The Early History of Industrial Conciliation in England

Abstract

?i. The nature and the scale of industrial disputes in England to-day are largely determined by the negotiating machinery which has been set up in nearly all those industries where Trade Unionism plays a significant part. That machinery has been created bv the industries themselves, originally with the purpose of preventing disputes. It has not done so; but it has modified their nature profoundly. In the nineteenth century, the problem of Industrial Relations was a problem of local strikes, often of great severity. To-day, the problem has shifted; it is the large-scale stoppage, involving the whole, or a large part, of an industry, with which we are concerned. Local strikes still occur; but they are usually unofficial unsupported by the unions, and consequently of brief duration. It is the national strike that matters. This change might well be regarded as one of the most important events in the recent economic history of England; but it has been little noticed. Its history has never been written, nor have its consequences been well marked. (One consequence is to put out of date a great deal of the economic theory of Trade Unionism.) It is as a small contribution to its history that this essay has been written. The negotiating machinery in every industry is unique; and the history of industrial relations in every industry has its distinguishing features. But with a little trouble a general tendency can be discerned. Three stages can be recognised, not found in every industry, but forming a pattern which does indicate the general line of development. The first stage is one of local negotiation, showing, as the nineteenth century wears on, al increasing tendency to become formalised. Then, at the close of the century, the formation of employers' associations on a national scale leads to the establishment of rudimentary forms of general negotiations used mainly as a court of