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PROBLEMS OF THE HOME FRONT
Extracted from various speeches and broadcasts given in 1941
Problems in specific trades - mining, agriculture, building, shipping, munitions
Some industries, of course, had to be singled out for treatment on a national or industrial basis, for example, the mining industry. It was our intention to give to that industry a labor force on the basis of the production then contemplated, but with the loss of the continental markets the situation changed. Immediately the order to send men back to the pits had to be modified and subsequently virtually removed altogether. Certain areas in the country found themselves with large numbers of unemployed. The mining industry, however, being under a separate Department, my course of action, as Minister of Labor, must to a large extent be influenced by the recommendations I receive from the Department. I am glad that no panic action was taken because of the markets referred to.
Stacking of coal was indulged in, a policy which I think was extremely wise. In fact, I take the view that more stacking even for the export market should be indulged in, so that when the war is over, instead of making the blunder we made in the last war, of charging high prices and destroying our own markets, we should have ready and available large quantities that could be shipped immediately to get our market back. But even with all this, there are certain numbers of men who cannot find employment during the war in certain export districts. The only course open to us in those cases is to transfer them to the districts where the production is highest or to other industries.
Agriculture was another industry calling for men, although very exaggerated claims were made, and when the problem was tackled it was found that many of the claims were unjustified. An Order was made restricting people from leaving the land, and sending them back to the land. But before doing this we felt it necessary to put the wages of the countryside right, and I think the steps which were taken have met with the overwhelming approval of the nation as a whole.
Before I issued the Order relating to agriculture I said: "I cannot issue an Order telling you to stay in agriculture unless you have a wage which is commensurate with your services." We established for the first time what I believe is a decent minimum wage for the agricultural industry. I am rather proud of that because I think it has tended to revolutionize agriculture. Once you have fixed the wage— and it is costly—it is essential to increase production. The Treasury soon gets tired of subsidies.
Cabinet committees are considering drainage on a far bigger and more scientific scale than has ever been done. Land is being brought back to cultivation in a new way; forestry will have to be put on a new footing, and the efforts and drive in this new standard not only creates an equilibrium between town, country and village, but it also tends to produce a more efficient system than we have hitherto known. We established in that Agricultural Act a precedent that I should not mind being established everywhere. When rent is being fixed, the accommodation has to be provided on a standard laid down by the Ministry of Health and even the highest standard must not exceed, as rent, 12.5 per cent of the wage.
In the building trade various devices had to be resorted to. In the first place, what was known as the Uniformity Agreement was established and certain minimum hours guaranteed on Government work, traveling and lodging allowances as defined by the agreement were approved.
The call upon the building industry is very great, and in this connection it was one of our objectives that there should be created a Building and Works Ministry for the purpose of coordinating the whole of the building work under the Government, carried out by the Government or on the Government’s behalf so that the labor might be utilized in the most effective manner. The need for labor has become even more acute now when not only have we to deal with new construction, but there is the question of demolition, clearances and the repair of damaged houses in order to give the people immunity from the worst effects of the weather.
The shelter program has created an enormous demand. We found that there was a shortage of material and not only was there a shortage but there was a constant demand made upon the building material industries in order to cope with the Defense Works which were necessary to prevent invasion. We had to take steps to give orders for a good period in advance; to get the wages put right in the industry, and then to bring men back, either from the Army or from other industries in order to produce the necessary material to cope with the problem.
In this and in other industries there is one fact brought out which is very disturbing: the policy of rationalization and monopoly may have some virtues, but it creates an attitude of mind which is not easily adapted to the urgent requirements of war. There is a tendency to argue: "What is going to happen if we increase our capacity and have a surplus at the end of the war?" Not only in this industry but in others one has come up against the consequences of allowing large interests to use their position to cause the closing down of works which may not be so efficient but which would be invaluable at extreme moments. You get the same problem with the pits and in other directions. And where the production is needed for war we shall have to have regard to these reserve forces being maintained in such a position that they can be brought into full use very quickly.
However, the speed with which things are moving now ought to enable us to make up a good deal of the leeway in connection with the building industry.
We have been seriously handicapped in this war due to the insufficiency of timber, and home production has had to be increased. There were brought in, prior to our coming into office, men from Newfoundland and elsewhere to cut timber, but unfortunately the whole of the forestry business has been attached to agriculture and has never been looked upon as a real factor in the nation's requirements. The conditions associated with the forestry workers and the agricultural workers are not the same, and the attitude of mind in the past towards this problem has seriously handicapped the provision even of home supplies and we .are now taking steps to remedy this position. More men ought to have been trained for forestry work. Greater vision should have been exercised. Rigidity of approach to these matters has handicapped us.
In the case of the sea, we have operated again on a national basis, through the Ministry of Shipping, although in all these cases the exercise of the powers conferred has been at a minimum because of the voluntary response of the workpeople themselves.
In the food trades, such as milling, agreements were reached which resulted in a quick transference of the men, and schemes were designed to group the ports of the country to enable men to be moved from one place to another to grapple with a diversion of shipping.
Shipbuilding committees have been established to deal with the mobility and the full use of shipbuilding labor in order to cope with the demands of the Admiralty, merchant tonnage and repairs, but there is need of very great acceleration, particularly on the repairing side. Every ship that may be damaged must be put back into commission as speedily as ever we can. Anyone who hampers in this work is playing Hitler's game. The Navy can beat the submarines, but where now and again they do manage to escape the vigilance of that wonderful force and damage a ship, then we in the repair yards must make that good.
The greatest difficulty of all is the munition trade. It divides itself up into many parts. The making and the equipment of the munitions of war, the ordnance factories, the equipment, the clothing, the small arms, domestic needs, food and so on—they all come in as part of the munitions program. The nation will be forever in the debt of those Trade Unionists who have cooperated with us so magnificently. But if our Army is to be equipped and the millions of men who will be called to the fighting line when we take the initiative are to have at their disposal overwhelming resources so as to enable them to secure a quick and smashing victory, then more and more people must be trained. Every employer's works in the country must take a percentage. We will restore the situation at the end of the war.
Coupled with all these problems is the continuous economic adjustment that must go on. As a result of war we have to restrict production for the home market and that will possibly have a very serious repercussion on such trades as cotton and other domestic trades; but we are endeavoring by consultation between the Production Departments and the Board of Trade, to work out a carefully coordinated scheme so that it may synchronize with the demands for labor being made on the supply and munitions and equipment side. On the other hand, we must try to increase exports. Exports mean the creation of wealth to buy the raw materials to keep the war machine and our food supplies going, and there must be an endeavor to maintain a proper balance. In doing this we may make mistakes in adjustments here and there, and this will need immediate attention.