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Statutory Control of Wages Coming?
Page 108
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Minister of Labour Likely to be Given Powers of Government, but Not Over Ancillary Users. Compulsory Membership of Associations Unworkable
XVIIE.N it was established in the Ylf courts that the agreement of the National Joint Conciliation Board had no legal force, it became obvious that the position of uncertainty regarding the wages and conditions of goods roadtransport workers could not be perpetuated much longer, The Ministers of Labour and Transport, at whose instigation the National Board was set 'up, therefore decided to carry out a thorough investigation of the whole situation.
In furtherance of this object, a committee of three, under the chairmanship of Sir James Baillie, was formed to hear evidence from all sections of the road-transport industry and its associates, as well as from the railways and their employees, and the Licensing Authorities.
Future Action.
In order to gain some idea of the future action to be taken concerning wages and conditions, it is necessary to review the principal submissions made to the Government Committee taking careful heed of the sources from which they emanated.
A strong opening to the proceedings was provided by the National Board, which urged the compulsory enforcement of its agreement by the Minister of Labour for at least five years. The theory of compulsion was supported (with qualification) by Mr. R. W. Sewill, for Associated Road Operators. by the Scottish Conciliation Board, the workers' unions and the railways, The National Board also maintained, with the acquiescence of the Scottish Board, and certain sections of the masters, that ancillary users should be brought within the scope, of the agreement, This suggestion raised a storm of protest and was vigorously rebutted by evidence given on behalf of many national organizations of ancillary users, as well as by four similar bodies in Scotland.
Another contention by the National Board was that the right to lay information before the Licensing Authorities as to the non-observance of wages and conditions should he retained. The matter should then be dealt with through the enforcement machinery of. the Ministry of Labour, the Minister being given power to c58
bring a delinquent before a court of summary jurisdiction. A conviction should be regarded as an offence, as provided in the Acts of 1930 and 1933 and back pay should be recoverable.
• To some extent, Mr. Sewill endorsed this recommendation, but he also elaborated and qualified it. The basis of his submission under this heading was a -plea for the reconstruction of the National Board, which, as the evidence showed, is considered in many quarters to be unrepresentative. The new Board should consist of an independent chairman of legal experience, and two representatives of each of. the Area Boards.
In the first instance, the Area Boards should determine the wages paid by good employers in their districts and they should then be deemed to be incorporated in every contract of service between hauliers and their employees. Any dispute in framing the wages scales should be referred to a committee of three, members being appointed by the Lord Chancellor, and the Ministers of Labour and Transport. The Licensing Authorities, or the appropriate Area Board, should undertake prosecutions for non-observance before a court of summary jurisdiction. Repeated breaches of conditions should imply the revocation or suspension of licences.
Autonomy, for Scotland.
The Scottish Board opposed any suggestion for the establishment of a board to cover that part of the Kingdom, as well as England and Wales, demanding autonomy in its 'own domain. It also urged the compulsory organization of employers and• employees. This question was raised at an earlier hearing by Sir James Baillie, when Mr. E. Bevin, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, replied that, in his estimation, a system of obligatory membership of employers' ..and workers' associations could not he operated satisfactorily.
Reviewing the situation in the light of the evidence, it seema that the polidy hitherto adopted by the National Board will have to be reversed.' In 'other words, no satisfaction will be obtained by operators, at least, until wages are negotiated locally in the first place. At present, a national scale has to be made to fit local conditions.
It is highly probable that the Minister of Labour will be delegated with power to enforce the payment of agreed wages and the observance of conditions. This authority will doubtless be wielded through a National Board (probably reconstructed) and Area Boards. Enforcement may well be carried out on the lines suggested by the National Board and A.R.O.
Control of C-licensees.
It is by no means certain that Clicensees will be brought within the Minister's jurisdiction, although.. the Licensing Authorities support this suggestion. To regulate the wages payable in one apathetic industry is an entirely different proposition from interfering with the management of every trade and industry in the country. Parliament would think twice before it exposed itself to the blast of opposition which this action would arouse. It is also doubtful whether such a step could be justified by the interests of the roadtransport industry and the nation.
The question of compulsory organization of masters and men raises vital issues. It would involve the establishment of a state register similar to that governing the medical and legal professions, and would, in our opinion, be unworkable. Parliament is hardly likely to assign its coveted power of crushing road transport to bodies set up with a view to protecting the road user, which would use their authority to improve the status of the operator and the worker, and thereby increase the strength of the industry in fighting the railways.
Wages will, however, have to he stabilized to serve as the foundation of a haulage-rates structure erected on economic principles. They must, nevertheless, be determined according tc■ the means of operators in the districtS in which they are te be applied. Only by this .method will wholehearted ialaserVance he achieved.