The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-04-24
LABOR NEWS
FROM BRITAIN
. PRINCIPLES MAINTAINED
. WOMEN REPLACE MEN
. CRITICS COMPOUNDED

to recruit 100000 women for filling
factories and the announcement of in
dustrial registration for all women.
These measures do not, however, in
volve a reckless substitution of wo-
men for men in every branch of in
dustry. Side by side with them there
is careful conservation of the
country's reserves of skilled crafts
men, and an equally careful protection
Of the Unions position.
The first step under the new In
dustrial Registration Order is an in
struction to all men aged 20 or over
who have worked in any of the ship
building and ship repairing trades to
register forwith at their local en-
ployment exchange. Every man who
has worked for twelve months or
more in a long list of these crafts
must register, no matter what job
ne may be doing now. The only ex-
ception is for men already employed
on shipbuilding or repairing.
Secondly, we have the negotiation
If Trade Union agreements to govern
the employment of substitute labor
and to define the conditions upon
which women shall take the place of
men.
The main principle insisted upon
has been "the rate for the job"
Unions applied this principle in stipu-
ating that the wages of women in
training for mems work shall advance
oy stages until they equal the mems
rate when the women are fully quail
fed. Agreements of this nature are
already in operation in the engineer
ing, transport, printing, electrical and
other trades, including technicians of
the cinema industry.
X X X
Unions are also alert to the neces-
sity of preventing the break down of
other vitality important Union func-
tions by an uncontrolled flood of sub
stitute labor. An agreement just
reached by the Unions in the printing
trades with the Federation of Master
Printers and the Newspaper Society
illustrates this aspect of the ques-
ton.
Only when the Union in any one of
these crafts is unable to meet an en-
ployer's requirements is substitute la
Dor to be employed Where women
have to be introduced, the employer
must as far as possible give prefer
ence to women already employed in
the printing industry. If for any
reason an employer is compelled to
reduce staff in any department he
must dispense first with the substituted
labor.
Further safeguards embodied in
this agreement-typical of others
include an undertaking from the en-
ployers that men leaving jobs to go
into the armed forces or other natl
onal service must be reinstated at the
end of the war
This, of course, is statutory obli-
cation, laid down in the Military
Training Acts. But the printers
Unions have stipulated that the rein
stated men shall have the wages they
were getting when they left, plus any
advances obtained by their Union in
their absence. And finally, it has
been agreed that pre-war conditions
which are suspended or modified dur
ing the war emergency shall be re-
stored in their entirety.
The terms Of such agreements show
how the Unions are keeping the stu
alton under control. Industry won't
be water-logged by "dilution of labor"
as it was at the end of the last war.
From the same standpoint, immense
Importance attaches to the successful
assertion by the Trade Unions Of the
principle of the guaranteed week. |
encountered the other day in the cor
ridors of his Union building, Arthur
Deakin, the Acting General Secre-
tary of the Transport and General
Workers Unio.l-the man who is now
doing the work Ernest Bevin left to
take on the job of Minister of La
5or Deakin was insistent that trade
unionists should appreciate the full
significance of the scheme now COM
ing into operation in the northern
ports to expedite the turnround of
ships.
This scheme, Arthur Deakin said,
marks an end of the system of casual
labor in dock service. All who were
on the register and available for work
on March this year We're assured
Of employment at guaranteed rate
of S2s.6d. for 44-hour week More
! over, piece work is to be correlated
with the time basis to ensure that the
more tonnage man handles the big
ger his pay-packet will be.
No longer will the doctors have to
hang about for the "call-on" and take
their chance of getting job in dis
charging or loading ships.
Nor will they suffer the disadvan-
tages of the bonus system of pay
ment. They will be paid on a straight
piece basis.
All the money earned in the hand.
ling of the agreed tonnage will be
paid to the Ministry Of Transport who
will pass it over to the gang that
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