Labour policy—false and true

by Lynden Livingston Macassey

The Corn Production Acts (Repeal) Act, 1921, was thereupon passed. That Act abolished minimum prices and wages, created a special fund of £1,000,000 for agricultural development, and provided that the Minister of Agriculture as respects England and Wales, and the Board of Agriculture for Scotland as respects Scotland, should be empowered to take steps to secure the voluntary formation of local Joint Conciliation Committees, representative of persons (whether owners or occupiers of agricultural land) employing persons in agriculture, and of agricultural workpeople, for the purpose of dealing with rates of wages, hours of work and conditions of employment. The Act provides that a rate of wages agreed upon by a Joint Conciliation Committee, and on the Committee’s application, confirmed by the Minister and duly advertised, becomes the wage legally payable in the area, unless the Committee certifies that under the special circumstances of a particular case it is satisfied that a contract for a lower rate is fair and reasonable, or, in the event of the Committee refusing so to certify, the Court in which proceedings are taken for the recovery of the rate agreed by the Committee is so satisfied.

The Establishment of Joint Conciliation Committees in England and Wales

As the Ministry of Agriculture’s function is confined to moral suasion, the task of getting these Committees established is a difficult one, and the Ministry is to be congratulated on the progress it has made. Many farmers are still incensed at the repeal of the Corn Production Act, and the resulting loss to them of a substantial subsidy on wheat and oats, and are inclined to resent any action by the Ministry. The leaders of the workers are equally incensed at the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board with its compulsory powers, and demand its re-establishment. The scheme of Conciliation Committees, moreover, was launched at an unpropitious time. Prices were falling rapidly, and farmers, after having cultivated their crops throughout the year on the basis of a fairly high cost of production with wages at a high level, found themselves compelled to sell their produce at prices less, in many cases, than half those of the previous year. In consequence they pressed for substantial and immediate wage reductions. From the workers’ point of view the autumn of 1921 was equally inopportune for initiating a new system of settling wages, as, owing to the favourable summer, work on the farm was well advanced and farmers were in a position to reduce their staffs. In addition, the growing amount of unemployment materially weakened the workers’ bargaining power.

The Work of the Conciliation Committees

The greatest tact and discretion was, therefore, necessary to avoid any appearance of undue interference by the Ministry, and at the same time powerful persuasion had to be exercised to induce both sides to come to an agreement. The officers of the Ministry (assisted by officers appointed for the purpose by the Minister of Labour) have, notwithstanding all these difficulties, succeeded with signal ability in embedding already the roots of the scheme deep down into the agricultural industry. In the short time which has elapsed since the passing of the Act of 1921, 61 Committees have been established, covering the whole of the country, and of these, 54 have made agreements, though in some cases they have only been for short periods. In the remaining 7 areas, although efforts to agree have been made, no agreement has yet been reached.

The rate of wages which is now being paid generally for male agricultural workers is about 30s. to 32s. for 48-50 hours, and many Conciliation Committees have agreed on these rates. In the north of England the rates are usually somewhat higher, while in East Anglia and in several counties where no agreements have been reached the employers refuse to offer more than 30s., a rate which the workers equally refuse to accept. These rates compare with the Wages Board rate of 46s. for 48-50 hours, which was in force up to the beginning of September 1921. The Wages Board at their last meeting reduced this rate to 42s., which was the rate in force when the Conciliation Committees came into being. There was a fall in October 1921, to 36s. per week, followed by a gradual diminution to the rates mentioned above. Long period agreements running up to the beginning of October 1922, were successfully concluded in several counties with the assistance of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, at 32s. for 48 hours up to the beginning of March 1922, and 31s. for 50 hours over the remainder of the period. These long term agreements are a hopeful feature. The farmer gets a settled rate of wage when farm operations are in full swing, including both hay and corn harvest; the labourer gets a certain minimum wage, under which he will benefit by further falls in the cost of living during the currency of the agreement. At the same time, the rates now operative make full allowance for the changes to date in the cost of living. Taking the pre-war average cash wages at 16s. 9d. per week, the comparative figure based on the cost of living index number for June 1, 1922, of 80 per cent. over July 1914, would be 32s. 2d., and it is probably true to say that the agricultural labourer has experienced, since October 1921, a greater reduction in wages than most other trades. From the farmers’ point of view, however, the fall in wages is more than justified by the drop in prices, which has been appreciably more rapid than the fall in the cost of living.

One most encouraging circumstance is the extent to which concluded agreements are faithfully observed by the farmers. The Committees have no direct power to enforce their decisions; they may send their agreements to the Minister of Agriculture for confirmation and then under the Act payment of the agreed rates becomes recoverable at law. As yet five Committees only have asked for confirmation of their agreements. On the whole, employers are opposed to confirmation, and the workers do not demand it. Although the agreements are in the main observed by employers, the workers’ representatives complain that this is not so in every case. If there were any serious tendency towards non-observance the employers on the Conciliation Committees would agree to submission of agreements for confirmation; they would not allow some employers to evade payment of the agreed rates while others paid. The absence of any such general demand indicates that, substantially, the agreed wages are being paid.

Agriculture and Unemployment Insurance

The Labour Party makes the singularly disingenuous complaint that the Government does not apply the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme to persons engaged in agriculture. The true facts are that on December 2, 1920, the Agricultural Wages Board appointed a Committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Rew, K.C.B., comprising representatives of employers and also representatives of unions whose members were engaged in agriculture, to report upon the extent to which the Unemployment Insurance Acts could practicably, and with benefit, be applied to agricultural workers. The Report of the Committee (Parliamentary Paper, 1921, Cmd. 1344) was unanimous, and to the effect that there was general opposition both by employers and workers to the inclusion of agriculture under the provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Scheme. One of the workers’ representatives, a signatory to this finding, appended a note to say that he believed in some districts there was an undoubted desire of the agricultural workers to be included under the Act—notwithstanding that, neither his finding nor that of the other workers’ representatives recommended the extension of the Unemployment Insurance Acts to agriculture.