HC Deb 22 March 1920 vol 127 cc30-3
36. Mr. MYERS

asked the Prime Minister if he will circulate the information upon which his several statements have been made to the effect that trade union regulations are preventing the entry of workmen into particular trades and retarding the development of housing schemes; and if he will give the general nature of the regulations and the trade unions involved?

The PRIME MINSTER

I am circulating a very full statement in the OFFICIAL REPOET.

The, following is the statement referred to in the foregoing answer:

Apart from rules as to apprenticeship, the question of the augmentation of the supply of building labour is affected not so much by specific regulations as by adherence to practice and custom. Although it is admitted that there is an insufficiency of apprentices in the building trade, and many ex-service men are available, up to the present the age limits for the admission of apprentices to the building trade have not been altered, and, while agreeing in principle to the training of disabled ex-service men, the building trade unions have more than once definitely refused to consider the admission of any other classes of adults to skilled trades.

At a meeting of the building trade in December, it was suggested, on behalf of the Government, that the shortage of labour might be made up by augmentation and by relaxation of apprentices rules. In their reply to the Government the operatives defined augmentation to mean "recruiting from the ranks of unskilled labour through the raising of the age at which apprenticeship is commenced, and a shortening of the period of time usually insisted upon as necessary for the production of efficient workmen." They go on to state "the operatives' representatives on the Building Trade Re-Settlement and Housing Committee are convinced, after serious thought on the subject, that augmentation or dilution of the labour of the skilled section of the industry is neither desirable, practicable, nor necessary."

On the 6th February, at a special Conference of the building trades operatives, held at Manchester, the following resolution against dilution was adopted:—

This Conference, after carefully considering the proposal of the Prime Minister to augment building trade labour, expresses its intention to abide loyally by the agreement for the training of disabled sailors and soldiers, but regards any further extension of dilution as being unnecessary, impracticable, and economically unsound; and we hereby resolve to resist the dilution of building trade labour with the utmost strength of our organisasion.

Trade. (a) (b) (c) (d)
Years. Years.
Bricklayers Apprenticeship not invariable—largely recruited from boy or adult labourers. 16–18 3–5 Average proportion, I apprentice to 3–5 and even more journeymen.
Slaters Ditto 16 5 Average proportion, I apprentice to 3 journeymen.
Plasterers Apprenticeship usual for higher grades, but less skilled grades recruited to some extent from labourers. 15–18 5 Average proportion, apprentice to 4 or more journeymen.
Carpenters and Joiners Apprenticeship usual 14–16 5 Average proportion, I apprentice to 4 journeymen.
Plumbers Apprenticeship usual except in case of jobbing plumbers in Southern Counties. 14–16 6 Average proportion, I apprentice to 1–2 journeymen.
Painters Apprenticeship usual for higher grades, but less I apprentice to 4 skilled grades recruited chiefly from labourers. 15–16 5 (Scotland and Ireland 6 years). Average proportion. journeymen.

Of the crafts enumerated above, the principal shortage is stated to be found in the cases of bricklayers, slaters, and plasterers.

It will be noted that for each of these three crafts recruiting from labourers obtains to a certain extent. It is the opinion of the Government that this practice could be greatly increased with advantage to the progress of house building.

The most important shortage is that of bricklayers, and that is the craft in which

A legal apprenticeship under indenture is sometimes not expressly prescribed by rules—although the plumbers and, in Scotland, the plasterers and slaters do so; but the majority of unions require that a workman shall have worked at his craft from three to six or even more years before becoming a member of the union.

Broadly, the practice of unions may be grouped under the following heads:

  1. (a) Method of training.
  2. (b) Age of commencement.
  3. (c) Duration of training.
  4. (d) Proportion of men under training to journeymen.

The following table shows the general practice on these points in the case of bricklayers, slaters, plasterers, carpenters and joiners, plumbers and painters:—

the age of entrance is highest and the period of training the shortest.

With regard to the training of ex-service men for the building trades, the executives of all the building trade unions, with one exception, have agreed, in principle, to the scheme for training disabled ex-service men. The only exception is the slaters, whose trade is not suitable for disabled men. The local branches of the building trade unions enjoy a large measure of local autonomy, and in some areas and in some trades the local branches of the unions have objected to training. In a few places this attitude has been justified by the state of employment amongst skilled men, but there have been cases where the excuse docs not hold good. For instance, in London the plumbers have refused to allow disabled men, when trained as plumbers, to be employed in any but an unskilled capacity.

At Bristol the local branch of the Operative Bricklayers' Society have refused to allow men trained as bricklayers to be employed, and elsewhere branches of this Society have objected to men being placed in training as bricklayers.

Local branches of the Carpenters' and Joiners' Society have in some areas refused to co-operate in the training or have obstructed the placing out of trainees. In the case of carpenters and joiners there is good reason to think that explanation and argument will remove the objections.

In the furniture trades the Executives of the Woodworking Unions have agreed in principle to the training of disabled ex-service men, but in several instances the local branches have refused to admit disabled men unless they are counted towards the number of apprentices allowed under local agreements. This has the effect of reducing materially the number of disabled men whom the trade could reasonably be asked to absorb.

Back to