On Tuesday the Congress decided to extend the powers of
the General Council. In future the Council is to be regularly informed of all negotiations between trade unions and employers and is to take the initiative when negotiations break down. A union which refuses to refer its affairs to the Council will be reported to Congress. It is to be hoped that the new plan will develop a higher sense of discipline among the individual unions. Trade unions are jealous institutions, and they resent outside interference ; but if the principle of collective bargaining is to be safeguarded it is essential (as countless bitter experiences -have proved) that there should be some machinery for preventing any union from running amok and not only repudiating its own obligations and contracts, but involving in disaster other groups of unions and the solidarity of the whole Labour movement. This decision to invest the General Council with large powers after three years of hesitation is the most important thing the Congress has done. Apparently the Council would be able to call a general strike without consulting the unions. Opposition will probably develop as the significance of the scheme is realized, but we hope that all will go well in the direction of increasing discipline in the trade union movement.
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