What is wrong with the British iron and steel industry?

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1868556093

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-249484

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: What is wrong with the British iron and steel industry?

Place of publication:: [London

Publisher:: The London Caledonian Press]

Year of publication:: 1931

Scope:: 23 S.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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of a century. The first Committee of Inquiry set up in 1916 to consider the position of the iron and steel industry after the War urged the necessity for a complete reorgan- sation of the industry from the point of obtaining its raw materials to the sale and distribution of its finished products. The Balfour Committee on Industry and Trade, while less definite so far as specific recommendations were con- cerned, and while recognising the financial aspect of the problem in an insecure home market, clearly indicated by zomparisons with other countries the lines of future de- velopment. The reporti of the Committee set up by the present Government has not had official publication, but sufficient s known through unofficial sources to make it clear that the unanimous conclusion was that national organisa- tion of the entire industry upon a regional basis, in com- bination with financial adjustments, were regarded as a fundamental condition of sound and progressive develop- ment. Organisation of the industry on a national footing, and for national purposes, was effected during the War by the State, but it is one thing to organise for war purposes and quite another to organise with the objective of devel- oping peaceful trade and. commerce. While the need is no Jess imperative the recognition of a common interest to secure the objective is lacking. It is true there have been certain crude attempts at what has been termed ‘rationalisation,’ but without any evidence of a proper conception of its meaning or of the objective to be attained. There have been amalgamations of financial interests without, in most cases, the necessary financial adjustments. Labour has been rationalised, but not financial commitments. The result has so far been to increase unemployment and to’ accentuate problems of national.importance. We recognise that in the process of adjusting an unorganised ndustry, displacement of labour must occur, but this would be taken into account and, as far as possible, pro- vided for in any conscious planning of the industry with the national interests in view. A grave defect of the pre- sent haphazard methods is that no regard appears to be paid to the waste arising from labour displacement, for which private enterprise, as such, is not concerned to make provision. Yet it is surely of some importance that in any well-conceived scheme of industrial reconstruction and development the skill, experience and general morale of the labour power of an industry should be as far as possible kept intact. In view of the much greater productivity of labour em- ployed in relation to modern technique and machinery, (13)

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