wage scales
had been very low. A third and a fourth general advance, the
first[138] of 3s. 6d. and the second[139] of 5s. weekly for adult
women, were granted on December 15, 1917, and September 1,
1918, respectively. The four general advances amounted to a total of
15s. weekly ($3.60), which brought the standard time rate for
women munition workers on men’s work up to 35s. ($8.40) weekly
at the end of the war. But meanwhile the men workers had been
granted still larger bonuses.
In addition, hundreds of special cases continued to be brought
before the Special Arbitration Tribunal, which generally granted at
least part of the wage increases asked for, but avoided any general
declaration of principles when the equal pay issue was raised.
Another development of 1918 was the issuance of a “Consolidated
Order,” the result of agitation by the women’s unions begun eleven
months earlier, which unified the various wage awards and made
some improvements and extensions.[140] Perhaps the most
important change was the alteration of the standard rates for
women not on men’s work into minimum rates, so that women
engaged in occupations of special skill, danger and the like could
claim extra payments. The order applied to over 8,000 firms. Delay
in issuing it was officially ascribed to the reorganization of the
Special Arbitration Tribunal, which prevented consideration of the
case till December, 1917.

Criticism of Governmental
Wage Fixing in Munitions Work
The governmental policies outlined above by which wages were
fixed for women munition workers were the subject of some sharp
criticisms from labor and radical groups and friends of the women
workers. The most fundamental of these criticisms was that the
government failed to fulfill the pledge regarding the wages of
women substitutes made in the “Treasury Agreement” and
reaffirmed in the first munitions act.[141] The question is considered
at length in the report of the British War Cabinet Committee on
Women in Industry.[142] Mrs. Sidney Webb, in a minority report,
holds that the pledge applied to all forms of work and all forms of
payment, and charges that there were two main violations. It was
not applied to time workers who took the places of unskilled or
semi-skilled men, and women were not allowed the same general
cost of living advances as men. The majority denied that the
agreement was intended to apply to equal pay in either of these
cases, though they felt that the wording of the agreement was not
satisfactory. Without attempting to give a verdict in the dispute, it
may be said that the partial failure to apply the equal pay principle
did cause much unrest among both men and women trade unionists,
who felt that the men’s rates were menaced and the women unfairly
treated.
Other points of criticism included the limited application of the
wage orders, the fixing of “standard,” rather than “minimum” wages,
and an alleged failure to enforce the orders. The apparent tendency
of the government to act only under pressure was perhaps a still
more general cause of irritation. It was not until six months after the
passage of the first munitions act, following much trade union
agitation, that legislation was asked for which would allow the
government to make effective its pledge of “equal pay” for
“dilutees.” Even then the first wage orders did not cover all
munitions work and not even all controlled establishments. Under
the wider application of the “leaving certificate clauses” it was said
that some firms could continue to pay sweated wages while tying
the workers to their jobs. But succeeding orders were more and
more extended and until the power was expressly granted in August,
1917, the Ministry did not believe it could fix wages outside
controlled establishments.
Most of the rates, it will have been noticed, were not “minimum,”
but “standard” wages, to be paid only in case no special awards
were made. This policy was criticized because it was claimed that
the standard rates almost always became the maximum. But the
Ministry believed that “experience justifies the adoption” of a
standard rate, which checked constant agitation for changes.
It was also charged that the orders were frequently not obeyed
and that piece rates were illegally cut. In the spring and summer of
1917, indeed, investigating officers of the Ministry of Munitions were
ordered to visit all establishments covered by the awards and
schedule the actual wages paid. “In many hundreds of cases the
smaller firms were found not to pay the wages ordered.”[143] Orders
to violators to pay the legal wages with arrears increased the
hostility of the contractors to the government program of wage
fixing. Finally, in order to overcome their opposition, it was arranged
that they should be reimbursed for all “extra and unforeseen wage
cost entailed by government action.” Under this arrangement it
would seem as if there was little if any incentive not to pay the legal
scale of wages. In April, 1918, at which time the standard time rate
for women substitutes was 30s. ($7.20) weekly, weekly rates for
women in typical projectile factories were 32s. 8d. ($7.84), and
actual earnings 42s. 4d. ($10.16), while in a similar group of shell
factories rates were 34s. 8d. ($8.32), and earnings 56s. 8d.
($13.60). These wages, while well above the legal standard wage,
were far from the £3, £4 and £5 weekly popularly ascribed to the
women munition maker and in reality earned only by the exceptional
piece worker.
In estimating these or any other wage increases, the greatly
augmented cost of living must not be overlooked. The rise was
estimated at 40 per cent in February, 1916, when the first
compulsory award was made, 70 per cent in April, 1917, at the time
of the first general increase, and 95 per cent in September, 1918,
when the last war time advance was granted. Rents were held to
their former levels by a law which forbade raising them unless
structural improvements were made, but fuel, shoes and clothing
were all higher, the tax burden was greater and food had more than
doubled in price. On this basis the rate set for time workers on
“men’s work” in munitions in February, 1916, £1, was equivalent to
only 14s. 3d., before the war. The 24s. of April, 1917, corresponded
to 14s. 2d., while 35s., the September, 1918, award, amounted to
about 17s. 6d. at prewar values. However, it must likewise be
remembered that once the awards were really in full force, actual
earnings were apparently considerably above standard rates.
All in all it would seem that the Ministry of Munitions was justified
in its claim that, “when consideration is given to the diverse nature
of the trades, the absence of any data on which the department
could work when it first took up the question of regulating women’s
wages, the absolute novelty of wage regulation by a government
department, the extreme urgency of the many difficulties which
arose, the reluctant attitude of employers and the interdependence
of commercial work and munitions work, the department feels
justified in claiming a very considerable adjustment in the matter of
women’s wages.”[144] Even Mrs. Webb, in criticising the government
attitude toward its wage pledges, admits that the Ministry of
Munitions took the agreement “more seriously than other
government departments.” The War Cabinet report sums the results
of government activity by showing that “the actual average of
women’s wages in the metal and munition trades as a result of the
orders was increased rather more than threefold as against a rise in
cost of living about twofold, and the disparity of wages between the
two sexes was very considerably reduced.”

Wage Fixing by the Trade Boards

The trade boards, authorized in 1909 to fix the minimum wage
rates for the sweated trades, afford little that is novel in their war
activities, but provide an excellent example of the maintenance of
existing legal standards in war time. In no case where they had
taken steps toward fixing minimum rates did they allow the war to
be used as a pretext for interrupting their work. The boards which
had been established prior to the war for confectionery and shirt
making in Ireland and for tin boxes and hollow ware in Great Britain
continued their work, and made awards which went into effect
during 1915. Partially effective orders for confectionery and shirt
making in Great Britain became obligatory during the same year.
Moreover the scope of two boards was extended, of tailoring to
cover certain branches of retail work, and of lace finishing to include
“hairnets and veilings.” A new board was even set up proposing
rates for linen and cotton embroidery in Ireland, which lines had
been put under the jurisdiction of the trade boards act before the
outbreak of war. But during the war period proper the act itself was
not extended to any new industries.
The more direct effect of the war, however, was to cause all of
the existing boards to make considerable advances in their minimum
rates in an effort to meet the rising cost of living. For instance, the
British tailoring board raised the rate for experienced women from
3¼d. (6½ cents) to 4d. (8 cents) an hour in January, 1915, to 4½d.
(9 cents) in July, 1917, and 5d. (10 cents) in March, 1918. A special
minimum rate of 6d. (12 cents) for experienced women cutters, a
class of work in which women had replaced men since the outbreak
of war, was fixed in April, 1916. Similarly confectionery had been
raised from 14s. 1d., weekly ($3.38), to 16s. 3d. ($3.90), then to
19s. 6d. ($1.68), and by the end of the war 28s. 2d. ($6.76) was
proposed. But it should be remembered that 28s. 2d. was in
November, 1918, roughly worth but 13s. before the war, and 5d. was
equivalent to little more than 2d. Even the most considerable of
these changes failed to keep pace with the rise in the cost of living.
“The Trade Boards have not increased rates proportionately to the
increase in the cost of living,” says G. D. H. Cole, “but only by so
much as they thought the industries concerned would be able to
support after the war.”[145]

Wage Changes under

Trade Union Agreements
A third method by which the wages of many women were
regulated was through agreements with the trade unions. Such
agreements really formed a phase of the “dilution” question. Women
must be prevented from becoming unfair competitors and from
undercutting the standard rates. Consequently, as has been
described, the agreements usually prescribed that women
substitutes should be paid the men’s rate. This was the standard
used in admitting women to men’s jobs in such important industries
as cotton, woolen and worsted, china and earthenware, and boots
and shoes. Women were for the first time admitted to work on the
more important knitting machines on condition that they should
receive the men’s piece rates. In such instances the real wages of
the women were undoubtedly materially improved.
 Another important wage agreement made by the railway unions
in August, 1915, secured for the women in grades where they had
not been employed before the war the minimum pay given men of
the same grade. The agreement did not cover women taken on as
clerks, however. In October, 1915, the men’s war bonus was
increased to 5s. a week ($1.20) and a number of women applied for
it. The companies claimed that the August agreement tacitly
excluded the women from participation in the bonus, and the
Committee on Production, to whom a test case was referred, agreed.
But when the men’s bonus was increased to 10s. ($2.40) in
September, 1916, it was “generally felt that it would be only fair to
grant the women something.”[146] Accordingly, in November, 1916,
those over eighteen were given a bonus of 3s. weekly (72 cents)
and those under eighteen, 1s. 6d. (36 cents). In three subsequent
increases of the bonus during the war period, men and women
shared alike, making a total war bonus of 21s. 6d. weekly ($5.16)
for women as compared with 33s. ($7.92) for men.
In a few cases, the trade unions were satisfied, because of the
reorganization of the work, with something less than the men’s rate
for women substitutes. In the agreement for the bleaching and
dyeing trades, a minimum of four-fifths of the men’s rate was fixed
for time workers though where women turned out the same quantity
they were to be paid the same piece wages as men. The Shop
Assistants’ Union was content with four-fifths of the men’s rates for
the women, since a few men had nearly always to be retained for
heavy lifting. As a matter of fact, in many cases the organization was
not strong enough to secure even as much as this.

Wages in Other Trades

Other government departments were not so generous to women
workers as the Ministry of Munitions, and paid even less attention to
the equal pay pledge of the Treasury Agreement. The Admiralty
adopted a minimum time rate for all workers, which was gradually