The Labour politicians continue to denounce the Government for suggesting
that employers should keep all their men employed for part of the week instead of "dismissing some of them. In the notice of a Labour conference to be held next week it is stated that " Labour warnings on this question have been repeatedly neglected." The Labour leaders have short memories. In March, 1919, a joint committee of employers and trade union- ists, appointed in the preceding month by the National Industrial Conference, reported on various labour questions. In regard to unemployment the committee noted that short time was habitually adopted in many industries when work was slack.
The report proceeded :-
" The Committee think that this method of avoiding dis- placement of labour and the consequent risk and inconvenience to the workpeople concerned has considerable value. In this connexion they suggest that the machinery of the Joint Indus- trial Councils or other joint representative bodies in each industry affords a convenient method of controlling and regulating short- time working as a means of preventing unemployment."
The Committee were unanimous in making this recommendation, and the first of many trade union leaders to sign the report was
Mr. Henderson himself.
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