HC Deb 18 August 1919 vol 119 c2008

May I, as far as Labour is concerned, summarise very shortly the proposals of the Government? We see that the country is in peril by reason of under-production. We propose to meet that by removing the causes of under-production—want of transport, shortage of labour, labour unrest. We propose to deal with the last in the first instance by appealing to everybody who has got the ear of Labour and of employers to bring home the facts; then, in so far as the Government are concerned, by dealing with questions of excessive hours, minimum wage, and unemployment, by the promotion of arrangements between employers and labour for giving the worker a voice in the control of the conditions of his industry, and for giving him a share in the prosperity of the industry; by pressing forward the legislative powers with which we have been equipped by this House for the improvement of the social conditions of the people—notably in housing; and when you come to coal by the nationalisation of minerals, by raising a substantial fund to increase the social conditions and amenities of life of the mine workers, by proposals for the unification and reorganisation of the industry to prevent waste, and by proposals for giving the miners a voice in the new organisation of the industry. That is a summary of the proposals which we put forward in regard to Labour.

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