[10 MINIMUM wack LEGISLATION IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

one, but they are well organized and know how to defend their interests,
 as was shown by the recent general strike. But the use of this
weapon has been shown again and again to be extremely dangerous
to the general national prosperity. Prior to the grave experience
of 1926, a general strike in the English coal mines in 1912 showed
this. As an outcome of that strike a law was passed instituting
minimum wages for underground workers in the mines,

Machinery

Joint district boards have been formed, composed of delegates
of workers and of mine owners, and presided over by an impartial
president chosen by the parties or, if they do not agree, by the board
of trade. These Boards fix minimum wages and issue licenses to
old or defective workers authorizing them to work for lower wages.!
Great Britain has been divided into 23 mining districts, and in
each district a board has been constituted. In general the miner
is paid for piecework, and this has been in no way changed by the
law. The geologic structure of the mines, however, is not uniform.
There are bad places where the worker, with the best will in the
world, can not obtain sufficient results, In order for him to earn
a living it seemed necessary to supplement the piecework rates fixed
by voluntary agreement of the parties by a minimum rate for time
work. This was the work the boards had to accomplish.
Principle of Wage Fixation

The “fair-wages” principle is applied in fixing minimum wage
rates for miners. The average piecework rates paid for the particular
 job are the standard for fixing the minimum rates. The
point is to guarantee that nobody shall receive less than the genoral
 rate on account of causes over which he has no control.
Time rates are calculated to match the average earnings under
piece rates. In France also piece rates for home workers have to be
calculated so as to match time rates in workshops. These instances
(British mines and French home work and recently also Spanish
home work) are probably the only ones where that particular variety
of the “fair-wage principle—adjustment of one wage method to
be “just ” in comparison with another—is applied.
Results

During the war the piecework rates increased several times, and
the boards then increased the minimum rates per hour, These
minimum wages have also a certain influence on the piece rates.
The mine owners, indeed, have an interest in the piecework rates
being higher than the minimum time rates Otherwise the workers
would be tempted to abandon strenuous effort and take things easy,
oeing satisfied with the minimum rates, or, as they say there, “to go
upon the minimum.” Wherever the minimum is applied preferably
production suffers, Nevertheless, the minimum rates have fre-Juently
 been increased, by collective contracts, beyond the amount

* Stone, Gilbert: British Coal Industry. London, 1919, p., 174.