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Hours of work
The Consultative Committee, consisting of representatives of the Trades Union Congress, British Employers’ Confederation, Labor Supply Directors and the Factory Department, worked out a model scheme of hours of labor. There was no doubt we caused a good deal of confusion at first by the urgent appeals to work seven days a week. These long hours were to be regarded as a spurt. It was impossible to keep them up and production was beginning to decline. I think the amount of overtime being permitted now means a great physical strain, and I would urge industry, as the further volume of trained labor becomes available, to give continuous consideration to it. I am satisfied that if more attention is paid to this question of hours of work and rest it might well be one of the methods which, by careful adaptation, can be used to defeat the enemy in resisting his efforts to decrease production by air attack.
When the engineer goes forward with his proposals there should be a careful balance of time, capacity and endurance to work them, and it is in this connection I have urged a proper optimum of hours. I regret that some of my colleagues in their enthusiasm should have upset the ordinary working week. I think they regret it too. It certainly produced chaos. I am satisfied that with intense production the maximum optimum that you should go to is fifty-six hours a week. Of course, if there is man power enough to work the machine tools for seven days a week I have no objection, provided the man is given one day's rest in seven. I do not think going beyond six days at a time is wise. If the personnel is not big enough to work seven days, it is unwise to try and get over the problem by encouraging mere double time on Sunday. It produces the wrong mentality. Many tests have been made. Where the personnel is insufficient and the close-down takes place on Sunday, and if the work is on payment by result system, you get rather a larger production and the man gets just as good a pay packet at the end of this six-day week as by working the double time on Sunday. After all, we are all human.
My scheme provided for rest pauses, and I have carefully watched the result in well-organized firms who have been good enough to supply me with information. The great test is the bonus earnings: the rate of pay has not altered wherever the rest pause has been introduced. Where bonus earnings have increased, that means production has gone up, the cost is down and, what is more important, it means quicker equipment of the Forces.
Medical services at work
Then we extended to the Factory Department the power to see that there was a medical service in the works. I have been a long time associated with the Trades Union Congress in trying to deal with rehabilitation, but I think preventive medicine is better than cure, and that a proper medical service in the works, organized properly, paying attention to accidents at the right moment, may save years of ill health and injury. In order to get adequately trained men we agreed to find the money for a proper course at the London School of Hygiene in order that the right method of dealing with people in factories should be taught to doctors—not merely the sort of insurance outlook that was applied before. This is very important from the workmen's ppoint of view. We have established, and it is coming into being, a very good nursing service for industry, which is vital with so many thousands of people employed. Instead of leaving the supply and training of welfare supervisors to voluntary organizations and limiting the opportunity to people who could afford to go to the universities, we arranged for bursaries at the universities to be paid for by the Board of Education, and their expenses, while they are being trained, by the Ministry of Labor—so that anyone, whatever their standing in life might be, can have the opportunity of this kind of work. This opens up an avenue to our sons and daughters which, owing to the expense, has been largely denied them.
Steps are being taken to introduce industrial medical service of a higher standard and more generally applied welfare provisions, both inside and outside the factory.
I have urged that sick bays should be established. The period of the black-out has got to be faced. Nervous strain creates great difficulties. The dangers of colds and influenza, due to the loss of home nursing and care and the disruption of family life, present a real problem. The Ministry of Health is cooperating with us in an endeavor to minimize the effects of these difficulties, but we have not only to care for the population in order to keep up our output for war purposes, but we have to maintain the health and stamina of our people for the sake of the future of our race.
Seamen's welfare board
Another side of the task I have tried to deal with concerns the seamen. This country owes more than it can ever repay to the Mercantile Marine. I went to Geneva in 1936 and assisted my friends in the Seamen's Union to carry through the Convention on Seamen's welfare in Ports and Seamen's health and Accommodation. It was a pretty big effort in an international fight of that character. Believe me, it is so easy to put a thing in a manifesto, but it is more difficult to get it in an international convention. For weeks I stuck at Geneva, since, because of the experience I had, the Seamen's Unions of the World had asked me to lead the discussion. I was glad to do it, but I never dreamed it would fall to my lot to put in operation that convention. One of the first steps I took as Minister of Labor was to establish the Seamen's Welfare Board, and I am endeavoring to develop, through the local authorities and the Unions, not only proper accommodation in every port in this country—plans are now being worked out for them— proper conditions, clubs and the rest—but in addition we are in touch with other maritime nations of the world in order to work out reciprocal arrangements for medical services for seamen, and proper places for them to go for comfort in other ports, so that internationally I hope I have started a movement which will provide for the Mercantile Marine, not only of this country, but of the world, on a far better basis than ever we have known hitherto.