SCENE STILL COMPLEX

Chronicle (Levin), 15 November 1949, Page 5

SCENE STILL COMPLEX

(N.7 P.A.—

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BritaiaStill WnikFwHer Workers Td Resjiond

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Received Monday, 7 jb.iri, LONDON,iSiCy.- 14 There hkve bee'n S'oiiie' iflter'ekting' de- . velopmBhts in Bfitish ihdiisfry diiriiig • the past w|ek or tch dSyS. §hdy fldw ih large measurC from Mr Attfee 'S' "(!iitsy' brdadcAst, which waS sd.poor'iy rdc&iVSq by a #5de sfiC'tion of the British PreS's. , Br'ie'Sy"; they af§ sdVferal 16SiSnct& | workers in firmS Vbitihfeefiiig tb W0js f lohger . hdhi-S eith&b , wifhdht oV&ftfai^ f, ,pay of tidth o'hly^time hhd a qtikH&i) aha that the policy df .Wfege iheehtiv'di; l' is being mdfe widely de'bated; " Though it wduid k&m pfdihfitW^ td' suggest that a ' ' ne'tv Spirit'4 to matCh : Britaiii 's ecdndihiC diffiedltieS* is ifidd-' ' spread in industry dr that Govefhmeitt: . exhortsttiahs to ' ' WOrk hdr ddr " hkVd met with more SuCeess th&n- ' thoSd aehieved during the pfest two yearfe, yCt there hre Certainly SigiiS Of kn iirCipieiit . response; The chief publicity fdr it cattie froffl Mf Attlee himself in a spedeh at the Lord MajmrJs banquet, When he departed from tralition and instead of refer; ring to foreign affairs,. dealt with Somesticities. Though he spdke of some workers and managements who ' ' m some qases are hanging back frorfi giying that full measure -of effort by which we can alone survive," he listed seven firms, taken at random in different paris ' of the country/ ' ' wdrthy of ohr fepplausd and commendation; " One had started a second shift; Another increased output by an agrfeement to work longer hours. A third hfia doubled the output per man in tWo years. Others had encouraged- production by a bonus scheme or worked longer hours. In addition to these instanees mentioned by Mr Attlee, there is agreement in other firms to work a 5J-day week instead of a 5-day, irqn and steel workers have abandoned their claim to revert to a 40-hour instead of a 48-hour week "m view of the national emergency,5' and in certain eoal fields, notably Dufham, there have been voluntary agreements to work Saturday morning shifts. Thougn there is a tendeney to observe of the examples given by Mr Attlee. and these other cases, that they are cxceptional rather than general, yet news about them has spTead a measure of encouragement about the state of affairs in Britain, that has been lacki-ng latterly. This encouragement is teinperedj however, by the decision of the TradeS Union Congress to ,suspend once again their advice to aMliated uniohs bn tne wage poliey after devdluation of the pound, until they have discussed the subject still further With the Government. It is also counfered by sixch ineidetits as the decision of the Conf eder htiott of Engineering and Shipbuilding UhionS to proceed with a demahd fof £i a week rise in pay fof 2,500,000 WbrkCrS, and of the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers ordering nine: caf pent er" s to walk or use trams or busdl ih travfeiling from job to job and not tO Cycle. The general industrial scene, thferefoTe, remains complex— instahces of feS1 tra output being mingled with dissktisfaetion over rates of pay aiid easeS of blatant restrictive practiCes. Whiie the T.U.C. has been dCliberating over wages, however, Mf Mofrisbn has made his "those who want mofe than a mihimum standard of life must eontribute more than a minimtiin days work" speech, and Lord McGowan, chairman of Imperial Chemical InduStries, has plumped for pieCC wbrlt. "What we need,'* he said, "is not a wage structure guaranteeing a certain standard of living, but a Wage pblicy Of ineentives and sanctions which will Cneourage the indiistrious atid penalise the lazy. The true solution to my mind, is not to work longer hours but to obtain greatbr pfoduction from existing hours by greater effort." Both of these are interesting examples of opihion which are bdiiig eteadily fostered— that some system of ineentives shoiild be applied throughout industry generally— and for which there appears to be a groWing measure of support. ,