Labour policy—false and true

by Lynden Livingston Macassey

Should the parties so desire, a dispute can be referred by the Minister of Labour under the Act either to a single arbitrator appointed by him or to a special Board of Arbitration composed of members selected by the parties from panels of persons appointed by him to act on these Boards. Reference to the Industrial Court is, however, the normal procedure. A dispute may be referred for settlement under the Industrial Courts Act only after the exhaustion of all available means for conciliation already existing in the trade. Under the Industrial Courts Act, the Minister has power to establish a Court of Inquiry to investigate the causes and circumstances of any industrial dispute, whether the dispute exists or is merely apprehended; moreover, to this course the consent of the parties is not required. These Courts have no power to settle the dispute by arbitration, but are restricted to making a report which serves to put before the public an impartial account of the merits of the case, with possibly a recommendation as to the best course to be pursued to effect a settlement.

The policy of the Ministry of Labour is to place the prime responsibility for the harmonious working of industry upon the employers and employed in each industry, and only to intervene when negotiations between the employers and the Trade Unions have broken down, and then merely for the purpose of bringing them together again and trying to promote a solution of the difficulty acceptable to both sides. Since the armistice, the industrial situation has been peculiarly difficult, and in certain disputes, there has been a political as well as an industrial element which would have made a settlement almost impossible whatever machinery existed, but on the whole it may be claimed that the existing policy of the Ministry of Labour has been fully justified by the results.

Statutory Minimum Wages

Voluntary conciliation machinery can function successfully only in those trades where both employers and workpeople are sufficiently well-organized to enable a collective agreement to be made effective. There must always remain a large section of industry which is poorly organized and for which other means are required for the proper regulation of conditions. State action has accordingly been found necessary to enable the less well-organized trades to fix minimum wages and to enforce proper observance of them; this has been done by means of Trade Boards. The Trade Boards Act of 1909 was passed with the avowed object of eradicating the evils of “sweating”; four trades only were included under the Act, but power was given to the responsible Department (then the Board of Trade) to bring additional trades under the Act from time to time by Provisional Order. In 1918, an amending Act was passed substituting procedure by Special Order for procedure by Provisional Order and modifying the description of the trades which could be brought under the Acts. The Minister of Labour is empowered to extend the Trade Boards Acts to trades to which the Acts do not already apply, if he considers there is no effective machinery in them for the regulation of wages, and that, in view of the rates of wages prevailing in them, a Trade Board is desirable. For this purpose an investigation into the conditions in the industry is first made and, if there be a prima facie case for the application of the Acts, the Minister gives notice of his intention to make a Special Order under the Acts. A period of at least forty days must be allowed, in which, if objections are received, the Minister must order a public inquiry to be held by some person not in Government employment, unless he decides to amend or withdraw the order, or unless the objections are merely frivolous. On receiving the report of the inquiry, the Minister then decides whether he should make an Order with a view to establishing the proposed Trade Board or not.

A Trade Board consists of an equal number of representatives of employers and of workpeople in the trade, to whom are added a neutral chairman and two or four persons unconnected with the trade, who are known as “appointed members.” Where there is any organization among the workpeople or employers, the Trade Unions and employers’ associations are asked to nominate representatives. Where there is no effective organization, the only practicable method is for the Minister to nominate members selected to represent the various types of work done in the trade and the various districts where it is carried on. The number of members varies according to the needs of the trade. Where women are largely employed in the trade, at least one of the “appointed members” must be a woman.

A Trade Board must fix a minimum rate or rates of wages for time-work. Where no other rate has been fixed, piece-workers must be paid at rates sufficient to yield to an ordinary worker at least as much money as the minimum time-rate. It also has power to fix general minimum piece-rates, a guaranteed time-rate for piece-workers, a piece-work basis time-rate on which piece-work prices must be based, overtime rates, and for this purpose the Board has power to declare what is the normal number of working hours per week in the trade. A Board can, if it thinks fit, fix minimum rates of wages for all classes of workers throughout its trade, or, if it chooses, fix only a general minimum time-rate, and leave other rates to be settled between the employers and workpeople themselves. When a rate has been fixed, every employer in the trade must exhibit the Trade Board’s notice, giving full particulars of the rate, in his factory, or in the place where work is given out. Any employer who pays wages at less than the minimum rate is liable to a fine of £20 for each offence and to a further fine of £5 for each day after his conviction on which he fails to pay the legal rate. Any worker who thinks he is not receiving the rate due to him may complain to the Minister of Labour or to the Trade Board.

The number of Trade Boards at present in existence is 44. Of these 5 are for England and Wales, 5 for Scotland, and 34 for Great Britain. By May 10, 1922, 30 Boards had been set up in Ireland. These Boards covered in all approximately 3 million workpeople. The Trade Boards are independent bodies, though they are financed and staffed by the Ministry of Labour and though their rates are subject, as described above, to confirmation by the Minister. The Minister of Labour has announced his intention to introduce legislation dealing with the recommendations of a Committee appointed in September 1921, under the chairmanship of Lord Cave, to inquire into the working and effect of the Trade Boards Acts (Parliamentary Paper, 1922, Cmd. 1645). A statement of the Government’s new policy appears at p. 286 of the Labour Gazette for July 1922.

Employment Exchanges

The Ministry of Labour is responsible for the administration of the Employment Exchanges established under the Labour Exchanges Act, 1909, which now number over 400 in Great Britain. The work of the Exchanges falls under two main heads, viz., that of bringing together employers requiring workpeople, and workpeople desiring employment, and that of administering the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme. As illustrating the amount of work performed by the Exchanges during the seven years 1914 to 1920 inclusive, the average number of yearly placings was 1,360,000. The organization of the Exchanges provides a ready means of bringing a demand for labour from any part of the United Kingdom into touch immediately with a supply in any other part. Railway warrants are issued by the Exchanges in necessitous cases subject to a signed undertaking being given, either by the workman or his prospective employer, to repay the amount involved.

Women are dealt with in a separate department of each Exchange, which, in all but the very smallest Exchanges, is in charge of a woman officer and is staffed by women. The administration of unemployment insurance has greatly increased the work of the Exchanges in connection with women. Under the old Insurance Acts about 500,000 women were insured against unemployment, but this number has been increased to 2,750,000 under the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1920. Since the war, in addition to dealing with industrial and commercial occupations, the Exchanges deal with private resident domestic service as a permanent part of their work, and also with applicants who are desirous of obtaining employment over-seas. They co-operate with the Central Committee on Women’s Training and Employment in selecting women for training courses. In all these matters, and in interviewing and advising unemployed women, valuable assistance is rendered by the Women’s Sub-Committees of the Local Employment Committees. Boys and girls under the age of eighteen are dealt with in a special department of each Exchange, except in the case of the smallest Exchanges. In about 250 areas, Juvenile Employment Committees have been set up in connection with Juvenile Departments of Exchanges. These Committees have been appointed under the Labour Exchanges Act, 1909, the Education (Choice of Employment) Act, 1910, or the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908.