The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-04-10
LABOR news
FROM BRITAIN
. WAR FASTENING REFORMS
. TRADE UNION
SAFEGUARDS
. NATIONAL ECONOMY

The growing State control of British
and the British labour re-
sources has led to much comment
abroad. Not all of it, l think, would
be regarded as accurate by British
labour leaders. British industry
and the British worker-are certainly
now subjected to restrictions against
which they would have fought strenu-
ously under normal conditions.
But the times are abnormal. These
have arisen out of the
of the war situation. They
are not being applied indiscriminately
or in any sweeping way and the Gov
ernment's new powers are held in
check by elaborate safeguards.
They apply a commonsense solution
to problems which are not peculiar to
a period of war. Similar problems
have arisen also in peacetime, but it
has not been possible to deal with
them so completely in peacetime as
they are being dealt with now under
the stress of war. The war is forcing
the peace of reforms which might
otherwise have taken many years.
X x X
Take the first of them. Under one
Order scheduling essential work, men
are tied to their jobs.
This is essentially measure to
prevent wasteful and unnecessary
turnover of labor in the vital indus
tries. The new Order does not tie all
workers to their jobs. 1t ties only
those who are employed in undertak-
ings which are scheduled by the Min
lister of Labor in consultation with
his colleagues, as essential to wal
production.
The main stipulation of the Order
is that when an undertaking is sc
scheduled it's labor force and it's man
agement shall, as far as possible, get
on with the job with the utmost speec
and efficiency and with a minimum OF
labor turn over.
Thus, the employer, and the man
agement in such an undertaking, can
not fire workman except for serious
misconduct
The management cannot keep mer
standing around on short time OF
stood off for day or more in the
working week without paying the
guaranteed wage for the guaranteed
week. And the workman who is re
fused leave to change his job has {
right of appeal against the interpreta
tion of the Ministry's National Service
Order.
If workman is dismissed for "seri
Gus misconduct" he has a right o
appeal. And the appeal tribunals in
clude a representative of the work
people, appointed by the Unions
through the r. U. c., with a repre-
sentative of the employers, and an in
dependent chairman.
The T. U. C. is taking care tha
the workpeople's representative OF
each tribunal shall be a man of ex
perience. They are drawing upon tn
panels of Trade Union representative
set up in connection with the Court
of Referees under the Unemployment
Insurance Acts, and the Hardshi
Tribunals under the Military Training
Acts.
Not very much industrial con
scription, coercion, or arbitrary con
troll over the workers is possible i
these circumstances.
X X X
Take the secod point-the combin
out of men of military age from in
dustry. This involves revision o
the Schedule Of Reserved Occupations
The revised list has yet to be pub
lshed. | am able, however, withou
betraying confidence, to indicate tn
changes that are being made in thi
important instrument for reservin
to industry the key men for the ke
jobs.
The Schedule in its original forr
was based upon the principle of re
serving an entire occupation. In tha
reserved occupation single age-limi
was specified for all the workers i
the particular category; and thoug
the age reservation has been raise
for some occupations in previous re
visions of the Schedule, the principl
of reservation on the basis of "ke
occupations" was left untouched.
In the new Schedule soon to b
published both the principle of reser
walton by age and by occupation wi
be modified.
1t is proposed to raise the age o
reservation in many categories i
three stages, beginning in April an
to be completed (probably) by Octo
ber of the present year. Roughl
speaking the reservation age will b
advanced in these three stages by t
10 years.
But the most important change Wi
be to base reservation not on the oc
cupation, but on the job the man i
doing within the occupational cate
CORY.
1t is recognized that not every ma
in a reserved category of workers
necessarily a key man, or indispen
sable. No man is Indispensable
war time certainly-if his job can b