Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. Appendix Volume XI. Miscellaneous.
- Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09
- Date:
- 1911
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. Appendix Volume XI. Miscellaneous. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
26/228 (page 18)
![APPENDIX No. X.—Continued. and of the troubls or defects that ensue if his or her work is negligently carried out. In connection with nearly all our Irish mills there is a school where chil- dren of the operatives and half-timers are sant. Most of those children eventually go into the various mills, while there is no attempt made in those schools to_ in- terest the ohildi-en and instruct them in flax spinning. I do not know how trades unions would regard mobility or versatility of labour, as they divide off various branches into trad3s, and are very jealous that no work which they consider as belonging to their trade should be done by anyone who is generally regarded as belonging to another trade. Question VII.--In view of the requirements novj made on the adult loorker., hoiv ivould you suggest that the youth be trained: would, e.g., any modi- fication of tlie aj^j^renticeship system, or technical school education meet the case Ansiver VII.—As the bulk of our labour consists of what is termed unskilled labour we have little to do with the ap]jrenticeship system ; and so far as technical school education is concerned, this is really of more .service to those who wish to qualify themselves as fore- men, and I do not think is likely to appeal much to the main body of unskilled operatives. Question VIII.—In view of the greater complexity of economic conditions, do you consider that some public organisation {such as, e.g., Distress Com- mittees, Labour Exchanges, and the lihe) is necessary ? Answer VIII.—It seems to me that some public organisation, such as labour exchanges, which can make themselvas familiar with the supply and demand for labour in the various localities, and endeavour to transfer surplus labour from one locality to fill th& shortage of labour in another locality, should help, even if such imported labour should rsceive a certain amount of assistance while making itself familiar with what might be a new industry to it. I have known instances where the Truck Act imposes a hardship on those people who try to move about in search of em- ployment. The employer does not care to advance money to enable a new hand to get lodgings, and very often thi3 worker is unable to pay for his or her keep until pay-day comes round. I have thought at times of building a lodging-house at one or more of our works, where such workers could be taken in, and housed and fed more cheaply and more comfortably than they could provide for themselves, but of course such lodging-houses would be for operatives who would have little to tie them to the locality, and unless the employer could make sure that he could house them and feed them without loss and without fear of them decamping as soon as they had drawn their pay, he would be unwilling to go to tihe expense of putting up such a lodging-house. The Truck Act, while in the main a most beneficent measure, thus interferes with a scheme that might work well. Question IX.—What is the practice in your Arm as regards overtime? What do you say as to the general disapproval of it on the part of Trade Unions ? Answer IX.—Overtime in our companies is almost unknown, and is only resorted to in cases of emergency. As a systematic practice. I do not think overtime i economically satisfactory. APPENDIX No. XI. REPLIES BY MR. ARCHIBALD BARR, D.Sc, M.Inst.C.E., REGIUS PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW, TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO HIM BY THE COMMISSION. Question I.—Is the general effect of modern develop- ments (such as the spread of machinery, and of more highly o'rganised processes) to increase the demand, on the part of employers, for high shill and intelligence ? Answer I.—I am of the opinion that the introduc- tion of machinery t?nds, on the whole, to an increase in the demand for high skill and intelligence. The introduction of machinery into any industry may ■enable comparatively unskilled men to produce, in part, articles that could only be made by hand by highly skiUed craftsmen, but, on the other hand, it often demands higher intelligence and knowledge to undertake other parts of the work and to superintend the whole process of production. The effect of the introduction of machinery on the •demand for skilled labour cannot be judged by such statements as that the introduction of a certain machine has enabled one man to turn out as much .as several hand workers, but must be viewed as one detail of a general change in methods and processes and in workshop organisation, and the broad effect of ■such changes during the past 50 years has been, I be- lieve, to raise the demand, both as to quality and quan- tity, for highly skilled workers. The demand for the products in any industry must largely be governed by the prio3 at which the (goods can be produced. For example, everyone, I think, must realise that the introduction of the power-driven print- ing -press has not led to the employment of fewer skilled men in the printing trades than would have been em- ployed did we depend to-day on hand printing. If a mechanical craft depended to-day iipon hand work, and the demand for the products was on the presient scale, there would probably be more unsldlled labour employed in handling material and such-like work than is the case under modern systems of pro- duction ; and this type of labour now largely finds -employment in the tending of machines—work that •demands higher intelligence and more interest on the part of the unskilled workers than would be required were the processes of production less highly organised. Question II.—Do such developments tend to displace: (a) Higher paid grades of laiour by lower paid ; (b) Middle-aged by younger persons; (c) Adult men by women and young persons; (d) All-round skill by specialised mechani- cal skill; (e) SkiUed labour by less skilled or unskilled; (f) Regular by casual labour? Answer II.—■ (a) The increased demand for products, referred to above, leading to an increased demand for highly intelligent labour, must also increase the power of the worker to demand a higher rate of wages in view of his services being more in re- quest and more productive. I do not think that, as a matter of fact, lower paid—and therefore in most cases, less skilful—workers are displacing better men under modern conditions of employ- ment. (b) In the case of the skilled workman tliere is a progressive increase in skill and also in useful Icnowledge imtil he is past middle life, and henca he is unlikely to be displaced by a younger man. In the case of unskilled workers, whose labour de- mands strength and endurance, with but little skill, there may in some cases be such displace- ment. Advancing age is sometimes a-ccompanied by irregularity of time-keeping, and makes it de- sirable to dismiss the workmen on that account. This, and the reduced efficiency of quite old men, when taken in conjunction with the action of some trade unions in prohibiting the employment of such men at a rate of pay proportional to this im- l^aired efficiency, undoubtedly does lead to the dis- placement of such men, especially if they have, o£](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24399693_0026.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
