in ordinary circumstances this was relatively unimportant but in time of war the settlement of industrial disputes became urgent, and the war period was for Conciliation Boarüs the period of their least utility.
In February, 1915, the Committee on Production was appointed under the chairmanship of Sir George asknth "to enquire .................. as to the best steps to be taken to ensure that the productive power of the employees in the Engineering and Shipbuilding Establishments working for Government purposes shall be made fully available so as to meet the needs of the nation in the present emergency.
11
The Second Report of the Committee contained the following Recommenda- tion:-
"Avcidance of Stoppages on Work for Government Purposes.
With a view to preventing loss of production caused by disputes between employers and workpeople, no stoppage of work by strike or lock-out should take place on work for Government purposes. In the event of differences arising which fail to be settled by the parties directly concerned, or by their representatives, or under any existing agreements, the matter shall be referred to an impartial tribunal nominated by His Majesty's Government for investigation and report to the Government with a view to settlement."
This recommendation was immediately adopted by the Government, and the terms of reference to the Committee were extended to enable it to deal with any cases arising under its Recommendation. From that time (February, 1915) the Committee quickly developed into the principal arbitration tribunal for the settlement of labour disputes.
In March of the same year the Treasury Agreement on the subject of the acceleration of output on Government work was negotiated. By this agreement representatives of a large number of trade unions agreed that stoppages of work on munition manufacture should not take place during the war, machinery for the prevention of disputes that might arisc under the agreement being also devised. The Munitions of War Act, 1915, introduced compulsory arbitration at the option of the Board of Trade, together with the legal prohibition of strikes and lock-outs in certain circumstances and the statutory enforcement of awards. These were further increased by the Munitions of Var hct, 1916, which extended the definition of minitions work and established new arbitra- tion tribunals for women and semi-skilled and unskilled men. The scope of the war-time conciliation and arbitration machinery was further extended by the Munitions of War Act, 1917, which among other things, made provision for the legal extension of awards to the whole of a trade or industry.
Under the procedure of the Munitions of War Acts arbitration became the normal method for the settlement of labour disputes. From the point of view of the workpeople it was more expeditious to claim arbitration under these Acts than to endeavour to secure a settlement by conciliation machinery or other negotiations. On the employers' side also arbitration was often found to be the most satisfactory procedure, for when so much work was being done for Government purposes, the employers' financial interests in the result negotiations was diminished. During the four years 1915-1918 nearly 8,000 awards were issued by arbitration tribunals under the Munitions of War Acis.
By the Wages (Temporary Regulation) Act of 1918, the sections of the Munitions of War Act relative to the prohibition of strikes and lock-outs were repealed, but a form of compulsory arbitration was still retained for the time in the form of an interim Arbitration Court. Apart from this, however, the legal status of conciliation and arbitration was restored to its pre-war conditions.
of
The restrictive legislation of the war period had the inevitable effect of suspending for the time being the working of the normal machinery for collective bargaining, but shortly after the conclusion of the war the legal status of conciliation and arbitration was restored to its pre-war condition by the passing of the Wages (Temporary Regulation) Act of 1918, which repealed the sections of the Munitions of War Acts relative to the prohibition of strikes and lock-outs.
22.