of all engaged in it by means of joint action between employers and workpeople, and by their association in its government. The objects which appear in the various constitutions taken together include practically every kind of question connected with industry. It will be seen that the councils intend to undertake a thorough revision of the conditions under which the industry has hitherto been carried on and to attempt a readjustment of them in such a way as to promote greater prosperity for all concerned and a real intimacy of co-operation between employers and workpeople in its government. Some instances of the work actually accomplished by joint industrial councils will serve to indicate that these aspirations are not meant to remain as merely pious hopes, but that steps are already being taken to translate them into practice. Work Done by Councils The Baking Industrial Council has set up several district councils; it has made a working agreement giving improved conditions and a considerable advance in wages to the operatives in the trade. The Industrial Council for Building has appointed a committee to report on scientific management and reduction of costs, and has made reports on interrupted apprenticeships. At the request of the Home Office the Council has appointed a committee to deal with the prevention of accidents. The Industrial Council for Chemicals has made arrangements for dealing with disputes, including a panel of arbitrators who act in rotation. The China Clay Council has arrived at a wages agreement. The Council for Electrical Contracting has fixed a 47-hour working week, with pay on the basis of a 53-hour week. It has decided to call a meeting of non-unionists employed by associated firms to induce them to join unions. The Furniture Industrial Council has proposed a scheme for a conciliation board which has received the approval of the constituent associations on the Council. It has successfully mediated in local disputes, settled rates for upholsterers in the London area, and agreed on ten district councils, of which one has been already set up. The Hosiery Council has increased the bonus for operatives, and the Scottish Section has reached an agreement on hours. The Council for Matches has arranged a 47-hour week without reduction in wages; it has set up a London District Committee and Works Committee in every firm but one. The Pottery Council has circulated a memorandum to the trade on health conditions. The Rubber Council has agreed on a 47-hour week, payment to be made on the basis of a 54-hour week or whatever the working hours were in the district. The Council for Saw Milling has agreed on a 47-hour week, and the Council for Silk has agreed on a 49-hour week, with no reduction of time or piece rates. The Council for Vehicle Building has agreed on a national minimum wage of Is. 6d. an hour for skilled men, with corresponding rates for semi-skilled men and labourers; it has also agreed on a 47-hour week without reduction in wages except in the case of firms working more than 54 hours a week. Many other problems are under discussion, which will probably result in action being taken: and, obviously, the record of the work done must be considered with due regard to the fact that the Councils have only recently come into existence, while the circumstances of war-time made it difficult to take action on some issues. General Principles It will be understood from what has been already said that an industrial council is not formed by the State or the Government. It is a purely voluntary body and it contains no representatives of the Government. The persons connected in any industry are quite free to choose whether or not they will form an industrial council, and no pressure is needed by the Government on any industry. The functions of the Ministry of Labour in this regard are confined to making suggestions and giving general assistance to those who desire to form Industrial Councils and for this purpose the Ministry organises conferences and issues relevant material. An official of the Ministry of Labour acts in liaison with every industrial council which has been formed. The Government is not, of course, uninterested in the formation of these councils. Industry is becoming every day a more urgent problem, and it is more and more necessary for the Government of the day to know the view of those immediately concerned in the several trades of the country. An industrial council is, therefore, useful to the Government in providing one voice for the industry concerned. Such a council can present the views of all those employed in the industry, and it can suggest or promote any further legislation which may be necessary. On the other hand if the Government desires anything done by an industry, an industrial council may be the best instrument through which it may be done. Thus, the resettlement of workers and the regularisation of employment may be referred by the Government to industrial councils. The whole scheme is flexible. It is not a rigid programme for every industry and it is capable of endless variations to suit particular circumstances. There are many problems which arise when it is desired to establish an industrial council; for example, the problem of the extent and boundaries of an industry. There are many trades which seem to belong to more than one industry, and some industries, such as engineering, seem to be too complex to be treated as a single industry. Again, what in the abstract appears to be one industry may have very distinct branches in different parts of the country, and generally the organisation of employers' associations and of trades unions cuts across the boundaries of many industries. All these facts necessitate adjustment and compromise; the conditions and circumstances affecting an industry and especially the state of organisation among employers and workers must be fully investigated before any application can be made of the ideas of the Whitley Committee and clearly some industries may not be suitable for joint industrial councils. On the other hand the idea of joint discussion of non-controversial issues may affect many trades and industries in which no council is set up. Further problems arise as to the position of clerical and supervisory staffs, the rights of a district council in regard to the functions of the national council, the treatment of employers who are not members of any association, the interests of non-unionists in the workshops, and many other such points, But all these problems can be solved by due consideration of particular circumstances; and indeed experience has already proved what can be done. Councils and Trade Boards Joint industrial councils differ in many important respects from such bodies as trade boards: their relation and their differences are fully explained in the pamphlet on the subject published by the Ministry of Labour (Industrial Reports, No. 3, Industrial Councils and Trade Boards). Here it is only necessary to emphasise some of the chief points of difference. A trade board is a statutory body whose decisions are made binding by law; but an industrial council is a voluntary body with no statutory powers. A trade board is set up by the Government in the case of trades which are not completely organised and in which the wages appear to be exceptionally low. It contains members appointed by the Government, but all members of an industrial council are elected by associations in the industry. The subjects usually dealt with by an industrial council are wider than those usually dealt with by a trade board; and a trade board usually represents a section rather than the whole of an industry. The new Trade Boards Act of 1918, however, adds considerably to the possible functions of a trade board, and makes it possible to increase the number of trade boards more rapidly than under the old system. Interim Industrial Reconstruction Committees In many industries there has been delay in setting up industrial councils. The circumstances of war-time made it difficult for some industries to organise rapidly; and yet it was essential that these industries should have some joint bodies to speak for them and to act within such industries on the problems of resettlement and reconstruction. The following is a list of industries in which interim industrial reconstruction committees have been formed since March 22nd, 1918:-Artificial stone, basket-making, blacksmiths and farriers, brass and copper (advisory), brush-making, catering, clay industries, cocoa, chocolate, sugar, confectionery and jam, cooperage, cutlery, envelopes and manufactured stationery, fertilisers (including sections for basic slag, sulphate of ammonia and fish guano), furniture removing, gas mantles, glass, gloves, lead manufactures, leather production, lock, safe and latch, music trades, non-ferrous mines, optical instruments, packing, paper-making, patent fuel, petroleum lamps, polish (boot and floor), quarrying, railway carriage and wagon building, sugar refining, wholesale clothing (women's trade, light section), wire drawing, zinc and spelter. These bodies have done much work during their short existence, and they have formed the initial movement for future joint industrial councils. The future of the whole organisation of industry is still undecided. There may be a very great and important development of the ideas and suggestions expressed in the reports of the Whitley Committee, but that is a matter of prophecy. What has been described in this pamphlet is historical fact, and it is sufficient to indicate how joint consultation between employers and workers may promote the best interest of all concerned. FUNCTIONS AND CONSTITUTION OF WORKS COMMITTEES1 District Councils The Whitley report states that: The National Joint Industrial Council should not be regarded as complete in itself: What is needed is a triple organization-in the workshops, the districts, and nationally. Moreover, it is essential that the organization at each of these stages should proceed on a common principle, and that the greatest measure of common action between them should be secured. With this end in view, we are of opinion that the following proposal should be laid before the National Joint Industrial Councils. That district councils representative of the trade-unions and of employers' associations in the industry should be created or developed out of the existing machinery for negotiation in the various trades. It is clear that the Whitley report contemplates wherever possible that the joint industrial council should be established in the first instance, and that this national council should as soon as possible consider the question of the formation of district councils. In almost all the constitutions of joint councils hitherto submitted to the Minister of Labor, the following appears among the more specific objects of the joint industrial council: The consideration of the proposal for district councils as put forward in the Whitley report, having regard in each case to any such organization as may already be in existence. At the request of several of the joint industrial councils already formed, the Ministry of Labor has drawn up the following memorandum on the constitution and functions of district councils, which is to be regarded as putting forward not hardand-fast rules, but suggestions which may serve as a basis for discussion when the question of district councils is being considered by joint industrial councils. The underlying principle British Ministry of Labour, 1 From Industrial Reports. January, 1919. No. 4. |