CHAPPLE'S CHARTER

In this article the Electricians' leader argues for more responsibility at every level of our industrial society.

I am surprised that not too many people seem concerned about the fact that despite our high rate of unemployment, the highest since the war, there is an extreme shortage of skilled men in almost every part of the country. I appreciate that on a detailed examination some surprising feature may well come to light, not least of these would be the very low basic rates of pay being paid for any sort of responsibility at work. Equally, there are correspondingly high rates of pay where there are no mental, physical or productive reasons for the difference.

It is my belief that the majority of trade union members accept the argument that a better way ought to be found for resolving pay negotiations other than the annual recourse to threats and strikes which are as disruptive of the lives and affairs of workers as they are debilitating of management and destructive of our markets.

I also believe that this majority, that find the logic of pay policy acceptable in theory, find it unacceptable when applied to themselves. Even when (as has happened on several occasions during the post-War period) such policies have been launched with initial public support, they are not acceptable for long.

This is, of course, just one aspect of the British malaise, about which more has been written than almost any other subject at any other time. Indeed, if the pen were mightier than the sword, it would not be unreason able to suppose that our problems would have been solved by now.

We have never lacked complete theories from the prophets of one contending group or another, arguing for their particular panacea, usually with a vigour that becomes more persuasive as it fails in one place or another to provide practical remedies. Perhaps it is our analysis which is wrong. For example, if it were as some people believe that trade unions have too much power, why is it that the trade unions have been unable to prevent the current high rate of unemployment?

Why is it, in countries as diverse as those in the communist block and South America, where trade unions have no influence over Government policies at all, that their economies are in a worse shape than our own, whereas in Germany, where trade unions are well organised and have financial power as well as political influence, their economy is strong? First there is a more determined leadership quality in these countries, born out of their history, both long and short term.

In the British situation there is a lack of investment and a shortage of top quality management; undoubtedly a left-over from the period during which we had captive markets and easy sources of raw materials.

Governments have not only failed to aid developing technology and new industry, but they have given what aid is available to the old and declining industries which have therefore held on to labour and finance which would have been better directed to the new industries had alternative policies been devised.

In all spheres of our society there is an unwillingness to accept that a retreat from today's conflict will not necessarily solve the problem, more likely that it will make it worse. British society seems afflicted with a reluctance to assert leadership or to accept responsibility. Until there is a greater understanding of this in all levels of society, but particularly in Government, then all other policies will be merely palliative and cosmetic devices.

"We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless."

James William Fulbright "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle."

1 Corinthians 14.8 • "There is nothing so bad or so good that you will not find an Englishman doing it; but you will never find an Englishman in the wrong. He does everything on principle. He fights you on patriotic principle; he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles."

GBS: The Man of Destiny "The uniform, constant, and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his Condition, the principle from which public and national, as well as private opulence is originally derived, is frequently powerful enough to maintain the natural progress of things toward improvement, in spite both of the extravagance of government and of the greatest errors of administration.

. . . It is the highest impertinence and presumption therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expence, either by sumptuary laws, or by prohibiting the importation of foreign luxuries. They are themselves, always and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expence and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will."

Adam Smith (1776)