BRITISH RAILWAY CONTROL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18322, 12 August 1921, Page 4

BRITISH RAILWAY CONTROL.

Iv was anticipated in some quarters that there was a possibility of a serious industrial crisis when the time arrived for the decontrol of the British railways. This belief -was accounted for by the fact that while there was an undertaking on the part of the Government in 1919 to give railwaymen a definite voice in the future control of tho railways, that undertaking was abandoned and its abandonment is associated with the inevitable readjustment of wages, under the reversion to private control. The proposals of the Government for joint control contained, provisions for the creation of a Railway Joint Board, composed of five general managers and five representatives of the men, which would have plenary powers to conduct negotiations dealing with conditions of employment. In addition a Tribunal of Reference was to be set up, on which the railwaymen, the companies, and the public were' to be equally represented, with an independent chairman. Local courts were also to be constituted to deal with grievances peculiar to districts, these courts being composed of equal numbers of men and railway managers. Finally, three representatives of the men were to sit with equal power with general managers “to assist on questions of management.” A year ago very similar proposals wore

outlined in a White Paper by the Ministry of Transport, but these proposals were fundamentally yaried in the Government’s policy bill of the present year. The main provisions of the bill which has been read a third time in the House of Commons were recently indicated in our columns. It will be recalled, also, that Mr J. H. Thomas, M.P., who is secretary of the National Union of Railwayman, strongly urged the members of his organisation to learn the lessons of the coal strike and “settle down.” In the course of a speech at the annual conference of his union, in July last, Mr Inomas declared hot “it was mistakenly explained that industrial strife was the first step toward the realisation of an industrial commonwealth, but those countenancing this would find it an inheritance not worth inheriting.” The De-control Bill has had a fairly smooth passage through the House of Commons, as it was bound to have on account of it being an agreed-upon measure, having the assent of the railway companies, the trading interests, and the railway trade unions. The effort, therefore, of Mr Barnes, as outlined in yesterday’s cablegrams, to secure the representation of the railway men on the directorate of each group of railways, was hound to fail, and the Bill has apparently passed without serious alteration. One of the interesting features in the lengthy negotiations incidental to de-control is the illustration that has been afforded of the practical adaptability of British Labour to actual facts. It is undoubtedly true that the railwayman placed great importance on the principle of joint control, but when it was proved that this could not be obtained amicably with the full consent of the railway companies it was realised that the possibilities of success for such an experiment would he seriously hampered, if not entirely destroyed. The House was evidently impressed by the view of Mr Thomas that amity between the companies and the men would not he achieved by imposing conditions on the companies which they had previously rejected. The passing of the railways to private control will end the reign of extravagance under Government direction, and it is expected that de-control will assist in restoring normal and more healthy conditions in railway management.