What was the name of the 1909 British law that created trade boards to set minimum wages in sweated industries?

The Trade Boards Act 1909 created trade boards that could set minimum wages in certain low-paid British industries.

The Act targeted “sweated” industries, where workers often faced very low pay, long hours, and weak bargaining power. Trade boards initially covered sectors such as chain making, ready-made clothing, paper-box making, and lace finishing.

Each board included representatives of employers and workers, together with independent members. Their wage orders established legally enforceable minimum rates for covered trades, creating an early British form of statutory wage regulation.

The Act preceded the United Kingdom’s modern National Minimum Wage. The later national system, introduced in 1999, applies through a different legal and institutional framework and replaced the older patchwork approach.