The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-06-12
a new Departure in the History of La
s.. bOur,

a new Departure in the History of La
bour.
Denny & Brothers, of the Ieven
Shipyard, Dumbarton, Scotland have
taken a rather unique step in dealing
with their workmen. Some time ago
it was thought advisable to revise
and extend the yard rules. Instead
of altering the rules to suit their own
desires, the Messrs, Denny asked the
assistance and cooperation of all
classes of their workmen in the task
of revision. For that purpose a Sc
ries of conferences were held, which
were attended by the members of the
firm, the members of the staff, and
delegates appointed by the workers.
At the final conference, Mr.. VIM.
Denny, addressing the delegates, said
he believed such conferences were
the first in the whole history of la
bour in which employers and en-
ployed had together discussed rules
and come to q friendly and roaaona-
BILE conclusion upon them. There
were three things in the conference
which had pleased him greatly. The
first was the manly, straightforward
criticism of the. men when they
thought criticism was required.
There was no attempt to please by
hiding honest opinion, land he thought
they were encouraged to be frank by
knowing that the hiding of honest
opinion would not be in any way to
the favour of the firm. The feature
distinguishing the conference were
the generous consideration shown by
the journeymen for those less favour
ably situated than themselves. Mr..
Mitchell, the joiDers' delegate, had
struck the keynote in this excellent
direction when he proposed that the
fines, instead Of being on single
scale, should be graded in proportion
to the ability to pay them, and that
there should not be the same fines
for a labourer as for u journeyman,
nor for q boy and apprentice as for n
labourer. The same spirit was shown
by all the joumcymcn in the reAd,-
ness with which they agreed to dis"
pense with the services of the doctor
beyond the first attendance, provid
ed the doctor gave full attendance
until recovery to the labourers, ap-
prentices and boys.
The results of the conferences were,
Mr.. Denny said, first, that they had
Il workable, just, aud effective code
of rules. He believed the code Of
rules agreed upon would be more ef-
1icient from the workmen having had
u share in making them, and having
given them their approval. Mr., Den
ny then referred to the further eX-
tension of privileges to the children
of workmon, by which the vacancies
for girls in the art, upholstery and
polishing were reserved to their
daughters. Apart from all items Of
Improvement, there were three great
principles established by and under
lying these rules. The first was that
no employer should make q profit
out of the fines of his workers. But
they had gone further, and had so
enlarged the principle for the Leven
Shipyard, that in all fines the mas
ters should be fined with the men,
that the masters should take their
part III the punishment in so far as
money could represent it and that all
the money, both the mems fines and
the masters eqivalent, should be
returned to themen as a body through
The accident fund. These principles
lifted the fines above any suspicion
either of profit or personal Vindic-
tiveness. The second principle was
that, as civilized nations nowadays
were not ruled by laws that had had
no hand in making, neither should
the workmen of a great public work
be ruled by laws which they had no
voice i'll preparing and approving.
The third principle was that the fines
should be varied, not according to
impulse, buI according to broad, gem
cral principles which could be admit
ted as just, and applied to all future
changes to them. lie sincerely hop
ed, for the future of the labour ques-
ton, that these principles might be-
come widely Observation-Disclosures
lean Journal.
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