| Show I Strikes Increase In Britain to Greatest in War WarBy By Dy James lit 51 Long LONDON April 7 1 UPi The P-The The whole volcanic labor situation which Britain held In check through the urgency of national need and the machinery of arbitration arbitration arbitration arbi arbi- Is erupting in this fifth year of f the war with every Indication indication indication indica indica- tion that 1944 will be bethe the worst strike year since the paralyzing 1926 general walkout The number of work days lost through strikes has Increased sharply and steadily since 1940 Last year was the second worst year for strikes strikeS' in Britain's his hIs- tory With more mor than work days lost walkouts during March 1944 alone cost more production production production pro pro- than the whole year of 1941 The strikes of September 1943 up 1943 up to then the worst month of the war war involved involved only men More than that were idle in ina ina ina a single strike this March and ht another this month Unauthorized Strikes The walkouts have had this In common 1 Most of them have been unauthorized and have In fact been opposed by the union leadership and 2 the coalfields chief trouble spot of the past two dec decades have decades have aes-have have been the scene of at least half the strikes Thus there has developed under the wartime essential works order order order or or- der the seemingly contradictory situation that workers frozen to their jobs cannot quit be fired or change employment and cannot be late or absent without being liable to fines but can walk out on strike L uH L L The me Lne immediate result result in sion Britain of the strike of miners in South Wales and in March and the walkout of miners in Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire York York- shire which extended into has lias been a definite blow to war industry Frozen to Jobs Britain's national service system tem the tem the military draft was draft was not broadened to include registration for labor service until the dark days after Dunkerque in 1940 Then 78 per cent of the nati nations nation's ns n's workers were frozen to their jobs It took in all men men and women between between be be- tween the ages ages' of 18 to 50 and geared t the e nation to produce as aswell aswell s swell well as to fight But this this system contained no clause relating to strikes Other wartime legislation however however however how how- ever provided a day 21 notice of intention to strike Under this system the ministry of labor investigates investigates investigates a threatened strike and refers refers refers re re- re- re fers the case to the national arbitration arbitration arbitration ar ar- ar- ar tribunal This group representing employers and unions did not become wholly effective in its present form until May 1 1943 Coal Problem Child But coal still is the problem child Only one week since the setup was completed has been entirely entirely entirely en en- free from strikes and that tha was the week before last Christ Christ- mas mss The miners now are in the middie middle middle mid mid- dle die range of wage earners In the rates recently adjusted by arbitration arbitration arbitration ar ar- under r what is mown known as the Porter award the basic minimum minimum minimum mini mini- mum weekly pay is 20 for underground underground underground under under- ground workers and 18 for surface surface surface sur sur- face workers This is boosted on the average of 2 per week 1 by DY y extras extras extras ex ex- tras for special classes of work Most coal strikes hinge on disputes over details of these extras Living costs have been largely pegged since early in the war and the tightly controlled increase averages averages averages av av- av- av 30 per cent up to 1944 Miners' Miners wages are up roughly 50 per cent in that period Here is how they compare with other workers The average of all classes of unskilled labor is now 1875 a week The average for male factory workers is 2278 the average f for r woman factory workers 1172 On this they pay an income tax of roughly 50 per cent This is in a land where wages and living costs run far lower than in the United States States States-a a land lane I where it long has b been en regarded that a man getting a clear fiver 20 a week above taxation was doing very nicely indeed |
