The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-04-02
LABOR NEWS
FROM BRITAIN
Joint Committee Will Help
Speed OF Production In
Ordnance Factories

London-A significant development
has just taken. place in the relations
of workers and management in the
Royal Ordnance Factories.
The Director-General of these Gov
eminent establishments and the Trade
Unions concerned-mainly the engi-
neering group-have agreed upon a
scheme for setting up Factory Produc-
tion Committees, representing both the
wOrkpeople and the management, to
deal with production difficulties.
The prime purpose of these joint
committees is to bring the workers and
the arrangements together in closer
and mutually helpful relations, and to
enable the knowledge and experience
of the workers representatives to he
brought to bear on workshop problems
i'm direct association with the manage
meni In this, as model employer. the
Government is setting an example to
the war trades as il whole.
Elected BY Ballot
The workers representatives on the
committees will be chosen by the men
(and women) in the plant. NOmina
tonS will be taken i'm each plant, and
Il ballot held on list of names APP
proved by the unions concerned. The
unions are associated with the choice
not to exceed ten, to ensure that re-
Sponsiblc, knOwledgeable and level
headed men get their chance of cleo
tion.
Grcaat stress is laid upon the i'm
porlance of getting the right men to
constitute the workers side. The sue
cess of the entire plan depends upon
This. If the wrong men are chosen AMI
The committee becomes merely Il cock
pit for SquabbeS with the manag cement
the plan will be wrecked. On the other
hand. the unions realize that if senSi-
Bile and experienced men are given the
opportunity to discuss with the man
agemcnt every kind of workshop diff
Guilty which impedes production, a
really significant step will have been
taken in union-management coOpera-
ton.
The adoption of this plan in the
Royal Ordnance Factories will give an
impetus TO the parallel proposal for
setting UP Works Production Commit
tees i'm the munitions trade as a whole.
The r. L. {. discussions of this project
with the unions in the engineering and
Shipbuiding trades has produced
agreement upon the principles and the
details.
These conform closely with the plan
for the Royal Ordnance Factories
That is to say, the Works Production
Committee is to he elective; the unions
are to supervise the ballot, and they
will be kept in continuous touch with
the activities of the committee.
How these Joint bodies will work is
indicated in the plan for the Royal
Ordnance Factories. 1t is proposed that
In the alternate week the managerial
representatives, with their secretary
will get together and decide what bust
ness they want to put on the agenda
similarly the workers representatives
with their secretary, will meet to coIl,
slider what matters they think it neces
Sary to raise.
The jointly framed agenda will then
be circulated, and i'm the following
week the committee will assemble, un
der the chairmanship of the Superin
tendent of the factory, and discuss
the matters raised.
II is stipulated that no questions
about wages and general conditions OF
employment which are within tho
province of the trade unions are to be
dcalth with by the factory commmit
tee: all such matters will continue t'
be settled by the normal methods OF
collective bargaining between unions
and employers organizations.
But everything that happens in the
workshops, affecting production, in
Guiding the factors which prevent ful
use to tools and machinery and cause
output to fall below maximum capac
ity, will be within the competence OF
he committee.