The Young Fabians have recently launched aseries of research projects to provide vital information upon which socialist policies may be based. Any local groups of Young Socialists who Can help are asked to write to the YOUNG FABIAN GROUP at 11 Dartmouth Street London SW1, The main areas of enquiry are set out below.
1, Shortage of Local Authority Staff.
One of the most serious limitatiors on future Labour Governments. will be the shortage of skilled staff in various key sectors, If it is possible to gain some idea of the fields in which these staff shortages will be most serious then it may be possible to avert them, The Labour Party has already had a spe.cialist Study Group working on Teacher Supply as this is one of the most obvious places where deficiencies exist. It has also had another working on the building industry and the supply of trained personnel in that industry.
Thd Labour Party is committed to a large programme of improvement of old houses, This will not only involve building workers but public health inspectors and a range of people with other skills. The Land Commissionn will make possible large new schemes of comprehensive development on the lines suggested by Buchanan, How many local authorities have the range of skills in their own departments to take on or even supervise such schemes ? These questions can only be answered after discussion with those working in local authorities, It is this on which the Labour Party Researzxch Department would very much value the help of Young Socialists,
2. General Practice.
Very little up-to-date infomation exists on the state of general practices in this country, or about services like health visitors and midwives, etc., who should be closely linked with the family doctor. We know deficiencies exist in this field but‘to present the full picture and convince people of the need for these changes, examples are needed of these deficiencies in these areas, For instance, how many doctors in your area practicd in group “practice premises ? How many have appointment schemes, and are these effective ? Only a local study.can provide this information,
3. Avvrenticeshins,
We know very little about apprenticeships and even less aboub young workers! attitudes to them, There are a number of hasic questions which should be tackled, however, Young people who want a skilled training should be able to get one, Are there sufficient opportunities in your area ? Does the kind of training in the various firms and trades match up to expect= ations and personal needs ? It would be useful to have a fairly open survey of this subject with each group choosing a certain trade or trades and occup= ations and simply describing the existing situation.
4, Youth Unemployment.
There are signs that the proportion of young people to others may be increasing, Automation and fast te¢hnical changes have new symptoms and one of these is more youth unemployment, We need to know much more about what is happening to young people in their attempts to find work before prescrib= ing exact remedies. Visits should be made to Labour Exchangés to obtain details of the job attenpts and job mobility of young:workers,
THE WEEK Nw er 23 Page 6 Hull Fish "Bobbers" Strike, from an Industrial Correspondent
On Monday, May 11th, Hull Fish docks wero brought to a complete stands -till by an unofficial strike of the bobbers= the men who are employed (by Hull Fishing Vessel Owmers! Association) to discharge trawlers,
Starting at 2&.m., the bobbers work in the damp atmosphere of the 'fish room', or in the open exposed to all weathers. They wear rubber leggings and overalls, and these,( as well as the rest of the clothing, and the hands) become wet and slimy from handling the fish. At present they must take home all their working clothes , and have no washing room facilities at all. They are able to wash under a cold water tap at the side of the fish market!
The men have been demanding a drying room and proper washing facilities for the last five years, and eventually decided that they could wait no longer. A branch meeting (N.U.G.M.W.)in February demanded that unless a new start were made upon drying room facilities within three months a mass dock meeting should be called to initiate strike action. The employers refused to be ticd down tc a time limit, arguing that tenders had to be studied, The mass meeting on May 11th resolved, unanimously,"that if it started to rain during working there should be a complete stoppagecser"s As it was raining at the time, all the men walked off the dock and returned home!
With no warning of the strike, employers and fish-merchants were unable(in spite of ordering out trawler crews, just home after a three week fishing trip,and the use of clerks, fish-buyers and trawler owners) to discharge more than three ships, instead of the usual twelve, and this took nine hours, instead of the normal four. Fish prices soared, and few merchants obtained supplies. Such a demonstration,i.e. a full stoppage, of the bobbers' strength had not occurred for more than 20 years. And the "Fishing Vessel Owners" gave 2 definite date by which tenders would be accepted, promising that work would start on the drying room in early June.
The strike brought to a head the long-standing sense of grievance and discontent felt toward the employers' arrogance in this industry. Behind the immediate issue which caused this strike, other anxieties are generating a much improved attendance at branch meetings. hese includes 1) The fear of redundancy, which is threatened by a new type of 'freezing vessel'. 2) The exclusion of the fish docks from coverage under 'Factory Acts. 3) The incidence of bronchitis- it is estimated that over 60% of the bobbers suffer from the disease, and a petition is being prepared demanding an enquiry by the Ministry of Health into the connection between bronchitis and the conditions of the job. 4) Loss of earningsaverage take-home pay is £80 down comparcd with last year.