CONFIDENTIAL
C.P. (49) 217
28th October, 1949
Page 460
Printed for the Cabinet. November 1949
Sir Norman Brook
Copy No.
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CABINET
Cress
Agreed.
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DEVELOPMENT OF JOINT CONSULTATION
MEMORANDUM BY THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND NATIONAL SERVICE
In accordance with the undertaking I gave at the meeting of the Cabinet on 13th October (C.M. (49) 58th Conclusions, Minute 1), I submit herewith a paper on joint consultations. It had already been prepared by my Department for consideration by the National Joint Advisory Council (N.J.A.C.) at their meeting on 26th October and records in general terms the progress to date. It also includes observations on the obstacles with which my Department is faced.
2. The N.J.A.C., after consideration of the paper, passed the following resolution:-
"At their meeting in April 1947 the National Joint Advisory Council approved the principle of the setting up of joint production committees where they did not already exist for the regular exchange of views between employers and workers, the machinery to be voluntary and advisory and the form of it to be left to be determined by each industry through its ordinary negotiating arrangements. The British Employers' Confederation (B.E.C.) and the T.U.C. brought this recommendation to the notice of their constituent organisations and the Council now noted with satisfaction the very substan- tial progress made during the last 2 years in the establishment of these joint committees. At the same time the Council were conscious of the fact that some indifference and even objection was still being encountered and the Council agreed that the national organisations should again be asked to recommend to their constituent bodies the urgent desirability of extending as widely as possible the establishment of this form of joint machinery."
2. I would take the opportunity of reiterating my view that the only hope of more substantial further progress lies in a campaign directed by the Union Executives to their local officials and shop stewards, because the fundamental difficulty is the lack of interest on the part of the ordinary rank-and-file employee.
3. The subject will be considered further by the Joint Consultative Com- mittee which, with the agreement of the N.J.A.C., is being reformed in order to deal with any general labour issues arising in connection with the necessity for increased production.
G. A. I.
Ministry of Labour and National Service, S.W. 1,
28th October, 1949.
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