§ LORD SYDENHAM rose to ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of munitions workers are now on overtime, and whether the medical advisers of the Munitions Department have arrived at any conclusions as to the arrangements necessary to conserve the health and strength of the workers.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, in the debate on the Second Reading of the Munitions Act I ventured to raise the question of the necessity of safeguarding the health of our workmen against overstrain. The noble Earl, Lord Curzon, who then replied to me, said that it was possible for the Minister of Munitions to limit the hours of labour but that this would entail somewhat stretching the powers given to him by the terms of the Act, and he added that the Minister of Munitions had not the least intention of doing so. It has happened that since July 2, when this Act was being discussed in your Lordships' House, the Ministry of Munitions has enormously developed its activities. It has recently eaten up the lean kine, the branch of the Master-General of the Ordnance, the Board of Ordnance, and several other Departments, and it has also taken another and a very wise step in appointing an Advisory Committee of medical and other officers to inspect and report on the conditions of labour in the munitions factories. I have not seen the Report of that body; I do not think it has been laid on the Table of your Lordships' House, but I believe it shows that the hours of work in some of the factories are excessive, and that many 547 men are suffering on that account. I also understand that the proportion of the men on overtime is now very considerable, and if that is the ease evils are certain to arise.
§ When pressure comes on a factory the natural tendency is to resort at once to overtime as the line of least resistance. The workmen are tempted by higher rates of wages, and the management is spared the trouble and complication of organising shifts, and when there is a shortage of Labour it may not be possible to organise shifts at all. That is my own experience in managing a large factory under war pressure. In February, 1893, the film of Mather & Platt, of the Salford Iron Works, began a most interesting experiment which has had far-reaching results. In full agreement with their workpeople and the trade unions they adopted a forty-eight hour week, and at the same time abolished all overtime and also all work before breakfast. The result of that experiment, after one year's trial, showed that the production was fully maintained, that the profits of the firm did not decrease, that the loss of time on the part of the workmen was greatly diminished, and that there was not a single case of a man being sent back owing to drink, which had often happened before that change was made. The moral of this is plain, and it applies with special force to munition factories to-day. Months of strenuous effort lie before our workers, and if their health suffers from overstrain there will be a loss of production, which in itself will be a serious matter, apart from the possibility of permanent injury to the men themselves, which could only be regarded in the light of a national calamity. Moreover, Women are now employed in large numbers in the factories, and that introduces what may be called a new physiological factor.
§ It seems to me, therefore, that it is more than ever necessary that we should study carefully the economics of labour, to which far too little attention has been paid in this country. There is a valuable little book recently published called "Motion Study," by an American engineer, which I commend to the attention of the Ministry of Munitions. That book shows how muscular effort can be carefully economised. The author points out that there is a right and a wrong way of carrying on every manual operation, and that if you take the right way you produce the maximum result with 548 the minimum of fatigue. I hope that the Minister of Munitions will, if it is necessary, stretch the great powers conferred upon him by the Act, and that he will as soon as possible give practical effect to any conclusions at which the Advisory Committee to which I have referred may arrive. I believe there are four particularly important conditions which should obtain in a well-managed factory. In the first place, there should be restriction of overtime; secondly, there should be insistence upon one day's rest in seven; thirdly, there should be the abolition of all work before breakfast, which undoubtedly leads to drinking; and, lastly, there should be provision of good and wholesome meals, which I am glad to know is already in a great many places being carried out. If all these conditions can be approximately fulfilled I think we may hope that the supply of munitions for our troops and our Allies will be worthily maintained without injury to the health of our workers.
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, I regret that I am unable to give my noble friend the figures for which he asks, because I am informed that they cannot be obtained without undue labour. But I may say that the whole question of overtime and Sunday work has for a considerable period occupied the careful attention of the Minister of Munitions, and in September he appointed the Committee to which my noble friend referred, which is presided over by Sir George Newman, M.D. This Committee, which was appointed to inquire into the question of industrial fatigue and hours of labour and other matters affecting the health and physical efficiency of the workers, has already presented an interim Report, and my noble friend does not seem to be aware of the fact that this Report was tabled last week—on December 1.
The Committee were apparently greatly impressed with the urgent need of the provision of an adequate period of rest. Therefore they presented an interim Report dealing specially with the question of Sunday labour. The Report states that while the complete stoppage of Sunday labour is advisable, it is felt to be hardly possible at the present moment to carry that principle thoroughly into effect. But the Committee suggest that the following improvements may be carried out. Firstly, the Committee suggest that improvement can be effected by the rearrangement of shifts; in the second place, by the omission 549 of shifts; and, in the third place, by the employment of relief gangs and the organisation of relief week-end shifts of volunteer labour. This Report was, as I have stated, tabled on December 1; and in order to show my noble friend that no time was lost I may say that a circular letter was sent out from the Ministry of Munitions yesterday containing recommendations to give effect to the proposals in the interim Report. These recommendations apply to all classes of labour, male and female, adult and juvenile, although it is recognised that in certain forms of industry continuous labour—for instance, in the case of furnaces—cannot well be suspended, but even in these cases it has been suggested that the Government should so rearrange matters that every one should have a regular period of rest. Attention has also been drawn to the advisability, as I have stated, of employing week-end voluntary labour, and arrangements will be made with the Labour Exchange Department of the Board of Trade for supplying labour of this particular type.
With regard to the remarks winch fell from the noble Lord, I may say that in this letter the Minister of Munitions has pointed out to the controlled firms that he has under consideration the desirability of making regulations under the Munitions Act compulsorily applying some or all of the suggestions contained in his letter as to Sunday labour, but up to the present it has not been found necessary to take any action of this drastic nature. In addition to that, I understand that the Minister of Munitions has been in constant communication with the Home Office with regard to the employment of women and young persons, and while in some cases it has been found necessary that women and young persons should work for what would be considered unduly long hours under normal conditions, it is hoped that as the output is increased it will be possible to reduce these unduly prolonged hours.
§ LORD SYDENHAMMy Lords, I beg to thank my noble friend for the sympathetic answer he has given. I am quite certain he will find, if those reforms are carried out, that there will be no loss of production. Therefore if the Minister of Munitions will carry out the reforms, I am sure the example he will set will be followed by other employers throughout the country.