We are reproducing the text of some of the papers discussed at last weekend's school on industrial democracy. Further extracts, together with amendments and comments will be published in subsequent issues,
Workers! Control and Workers! Education by G. Selvarajan
eeeWorkers' control of industry is nécessary not only on the ethical grounds of eliminating a highly-paid parasitic bureaucracy but more so because self-government in industry is also the condition for high product= ivity; it is also because self-government should influence further develop= ment of the forces of production, This has been concretely realised in Yugoslavia, where direct management of industries by workers involved in production, was introduced as a condition for the technical and economic development of production.
While we socialists assert that the working classes must take control of the means of production, it devolves on the workers' movement to prepare their workers - leading section, initially - for the actual tasks involved in such a take- over. Such educational preparation can be undertaken only by the workers themselves and their various organisations. Otherwise, while boards of management of industries may have a heavy representation of workers ese, the board as a whole will have to helplessly depend on a career bureaucracy for the actual day-to-day tasks of managing the industry (e.g. some some..Borough Councils depend more or less completely on town clerks today.)
eee(in Yugoslavia) Where the industries are sufficiently large, the education (technical and management) is undertaken by the enterprise itself; the smaller oneSeeeget the assistance of the Workers! Education Association of each republic, which runs workers' universities...The oldest one which was started in Zagreb in 1953, has undergone a metamorphis, in that its main task today is that of an Institute of Adult Education, where a full-time ‘staff of 120 people devote their time only to planning for new needs, and doing research in the educational and self-management problems. The university employs about 800 part-time teachers (teaching hours 4.00 = 7.00 peme, 5 days in the week) andthe number of students in two centres is 16,000. These efforts are parallel to the general education and universities which play the normal role as in the West,
The education is divided into 3 major groups. (1) The general education for those who have missed their opportunities in early life and to those who migrate from the villages to take up employment in industry. Technical education - not°% Volving learning their own technology, but also the general methods of production in that particular field, (2) Higher Workers! Schools. These consist of students who have gone through course 1, and because of their keenness, intelligence and leadership are chosen to study the problem of management, personnel relationship, financial policy, organisation, further investment policy, economic of Yugoslavia and in addition study Marxist philosophy, the history of the working class movements and their present statecsese (3). The third field, which had to give precedence to the first two all these years till the economy developed, is the cultural field. Lectures and exhibitions are organised on painting, end appreciation of various works of arte
The Co-op Movement and Incomes Policy
London Co-operative Society has recently accepted the need for national
control of prices and investment policy, and other Co-oeratives may well
follow suit. This is an important development as, up to now, British
Co-operatives have jealously guarded their independence. For the largest
retail Society voluntarily to offer its co-operation in a national incomes
is of fundamental importance.
Once again, building societies are trying to obtain tax exemptions;
how many of them are prepared, in return, to accept the following conditions
for ‘socialisation! set out by the L.C.S?
(1) Fall disclosure of accounts.
2) Limited return on capital,
2) Democratic control by members plus submission to overall national
planning of level of prices and investment policy.
There is no chance whatsoever of achiaing a just incomes policy in
the capitalist sector of the economy as long as shareholders temain the
"residuary legatees" of accumulated surplus. Many Labour leaders have
raised this question. Speaking at the Labour Party Conference at Margate
in 1950, Jim Callaghan said: "Where thoswho have been concentrating
on a wages policy over the last five years have gone wrong is that should
have concentrated first on a profits policy. I know very well that the
Profits Tax undoubtedly did hit them to some extent. I do not think we hit
them hard enough,"
It is no use turning off the tap after the water has passed through,
The water must be prevented from flowing through the tap. It is quite
immoral to keep the Companies Act of 1855 which says that if you invest £500
in a company your liability is limited but your return is unlimited. That
is the sort of statute that ought to be amended very quickly by a Labour
Government. The executive should examine the whole basis of company financ-
ing. Let us alter the basis of distribution of company profits. Instead
of making the ordinary shareholders the residusxry legatees of all the profits
that are made, let us make the workers the residuary legatees, Let the
shareholders be content with a fixed dividend. Let us abolish ordinary
sharese
Let the productivity, let the increased efficiency, return to the
worker, and if you do that by making the shareholders! return limited -eeee
we would be able to call for an all-out effort for productivity that would
enable us to go ahead knowing that the harder work, the greater efficiency
we were achieving in our industries would return to the consumer or to the
worker in the industry.
In the socially-owned sector of the economy, where the problem of the
surplus is fairly resolved, the Minister of Economic Affairs might, however,
achieve q major break-through, and here British Co-operatives, with a
turnover of £1,100 million per annum could have a vital part to play.
Democracy and the C.W.S. by J. Driscoll (L.C.S.)
»eeIndustrial democracy inside Co-operative enterprises, and by this
I mean all the undertakings in which the Co-operative movement is involved,
will always depend on the urge of the members to this end. So from the very
start we are in difficulties. It is generally known that the members of
retail Co-operatives take little or no part in the running of the organisation.
If this could be remedied we would be able to put pressure on management to
Democracy and the C.W.S. continued/ implement any suggestions from the workers towards industrial democracy and a greater efficiency in Co-operative enterprises.
Most Co-operative workers are unaware that they are working for an ideal; a movement created for the purpose of improving the standard of living of the massese No spirit or purpose prevails; the ideals of Rochdale, so far as most of the employees are concerned, are just a mockery. I think this can be traced to the fact that so far as the C.W.S. Board is concerned they claim that they have to deal with things as they are, in a competitive world of business. They cannot be expected to treat their employees better than those of their competitors, to the extent of only giving wages and conditions operating in the various trades. Many of them are disgracefully lowses.
I believe we should endeavour to seek from the C.W.S. an agreement for all their employees that would cut out the class system at present in the wage structure. Fix a minimum wage and conditions below which no employee of the Co-operative movement should be fall. This in itself would be an advert for the movement; showing that the ideals still exist.
Of ccurse this would mean that we would have to have a fresh look at the unions catering for the Co-operative workers- These could do with a great deal of re-organisation. I would suggest organisation on the basis of a common employer. Unions, such as craft unions and professional associations, could claim exemption. From this position we would hope to build up an internal structure of local committees, up to national level,
From each local committee representatives would be elected to sit with top management taking their full share of responsibility for management decision. Then area representatives to sit on the full board for a period of two years, with the employees having the right of recall. I believe that this would be the necessary revolution that the movement requires, It could lead to a fresh approach, which would allow the movement to face up to the terrific competition from highly efficient capitalistic business, whose one aim is to crush the Co-operative movement.
Workerg internal knowledge would be useful. At the moment they often question the reasons for a particular method of work. Yet, they have no means of checking its efficiency. To them it appears to be wasteful; but who are they to question? - Those paid to govern! If a lay representative was on the Board with full authority to inspect the books, query decisions that appear to be wrong, his contact with the workshop floor would enable him to explain the details of the schemes to the Society have in mind,
Many of us believe that there is a line of thought prevailing in the Co-operative movement that it has reached its peak, or optimum size; and that if they went beyond this point it would be too big to handle. . Over the last decate Co-operative production has shrunk, whilst I.C.I. and Unilever have continued to expand. Could this be because of a successful investment policy which pays off better than spending large sums on capital development? As the standard of living of Britain increase, so will the demand for quality goodse C.W.S. will need to look at all their productions to see if the quality surpasses that of their competitors. I suggest they could use enthusiastic -employees as guinea pigs to assure that the produce they sell meets with public approval. The prerequisite to these proposals is enthusiasm on the part of the Co-operative worker, engendered by excellent workings conditions; a trained personnel at all levels, and managerial encouragement = to those who are prepared to give up their spare time in order to bring abour the aims of the Co-operative and Labour movement = Socialismesee