Collective Bargaining .
• As the Minister of Labour has pointed out, the manu. facturing side of the . cotton industry must return th collective bargaining, such as had existed for genera. tions until three months ago. It is intolerable that so large an industry, with its powerful organizations on either side, should for the time being have no regular machinery for dealing with disputes and no recognized wage scale. When each millowner is free to make his own bargains with his employees, price-cutting and local strikes are directly encouraged, and the confusion in the industry, already bad enough, is intensified. The employers were primarily responsible for this unfortunate situation when they lost patience with the weavers' leaders after the two years of negotiations. But the unions should have shown a less =conciliatory temper in regard to changes in the weaving-sheds. A new agreement and a new spirit are required in Lancashire, and the hard decision to abandon definitely certain markets where the battle seems finally lost may have to be taken. * *
Previous page
