THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 1031 November 13, 1914. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Strikes and Lock=outs in the Mining and Quarrying Industries in 1913. Mr. F. H. McLeod, of the Department of Labour Statistics, Board of Trade, in his report on strikes and lock-outs, and on the work of conciliation and arbitration boards in the United Kingdom during 1913, observes that that year was the third of a series in which a considerable number of important disputes have occurred. So far as the available statistics show, there has never before been a series of three consecutive years marked as a whole by such widespread industrial unrest. sympathy with a contractor from whose stall coal was alleged to have been stolen by men from another stall who loaded it in tubs wrongly numbered. At Mountain Ash about 5,000 miners struck work for some days in April demanding that their employers, who had already made deductions from wages for the payment of doctors under an old scheme, should also make deductions for doctors appointed under a new scheme adopted by some of the men. In Yorkshire a pit was stopped for one day as the result of the pit lads striking in sympathy with one of their number who iefused to work on of disputes in the coal mining industry, classified according to district :— No. of Aggregate duration in workpeople w or k ing days. directly & indirectly involved in disputes beginning in 1913. 25,607 12,885 16,768 District. Disputes beginning in 913. Northern counties ___ Yorkshire............ Lancs, and Cheshire ... N. and W. Midland counties .......... Wales and Monmouth- shire .............. East Scotland......... West Scotland ....... 19,078 ... 121,710 910 20 153,206 52,010 322,337 56,903 618,964 2,060 52,178 Disputes in progress at beginning of 1913. 756 39,400 It is interesting to note that this period of unrest synchronised with a period of expanding employment and an upward movement in wages. About one-half of the disputes involved less than 100 workpeople, and only 16 involved as many as 5,000. Similarly, nearly one-half of the disputes lasted less than a week, and about four-fifths of them less than a month. Only 114 (less than 8 per cent.) were in progress as long as 10 weeks; but these 114 disputes accounted for more than one-half of the total aggregate duration of all disputes during the year. The number of workpeople involved in disputes in 1913 was 5'6 per cent, of the total estimated industrial population, and the aggregate duration of the disputes was equivalent to the loss of about one day in the year if spread over the whole industrial population. It should, however, be noted that, though the workpeople indirectly involved (not being parties to the disputes) at the establishments where the disputes occur are included in the statistics, no account is taken of the account of alleged insufficient amount of compensation _________ ______ Total .......... 203,245 ... 1,257,658 ... 40,156 Table A. Percentage proportion of the total number of workpeople employed in the several industries involved in disputes. Groups of trades. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1 1909. 1 1910. 1911. 1912. 1913. Mean percentage. 1904-1913. Building 0’8 0'6 0’1 0’1 0’3 0’1 0’1 0’3 0 6 . 4’4 0’7 Coal mining 5’4 4‘8 9’4 5’4 8’9 26’5 28’6 13’0 93’7 18’6 21’4 Other mining and quarrying ri 3’1 1’6 19 0’7 1’9 1’9 1’2 0’8 8'7 2’2 Metal, engineering and shipbuilding 0’9 0-9 2’9 1’3 4’0 0’7 3’7 59 4’6 8’3 3’3 Textile .. 11 1’3 6’3 3’9 11’0 0’6 10’7 17’8 4’5 6’7 6’4 Clothing 0’2 0’5 1’3 1’7 0’7 0’4 0’6 1’3 4’2 2’0 1’3 Other 01 0*2 0’1 0’3 0’2 0 I 0’5 9’8 3’6 2’5 1’7 All trades 0’9 0’9 2’1 1’4 2’8 2’8 ; 4’9 9’0 13’4 5’6 4’4 effect of strikes and lock-outs upon other industries or establishments. A large and increasing proportion of disputes in recent years have been settled by compromise. This tendency is found if the number of disputes only is considered, but it becomes far more marked if the number of workpeople involved in disputes is taken into account. In 1913, in which 48 per cent, of the workpeople were involved in compromised or partially successful disputes, as against 31 per cent, in disputes which were wholly successful from the point of view of the workpeople, and only 21 per cent, in wholly unsuccessful disputes. The proportion of workpeople who were successful was considerably higher in 1913 than in the four years preceding 1912. In 1913 the number of boards and standing joint committees that considered and settled cases was the highest recorded by the department. During the first seven months of 1914 the time lost owing to labour disputes was even greater than in 1913, but since the beginning of the war the majority of the outstanding differences have been settled. In the coal mining industry there was no great general strike as in 1912, but sectional strikes were numerous, although the number was exceeded in 1909 and 1910, when much unrest prevailed in various coalfields. The number of workpeople involved in the mining and quarrying industries in 1913 was exceeded in 1909, 19.0, and 1912, but was much higher than in any other .year of the ten years under review. Table A gives the percentage proportion of the estimated total number of workpeople employed in the several industries involved in disputes in each of the years 1904 to 1913. Throughout the period the proportion of workpeople involved in the coal mining industry was higher than in any other of the groups of trades; the percentage proportion in this trade in 1913 was only exceeded in 1909, 1910, and 1912 during the 10-jear period under review. In the mining and quarrying industries the average loss of time was about 1J days per head of the total number employed. The aggregate duration of disputes in working days for the mining and quarrying trades (1,615,428) was much lower in 1913 than in either of the four previous years, and it is interesting to note that the dispute with the second highest aggregate in this group was not in the coal mining industry, but was in the china-clay industry and involved 4,800 clay-workers in Cornwall for many weeks. During the last year or two disputes arising out of the assertion and defence of trade union principle have involved large numbers of workpeople, and in 1913 120,000 workpeople were directly involved in the 133 disputes which were due to this cause. About one- quarter of the total number of these disputes were in the coal mining industry. In this industry the disputes consisted of refusals to work with non-unionists, one of the most widespread being a general stoppage early in May at all collieries in South Wales where non-unionists were employed. It is estimated that about 50,000 men in all were involved, work being gradually resumed during the month at various collieries as the non- unionists joined the union. Apart from the great majority of strikes which are capable of being classified under the general categories of causes, a number of disputes occur each year, often arising out of curious and unusual causes, which can only be classified under the heading of “ Mi-cellanSous.” In 1913 12 such disputes occurred, and a few of the more interesting are here mentioned, the majority of the illustrations being taken from coal mining disputes, as no less than seven out of the 12 miscellaneous disputes occurred in that industry. In South Wales 1,000 miners struck for tlnve days alleging that they had been prevented from attending the funeral of a comrade who had be n killed at work. At a colliery in Nottinghamshire 1,100 miners struck for one day in Table B.—Causes and Results of Disputes in 1913—Mining and Quarrying Industries.* Principal cause or object. Total number of disputes begin- ning in 1913. Number of workpeople directly involved in disputes beginning in 1913, the results of which were— Total directly involved. Total indirectly involved. Total aggregate 1 durationf in working days. In favour of work- people. S ' £ > 8 S ce ® o ►S ° Compro- mised or partially successful. Indefinite or un- settled. Wages:— For increase 39 656 5,547 5,171 —. 11,374 3,105 389,483 Against decrease 5 — 50 324 — 374 28 11,400 5,092 As to system of payment of wages 3 333 — 800 — 1,133 38 7,610 Readjustment of rates of payment on account of difficulties or ease in working, quality of materials, &c. 14 1,447 399 1,340 — 3,186 1,871 66,193 20,000 Other 24 3,220 2,123 1,401 — 7,044 9,057 31,688 Total Hours of labour:— 85 5,656 8,419 9,036 — 23,111 14,099 506,374 25,092 For decrease 2 167 — 170 — 337 1,919 9,800 As to arrangement of hours 2 74 — 256 — 330 382 2,572 Other 6 1,490 126 500 — 2,116 5,140 54,684 Total Employment of particular classes or persons 10 1,731 126 926 — 2,783 7,441 67,056 Employment of apprentices and boys 1 19 — — — 19 212 231 For reinstatement of discharged workpeople 21 6,257 1,392 2,806 — 10,455 3,901 91,477 Against employment of certain officials 4 2,110 605 — — 2,715 183 57,788 Other 8 170 5,316 922 — 6,408 664 38,262 9,400 Total Working arrangements, rules, and discipline (other than above):— | 34 8,556 7,313 3,728 — 19,597 4,960 187,758 9,400 For change in existing arrangements 6 — 2,162 1,789 — 3 951 1,195 25,698 Against change in existing arrangements ... 1 10 2,265 5,254 365 — 7,884 2,225 63,737 Other | 6 195 307 — — 5"2 1,902 9,339 664 Total 22 2,460 7,723 ' 2,154 — 12,337 5,322 98,774 664 Trade unionism 33 82,239 512 6,599 — 89,350 20,764 712,850 5,000 Sympathetic disputes 1 — 2,500 — — 2,500 — 10,000 Miscellaneous 7 2,899 4,477 1,670 — 9,046 2,768 32,616 Total I 192 103,541 31,070 24,113 — 158,724 55,354 1,615,428 40,156 * Excluding coal mining, the number of disputes in this group beginning during 1913 was 29, involving 10,157 workpeople directly and 676 indirectly, and the total aggregate duration of all disputes in progress during the year was 357,770 working days. t The aggregate duration in 1913 of disputes which began in that year is printed in roman type. The aggregate duration in 1913 of disputes which began before 1913 is printed in italics. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ paid to his father for an accident. In the Dundee jute trade two sectional strikes occurred because the employers had posted up notices of a general lock-out to force another sectional strike to a close. Table B shows the causes and results of disputes in the mining and quarrying industries in 1913. Disputes involving less than 10 workpeople and those which lasted less than one day have been omitted, except when the aggregate duration exceeded 100 working days. Taking coal mining only, we have the following:— The next table shows the number of disputes in the mining and quarrying industries, together with the numbers of workpeople involved, and the aggregate duration in working days in each of the past ten years:— Aggregate duration Total No. in working days, of work- Disputes Beginning in 1913. Metho 1 of settlement. aulnfcL tion between the parties or their representatives ............... 141 By arbitration....... .................... 6 By conciliation or mediation..... 6 By return to work on employers’ terms without negotiation ............. 10 140,312 2,081 3,287 2,887 Total.................. 163 ... 148,567 The following shows the number of workpeople involved and the aggregate duration, in working days, No. of Total No. disputes of work- Year. beginning people people in each directly indirectly beszinmne- year, involved, involved. ; in yt?m r« Disputes in progress at beginning of year. No. of workpeople directly involved. 1904 .. . 113 .. . 26,131 .. . 20,156 .. 533,703 .. . 123,582 1905 .. . 106 .. . 34,069 .. . 10,722 .. . 1,167,340 ... . 88,174 190o .. . 96 .. . 64,056 .. . 19,777 .. 629,764 ... . 292,338 1907 .. 112 .. . 35,629 .. . 16,938 .. 466,526 ... . 102,535 1908 .. . 145 .. . 60,474 .. . 26,548 .. . 1,271,979 .. . 79,450 1909 .. . 207 .. . 149,576 .. . 123,178 .. . 2,056,170 ... . 173,317 . 205,283 ... . 68,207 ... . 922,328 ... . 158,724 ... 5,263,139 ... 261,021 1,419,162 ...2,682,114 1910 ... 224 1911 ... 179 1912 ... 155 1913 ... 192 91,290 . 72,601 .. 84,408 ... 31,460,044 ... 133,801 55,354 ... 1,615,428 ... 40,156 Conciliation and Arbitration. In 1913 the number of strikes and lock-outs settled by arbitration or conciliation was 150, involving 108.851 workpeople directly. The number of disputes was