The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1942-12-31
British Enlist 7,
Advice Of Labor
Workers Are Represented
On Production Boards
In Many Industries.

/ LONDON.-For the first time in
British history move is being
made on a national scale to enlist
the skill and experience of the men
and women in the factories and
workshops to stimulate output. u
In practically all engineering
factories the workers are electing
representatives to joint production
committees, writes Jack Tanner,
president of the Engineering Union
of Great Britain, expressing his per-
sonal views in an article made pub
lie by the British information serv-
ices. Formerly this had been the
task of the homogeneous alone.
! workers engaged on the job had
no machinery for bringing forward
ideas" says Mr.. Tanner. Often
they felt frustrated because they
could see that things were going
wrong, but were denied the right of
helping to put matters straight. s~.
.Now that the National Engineer
ing Employers federation has fol-
lowed the lead of the government
and agreed with all the engineering
trade unions on plan for joint
committees, on which elected trade
union representatives of the work
people will sit with equal rights with
the managerial nominees, ! con-
fidently look forward to striking in
creases in output. ~ 10. 1882.
MY union recently conducted an
inquiry into Britain's production eff
fort. We obtained statistics from
nearly 1000 factories engaged on all
types of war output, and employing
some 100000 workers. We found
that where, prior to the national
agreement, production committees
had already been set up, they had
succeeded in pushing up production
at far greater rate than in under
takings where no such committee
was at work.
"a great deal of this increase was
attributed to suggestions put for
ward by the workers, who had de-
vised methods to secure economy in
labor power, had proposed means
for better organization in the fac
tory and had taken steps to improve
the training given to the vast num-
bers of unskilled men and women
who are becoming increasingly re-
sponsible for handling the vast. war
machine being built up in the fac
tories.
81 think it is true to say that many
of the employers were amazed to
find the wide range of knowledge
among their workers. They have
discovered that skilled engineers
not only understand their particular
craft, but have also mastered to a
considerable extent the wider prob
lens of their industry.
81 have dealt only with my own
industry, but this form of negotia-
ton and cooperation between en-
ployers and workers is by no means
confined to engineering. Right at
the beginning of the war, the trade
union movement secured govern
ment pledge that no decisions af-
fecting the workers would be taken
without the appropriate trade unions
being consulted.
''That pledge has been kept. Err
nest Bevin, the minister of labor,
has carried out the greatest mobile
cation of man power in British his
tory, but he has done it all in full
consultation with joint committee
composed of representatives of the
British Trade Union Congress Gem
eral council and the British Employ
ers confederation.
'"This industrial democracy has
enabled employees, employers and
government to work together
through the stormy years. of war.
] believe it must be maintained and
developed for the equally difficult
days of peace. If we succeed in
doing that, we shall have gone some
of the way toward ensuring that the
promises now being made to the
people are realized" +. :