1922 Vol. 6 (5), Pp. 735-868

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Trade Union Organisations survey of the trade union movement during August and September shows that the industrial depression is still a dominant factor. A Unemployment and short time have drained the resources of the unions and depleted their membership. The figures given at many congresses show a marked fall during the last year or two. This was very noticeable át the British Trades Union Congress, the membership of which has fallen by a million and a quarter since last year. At the Textile Workers' Congress in France, Mr. Jouhaux, Secretary of the General Confederation of Labour, made a notable speech in which he called attention to the depletion of the ranks of the Confederation. He stated that this was not primarily due to a transfer of allegiance from the Confederation either to the Christian or to the " united " (unitaires) trade unions, but represented in the main an absolute loss to the trade union movement. He also dealt incidentally with the problem presented by the large number of foreign workers employed in France Í,1). The effect of the depression is also seen in the defensive, rather than aggressive, attitude generally adopted. Most of the resolutions adopted at the British Trades Union Congress, which is reported at length on a later page, were devoted to deploring the Government's inaction, and few, if any, proposed constructive action. For example, last year a General Council of thirty-two members was appointed in order to secure greater unity in trade union action (2). The Council this year submitted to the Congress a request for power to intervene in industrial disputes when preliminary negotiations had failed. The pro posals put forward were, however, received with caution and a refusal to take definite action. The international aspect of the depression, and .of economic affairs generally, attracted a considerable amount of attention. The Interna tional Federation of Land Workers considered at some length the international regulation of conditions of labour in agriculture, as pro posed at the International Labour Conference of 1921. It also unani mously carried a resolution from which the following is extracted : The International Federation of Land Workers, recognising that agricul ture can no longer be dealt with solely from national points of view, welcomes the tendency towards world organisation of food production ('). The Belgian Association of Catholic Workers stated that, in view of the international character of economic organisation, some system of international regulation was required. The British Trades Union Congress considered the present reparations policy of the governments, p) See below in Notes on Migration : Welfare and Protection Work. (2) International Labour Review, Vol. IV, No. 2, Nov. 1921, pp. 67-68. (3) It was, however, insisted that this tendency must not be encouraged ." at the expense of proper conditions for all those usefully engaged in industry". 736 INTERNATIONAL LABOUR REVIEW and attributed to it most of the economic difficulties of Europe, while declaring its support of the policy of the International Federation of Trade Unions for the restoration of the devastated areas. The Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions requested its Government to ask the International Labour Office for an enquiry into the standard of living of workers in Germany and other countries with a depreciated currency. Current developments in industrial unionism may also be attributed in part to the effects of the depression. Organisation by industry is one method by which demarcation disputes and other difficulties of internal management can largely be prevented. The workers hope that organisation by industry will increase their power of resistance to excessive wage reductions or extension of hours. The resolution of the Leipzig Congress of the General Federation of German Trade Unions, recommending the reorganisation of its constituent federations in industrial unions (4), came up for consideration at most of the congresses of " free " trade unions in Germany. The congresses of lithographers, tobacco workers, and leather workers all approved the principle of industrial unionism, but the last named objected to the application of any compulsion on existing unions to take part in the scheme. It was announced that the international federations of leather workers, saddlers, and shoemakers had amalgamated. The Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions, which had already adopted the principle of industrial unionism, this year passed a resolu tion under which reorganisation on these lines must be effected before the end of 1925. The secretariat was in favour of less immediate action, but was over-ruled by the congress. The Swedish Wood Workers' Union decided that reorganisation on industrial lines was inadvisable, but decided to take a general vote of its members on the question of dividing the union into two according as its members were employed in factories and workshops or in building. The French Federation of Textile Workers, which is at present, like most French trade unions, organised in many local branches and federations, decided at its congress to recommend the creation of a single union for each Department or region, but no steps were taken to give effect to a proposal for the creation of a single national union. The Federated Textile Unions of America, claiming to represent 150,000 workers, declare their object to be " the complete amalgamation of all textile unions of America, to the end that there be one ' inter national ' union in the textile industry ". However, standing quite apart from this group are the United Textile Workers of America, who are affiliated to the American Federation of Labour and claim a membership of nearly 100,000. The demand for workers' control in industry is less generally advanced now than in more prosperous times, although the French Miners' Federation passed a resolution in favour of it. Another form of the same movement may be seen in the increasing interest in guild socialism and similar schemes. The British Trades Union Congress adopted a resolution in support of the guild movement, stating that it is " of first-class importance in the sphere of encouraging and develop ing the workers' capacity for administrative and technical organisa tion " and for giving them "the necessary equipment to completely (4) International Labour Review, Vol. VI, No. 3, Sept. 1922, p. 376. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 737 control and manage industry ". The General Council was instructed to co-operate " actively . and in every possible way " with the National Guild Council. Both the Swedish trade union congresses showed a marked interest in guild socialism. The Confederation of Trade Unions recommended its local branches to make experiments along these lines, while the Wood Workers' Union declared in favour of the gradual socialisation of industry, and instructed its committee to follow the development of .guild socialism and similar systems abroad. It was stated that condi tions of labour in socialised undertakings should be similar to those under other employers, and that any profit made should not be dis tributed among the workers. Co-operation between employers and workers has often been a vexed question ; in Germany the desirability of continued participation in the joint industrial associations (Arbeitsgemeinscha¡ten) was ques tioned at many of the congresses of " free " trade unions. In every case proposals for withdrawal were rejected, while the Christian Union •of Metal Workers definitely advocated the development and extension of these associations. The French Miners' Federation expressed its approval of the Bill for the establishment of joint committees of employers and workers in mines, while the Belgian Association of Catholic Workers put forward a proposal for the creation of permanent joint committees of employers and workers in each industry. These committees would draft collective agreements, which would have the force of law, and supervise their execution. In time their functions would be extended to include the regulation of production and prices and the criticism and approval of proposed social and economic legislation. The defence of the 8-hour day was the subject of many resolutions, especially in France, where practically every congress noted in this article made a declaration on the matter. Some attention was also given to this question, however, at the British Trades Union Congress, the Canadian Trades and Labour Congress, and the meetings of Belgian postal, telegraph, and telephone workers, of the German unions of 'lithographers and state and municipal employees, and of the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions. Conditions peculiar to their own country are always liable to over shadow other considerations in congresses of national trade unions, and this has especially been so of late in France. Several unions took the- opportunity to define their trade union policy and their attitude to the General Confederation of Labour after the withdrawal of the General Confederation of United Labour. The Government Social Insurance Bill, which was almost invariably discussed, found general support among the workers' organisations, although they demanded the extension of the scope of the Bill to cover unemployment as well as other social risks. The fact that workers' contributions are required was generally accepted. The Hat Makers' Union pointed out in this connection that if the cost of insurance were defrayed entirely by the employers and

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