§ Brigadier-General CROFTasked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of dispute cases received by the Ministry of Labour each month since July, 1916, the number of male and female members of the staff of the Ministry of Labour dealing with those cases during these months, the number of cases referred to the Committee on Production, and the number of members of the Committee on Production for each month during the same period?
§ Sir R. HORNEThe appended statement shows the number of awards of the Committee on Production or Court of Arbitration in each month since July, 1916, the number of members of the Committee on Production in each month during the same period, and the male and female staff of the Chief Industrial Commissioners' Department, Ministry of Labour, together with the headquarters and provincial staffs of the Wages and Arbitration Department of the Ministry of Labour after the inauguration of that Department. It is not possible to give a figure showing the number of dispute cases received by the Ministry of Labour in each month since July, 1916. The differences which are brought to the notice of the Ministry are settled in various ways, some by correspondence, some by means of interviews, some by conferences formal or informal, others by the mediation of the investigation staff in the provinces, while a number naturally proceed to arbitration The accompanying statement, however, includes the number of awards made by the Committee on Production or Court of Arbitration during the period referred to. These figures, of course, only deal with disputes which proceed to those arbitration bodies, and give no indication of the volume of the work. It may be mentioned that while the number of awards of the Committee on Production or Court of Arbitration were as follows:
1916 499 1917 805 1918 2,472 The total number of cases proceeding to arbitration in those years were:
1916 1,270 1917 2,410 1918 3,538 The difference in these figures is due to the fact that cases are also referred to 1161W ingle arbitrators, to ad hoc Courts of Arbitration, and to formal conciliation conferences, and these cases are of course omitted from the Committee on Production figures in the accompanying table. No account is taken in the table either of cases settled by departmental intervention without proceeding to formal arbitration.
As regards the figures in the months I during the period to the date of the Armistice, it should also be stated that a
1162W
Month. Awards of C. on P.(or Court of Arbitration). Members of C. on P. (or Court of Arbitration). Staff directly engaged in connection With disputes. C.I.C. Dept. W. &.A Dept. H.Q. Staff. W. & A Dept. Provincial Staff. 1916— Male. Female Male. Female. Male. Female. July … … 58 5 7 9 Wages and Arbitration Department not in existence. Provincial Staff of Wages Arbitration Department. Not in existence. August … … 70 5 7 9 September … … 59 5 7 10 October … … 69 5 8 12 November … … 54 5 8 14 December … … 30 5 8 17 1917— January … … 19 5 8 20 February … … 30 5 8 20 March … … 50 5 8 22 April … … 52 5 8 24 May … … 32 6 8 20 June … … 54 6 9 16 July … … 84 9 9 15 August … … 104 9 9 14 September … … 76 9 9 12 October … … 86 9 9 12 November … … 120 10 9 10 December … … 108 10 11 11 1918— January … … 145 9 11 10 February … … 134 11 11 22 March … … 184 11 11 18 April … … 216 11 11 20 May … … 245 11 14 21 June … … 215 12 14 17 July … … 259 12 12 18 August … … 207 12 11 18 September … … 255 12 9 18 October … … 255 13 9 20 November … … 235 13 (C. on P. 21–11–18) (to 21–11–18) 17 15 (C. of A. 22–11–18) (from 22–11–18) December … … 105 19 4 2 47 41 1919— January … … 68 18 4 2 47 41 February … … 73 18 4 2 48 41 61 48 March … … 91 18 2 1 51 38 59 45 April … … — — 2 1 52 37 57 42 Note.—The Wages and Arbitration Department (W. & A.) was formed as a result of the passing of the Wages (Temporary Regulation) Act in November, 1918, and it took over many of the duties previously allotted to the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Department (C.I.O). good deal of the preliminary work in most cases was undertaken not by the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Department of the Ministry of Labour, but by the Labour organisations of the Admiralty, Ministry of Munitions, and War Office, which Departments were frequently able to settle disputes without recourse to arbitration, and, where arbitration was necessary, were generally able to present to the Ministry of Labour agreed terms of reference.