THE PROBLEM OF INDUSTRIAL UNREST.
[COMMUNICATED.] / THE appointment of Commissions to investigate the causes
of industrial unrest was one of the wisest stops taken by any Government in dealing with labour problems during the present generation.. The very serious mistake had been made hitherto of attempting to solve labour troubles without first arriving at any understanding of their real nature. Probably the main reason for this has been the difficulty of reaching such an understanding, for this can only be done by gaining the most intimate knowledge of the conditions, circumstances, and general environment of the classes of labour in which those symptoms of unrest are most obvious. Clearly enough, such knowledge exists, but in by far the groat majority of eases it is inarticulate. True, we have a small host of Labour leaders, Trade Union officials, members of Trades Councils, and soon, but it by no means follows that such men, able as many of them undoubtedly aro, have the faculty of insight into the true meaning of all the factors which go to the making of the problem. 'Though these officials have in many cases themselves experienced the routine of bench or forge or mill or foundry, they- have left these things so far behind them, and have become so moulded to the environment of office, committee-room, public platform, or House of Commons bench, that they are often only a shade better fitted to understand the matter than the professional politician.
It must be realized by all who are seeking to deal with tine problem that present-day industrial unrest is given rise to by and under conditions which are absolutely unique in history, and only those who are actually undergoing the experience of these conditions can grasp their meaning. Most omen with some degree of education and a measure of the faculty of organization can evolve and discuss schemes for improving the relationship between Labour and Capital, Labour and the State, systems of division of profits, of co-partnership, of the minimum wage and bonuses on production, and discover how much any or all of these schemes, in so far as they have• been put into practice, have helped to elucidate the older problems of labour. But the discussion of these things at the present time is often en actual hindrance to the discovery of those unique factors due to present-day conditions which undoubtedly are the moat serious in their effect. And one cannot but feel that the Commissions might have gone a little further and deeper into these factors than is implied in the conclusions recently published if they had been able to obtain a fuller insight into the lifo of the average worker.
The causes of preeent industrial unrest are not entirely to be found in "food profiteering," "distrust of Government promises as to dilution.," "restriction of brewing," &c., &c. These things of course are involved, but are only part of the problem. The average workman's wife is far more anxious and concerned about food prices than the workman himself. It is mainly the enthusi- astic Trade Unionist who leads agitations about dilution or the iniquities of the Ministry of Munitions, and, as the Commissioners themselves submit, it is only in certain areas where any serious discussion of brewing restrictions has taken place. No; the problem as a whole is very much' greater than is implied in any of these considerations. It is really a psychological problem, and one which by its peculiar nature does not concerti Labour leaders, Trade Union Officiate, or even shop stewards, but the average work- man in the foundry, the engineer's shop, or the mill. Lot me attempt a picture of this man's life under present conditions.
Take the foundryman. In pre-war days he was engaged in general trade. Castings wore not ordered by the tens or hundreds of thousands, but Most probably by the score. They were not of one rigid pattern, but of a variety adapted to the innumerable requirements of the arts of peace in luxuries or necessaries. Periods of pressure came when hours were long and overtime must be made, but rarely did these last, and they were followed by the usual " slack time " when " days off " were common, and in any event the week-end -brought its opportunity for the fishing excursion or tho weekly football match. Contrast this with the position of this same foundryman to-day in the great munition centres. His orderer are no longer for small quantities, but usually for tens and hundreds of thousands not rarely millions. There is no variety His work is most rigidly standardized. Day after day, week actor week, month after month, he is turning out exactly the some casting—no change, no cessation, unless it is the constant attempt of the foreman or works manager to obtain a few extra hundreds in daily or weekly output. So colossal is the demand that numbers and quantities have lost their meaning, sad there is an end to all the old-time interest in completing an order and seeing a job finished. In hundreds of such workshops there is absolutely nothing to look forward to but the some pattern, the same specification, the same article, day after day, and every atom of interest that may ones have been felt ire the particular production has long vanished. Nothing remains but an endless monotony. The foreman and his team of men eater their shop at the beginning of the shift to handle the same moulds, carry the same weights, use the same tools, see the same objects, do everything indeed they did yesterday, the day before, the day before that, as far back as they care to remember, and to-morrow, and the day after, they must do the same thing, apparently ad ingaillInt.
Take the engineer, and the picture in broad outline is almost identical. Before the war Ire saw the products of his lathe or his fitting bench going into every avenue of the many-sided demands of modern civilization. The biggest order imaginable would bo in his hands at most a few weeks. Something new could constantly be looked forward to, and if he had the smallest real intoregt in his trade and the cleverness of his handiwork his interest was never allowed to flag. What are this same average engineer's conditions to-day ? Most probably the oversight of half-a-dozen or morn automatic lathes, drawing at one stage or another small arms or quickfiring cartridges or turning H.E. aliens. Not a few by way of a change, but alternately the same thing to the same thousandth part of an inch, occupying the same fractions of a second of time, making the same monotonous sound—the only possibility of even a momentary change the breaking of a belt or the extrication of a faulty tool.
Is it any wonder that the dreary, deadly monotony of it all causes unrest ? Is it any wonder that this average man in in the mood to listen when the shop steward agitates for a strike ? Hon many members of the House of Commons, or oven of the Labour Commissions, could endure it ? And this has been going on for over three years. There are hundreds, one might truthfully say thousands, of workmen in the foundry and engineering shops of England who deserve as full a recognition of endurance as the Inert who win Military Crosses and even V.C.'s in the excitement and vicissitudes of war. Further, in hundreds, or rather thousands, of eases these average men have no opportunity whatever of acquiring what is after all the highest satisfaction that labour can give—namely, the satisfaction of a piece of finished work ready for its purpose in the world's life. They are everlastingly doing one part of a job, often enough they have not the slightest idea of where and how their par- ticular part is to fit into the next man's part. For example : A's share is to cad or machine, as the case may be, a screw ; he is girea his pattern, his material, his tools, and his gauges. B's sham is to provide a fitting for this screw, and he in turn has his pattern and material, tools and gauges. But far too often neither A nor B has the opportunity of seeing the screw and its fitting meet, and even if he did there would still be the sense of incompleteness, for both are simply two of a greater or lesser number of other parts which ulti- mately make the whole. Could even the old prison treadmill be more monotonous ?
Lot it be at once admitted that all this sectionalizing and standardization is necessary if tire enormous outputs of munitions which modern warfare demands are to bo Supplied. It is yor, equally necessary that the real hardships it Imposes shall be realized by those in authority, for it is this mom than probably any other single factor that is at the root of the err.st of skilled and semi- skilled labour.
What then may be suggested as a remedy ? It is obvious that gs long as the 'ear lasts such conditions must continuo, and any remedy proposed can at best be only a palliative. Much, howeve:., can bo done if the difficulty is thoroughly realized. Here aro a fosr suggestions which to some extent at least are practicable : (I) The formation in each munition centre of a small committee of men of education and with a knowledge of human nature whose business it shall be to study this particular part of the labour unrest problems. (2) That such committee in consultation with employers arrange for periodical breaks or rest periods for each man svho is engaged in auc't routine work as described above. (3) That arrangements be made by this committee to occupy those rest periods by an entire ohangs of occupation. (4) That in addition to providing change of occupation the committee should nrranga wherever practicable for web tuna to see all the processes of which their particular one forms a part.
Obviously a scheme of this kind domande tho exercise of tern siderable tact and judgment, and would probably be only partially successful. The very fact, however, that it was the business of group of mon to study the problem would be a distinct gain, and there exists in ever• centre of population a class of mon who have at present the time and opportunity to devote to such work. It is common knowledge that oat of the hundreds of often made to the National Service Department (in its first photo) by the clown and. ministers of all religious denominations in this country very fe — - - - - indeed were accepted. These men for the most part are eager to put themselves at the disposal of the nation. They have educa- tion, and in many eases the ability to organize. They are, or ought to be, students of psychology and human nature. They would quickly acquire the general knowledge necessary to supervise such a scheme as outlined in para. 4.
It is already recognized by the Government that rest periods have advantages not only in moral but material direetiona, and have resulted in increased outputs and higher efficiency. There is no doubt whatever that any effort is worth while which results in making any piece of work more intelligent and intelligible.
It is most difficult either to obtain or keep any high standard of quality of workmanship in cases where there is little or no under- standing of the subsequent and ultimate purpose or place of such work in a completely finished product of industry. But above all, as a great State with a great place in the world's future, we must conserve our greatest asset—viz., the skilled and romi.rikilled worker of our factories. We are an industrial people. Our wealth and future prosperity depend entirely on our industrial efficiency. Them is very grave danger at this time that we shall lose sight of the im- portance of the average " man in the works." Our industrial leaders are second to none in the world, either in brakes or executive ability. We are rich in ideas and resourcefulneas, but ideas must be put into execution, inventions produced, and on the five or six millions of average workers do these depend. Every effort, however• small, there- fore, which quickens their interest and leads to a wider vision of the essential worth of work will be abundantly repaid in the future of our country. Thousands of out• factory workers today are working undo conditions of monotony which have no parallel in Watery. And it is this that is keeping the labour nerve " on edge," so that
on the least provoCation disaster threatens. Annex's.
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