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THE REORGANIZATION OF INDUSTRY
Extracted from various speeches given in Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh, November-December, 1940
'The Great British Trade Union and Labour Movement is the machine through which I work'
FOR the first time in the history of England, every penny, every inch of land, every item of wealth, factory and workshop is now at the disposal of the nation. Private individuals can be compelled to subordinate any private interest or gain for the common weal. The Government has taken action to control the factories and production. Everyone is not merely acquiescing, but wholeheartedly accepting the necessary restraint to achieve victory. Is not this the greatest evidence that you can get of a grim determination to put an end to aggression.
We have determined to remove every obstacle to production in order that our Forces and Mercantile Marine, everybody and everyone of those who are now risking their lives to defend us, have every possible supply. We will allow nothing to stand in the way.
Among those powers there has been taken the power to control labor supply, equally with wealth which means that it is to be organized on the most efficient basis—and one of the great resources that this country enjoys is the skill and initiative of its people. It is to us now more precious than gold, and we are determined not to allow a single ounce of that skill and energy to be wasted. We wish to train more.
The duty of controlling this tremendous organization of labor supply was imposed upon me as the Minister of Labor, and I am conscious of the tremendous responsibility resting on my shoulders. I have to deal with the people whose love of liberty is in their very blood, but without waiting for the perfecting of our plans the workers rallied with an amazing speed; the acceleration of output has been beyond our dreams. But we must still do more, and more we will do.
I have no doubt that many have wondered how it was possible, in a democratic country like ours, for a Minister to initiate and organize in a few days for this great task. Happily my duties were eased by the fact that, though these powers are great, there was little need to exercise many of them except in a regulatory sense, or, in other words, exercise them except in guiding the people to the right places so as to use their services in the best way.
For, drastic as these powers may appear on paper, they were brought about by the act of democracy itself. They were granted to the Government by the overwhelming consent of the people or, if I may put it in another way, the people of the United Kingdom placed themselves upon the altar of the nations and the Allies. Indeed, I go further, they placed themselves upon the altar of civilization itself in order to preserve it against brutal aggression.
My task is to see that this great offer is used wisely; not an ounce of its value is lost. I and my staff and those who have so readily come forward with their great organizing ability drawn from labor and management, are working with a will to give an opportunity to every man, woman and child, to contribute their best, and one of the things that must gladden the heart of trade unionists all over the world is that the Great British Trade Union and Labor Movement is the machine through which I work. They voluntarily assist in the administration of this task. They use their branches and their resources to assist in the necessary disciplining and control for us. With their great experience, they help to organize and carry out the necessary mobility of our people. That great Trade Union Movement with its foresight and wisdom has taken the opportunity of demonstrating to the world that it does not exist merely to fight for wages and hours of labor alone, but, as the call has come, to show their capacity to save the nation. In the saving of it they will win the gratitude and confidence, not only of their own people, but of every lover of liberty throughout the world.
And then management right from top to bottom has thrown its weight in. All its managerial ability, its technical skill, is being placed at our disposal. Calculation of profits and all the other things that have cluttered up progress in the past has to go, and the great genius of our managers and technicians is being given full play—and never in the history of our country has it had a greater opportunity. It is not to satisfy a dividend that they are working, it is for the greater contribution they are glad to make for the benefit of us all.
We have left behind discussion on academic matters. We have ceased to make fine calculations and forecasts. The Allied countries are ravished and the enemy is at our gates. We will do all the settling up at a later date. It is the enemy's defeat, and that alone, which is the great motive power driving the British people now.