rAL TNStrTtTTK OV AC^UlCl
!■! I \ I ; op E'CDN'
M 1 • .
: O
THE MAINTENANCE
OF
"THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY
IN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING IHE WAR
BY
J ;:. MONTGOMERY
CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF lA OXOMIC AND SOCIAL BSTEJ:-UGK> OF THE INTEKiVATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTUKI
y ROMH
PRINTING OFFICE OF THE XNTERNATTIONAI, INSTlTl'lE OF
Tq22
:k . fe. 4
THE LIBRARY OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
p
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE
BUREAU OP ECONOMIC AND SOCIAI, INTRI^UGENCE
n
THE MAINTENANCE
OF
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY
IN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING THE WAR
BY
J. K. MONTGOMERY
CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE
f
» -•«
• • • • « •
• * -• ••-
• •* • « •
• • • • •
* t, » • •
• • • • • <
■ •«••« ••«
ROI^IE
PRINTING OFFICE OF THE INTERNATIOXAI, INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE
1922
• • • - ^
• « • * ft
' ? -■' -f
fc to
THE ]\IAINTENANCE
OF
2 THE AGRICULTURAIv LABOUR SUPPLY
to
cry
384684
The report here presented on The ]\Iaintenance of the Agricui.- TURAL Labour Supply in England and Wales During the War was prepared in connection with the enquiry ivhich is being carried out by the International Institute of Agficulture into the measures taken in different countries during the War and since the cessation of hostilities to increase agricultural production. This report has already been published in the International Review of Agricultural Economics and a French transla- tion of it will figure in a volume containing reports on the same question relating to various countries.
J. K. Montgomery,
Chief of the Bureau of Economic and Social Intelligence.
Rome, November 1922.
CONTENTS
Ch-apter I : The Agricultural I,abourer axd Military Service. 3
Chapter II : Soldier I,abour. 22
§ I. General Arrangements for the Release of Soldiers for Work on
the I^and 22
§ 2. The* Conditions of Employment 3:>
§ 3. The Supply and Training of Tractor Drivers and Steam Plough
or Threshing Tackle Men. 34
§ 4. The Supply and Training of Horse Ploughmen ^y
§ 5. The Xumber of Soldier labourers Employed 40
Chapter III : Prisoners of War Attn Interned Civillans 42
§ I. Prisoners of War 42
§ 2. Interned Civilians 49
Chapter IV : \^'omen lyANDwoRKERs 51
§ I. The Need of Women Workers 52
§ 2. The Difficulties to be Overcome 52
§ 3. The Administrative Organization 53
§ 4. Village Women 55
§ 5. The Women's Land Army 57
§ 6. The Training of \\'omen Workers 61
§ 7. The Kinds of Farm ^^'ork done by Women 69
Chapter V : Some Other Sources of Labour 69
§ I. Belgian Refugees 69
§ 2. Danish Labourers i . . . . 69
§ 3. Conscientious Objectiors 69
§ 4. National Service Volunteers and War Agricultural Volunteers. 70
§ 5. Schoolboys, Schoolmasters, Ministers of Religion, Civil Serv- ants, etc 72
Ch.\pter VI : Minimum Wages for Agricultural Labour 77
§ I. The Agricultural Wages Board 77
§ 2. District Wages Committees 78
§ 3. Procedure in fixing Minimum Wages 80
§ 4. The Principles on which Minimum \\'ages were fixed 80
§ 5 . Benefits and Allowances as Part Paj'ment of Wages 81
§ 6. Hours of Employment : Overtime and " Walking Time " ... 85
§ 7. Minimum Wages for Ordinary Male \\'orkers 87
§ 8. Minimum Wages for Special Classes of Male Workers 89
§ 9. Minimum Wages for Female Workers. no
§ 10. Corn and Hay Harvest Wages, 112
!{ II. The Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board 120
THE MAINTENANCE
OF
THE AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR SUPPLY
IN ENGLAND AND WALES
DURING THE WAR.
The maintenaDce of the supply of agricultural labour during the War in England and Wales (as in other parts of the United Kingdom) was 3. twofold problem. It was necessary not only to prevent the supply being so depleted by the enlistment of agricultural labourers as to render it impossible to maintain agricultural production at the pre-War level, but to provide labour for the increased cultivation which was required to assure the food supply of the countr3^
We find accordingly two distinct series of measures. The first of these provided for the retention of certain classes of agricultural labourers on the land by exempting them from niilitar>^ service or delaying their call to the Colours. The other series pro\'ided for replacing the mobiHzed labourers and for supplying additional labour. These measures took many forms, chief amongst which were the detachment of soldiers from military duties for work on the land and the organization on a large scale of the employment of women labourers. Many other sources, of labour were also drawn upon, such as prisoners of war, Belgian refugees, and foreign immigrants, while for seasonal labour public employees, school masters, school children and others were encouraged to volunteer their services. The fixing of minimum wages for agricultural labourers may also be regarded as one of the .steps taken for the maintenance of the supply of agricultural labour.
With each of the different methods adopted for maintaining or re- plenishing the labour supply we shall deal in tuni, but we must here'pre- mise that while the measures emanated principally from the War Office, the Board of Agriculture (of which a special Food Production Department was formed at the beginning of 1917), the National Service Department (created in igi6 and erected into a Ministry in 1917), and the Local Government Board, their local execution was entrusted in the main to
2 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
the County War Agricultural Committees (formed towards the end of 1915), to their Executive Committees (formed at the beginning of 1917) or to their District Committees. Questions relating to the exemption of agricultural labourers from military'- service were dealt with by the Local Tribunals (first formed at the end of 1915) in collaboration with the Agri- cultural Committees or Executive Committees. ^Measures concerning the employment of women were for the most part carried out by the Women's War Agricultural Committees, formed in 1916. The fixing of minimum wages was entrusted to the Agricultural Wages Board and to District Wages Committees.
It must also be noted that while the importance of maintaining the home production of food-stuffs was quickly recognized and efforts were made to promote it even in the first years of the War it was not tmtil 1 9 17 that this was done on an extensive scale. In that year the Com Production Act was passed and a vast programme was put into execution for increasing the area of arable land. The area of arable land was, in fact, 10,998,250 acres in 1914; 10,965,710 acres in 1915 ; 11,051,100 acres in 1916 ; 11,246,110 acres in 1917 and 12,398,640 acres in 1918. For this increased cultivation additional labour was required biit in 1917 and 1918 the military situation was such that there was urgent need of men. We shall see what steps were taken to reconcile these conflicting needs.
THE AGKICULTUKAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE
CHAPTER I. THE AGRICUIvTURAL LABOURER AND MHJTARY SERVICE.
The mobilization of the Army and the enlistment of large numbers of men caused some difficulty to the farmers in getting in the harvest of 1914 (i). A general shortage was not, however, severely felt at once. Returns obtained by the Board of Trade showed that the number of male persons in regular employment in agriculture in January 1915 was 12.4 per cent, less than in January 1914 (2). As 15.6 per cent, of the persons employed in January 1914 had joined the naval or mihtary forces, it was evident that the farmers had been able to fill the places of one in five of those who had joined. This had been done by employing men who had previously been casual labourers or men who were usually continuously employed in the summer, but were unemployed or did other than agri- cultural work in the winter.
At this time the most pressing need was for milkers, horsemen (who had been recruited in especially large numbers for the new armies) and men competent to work threshing machines.
In the summer of 1915 the shortage was strongly felt and instructions were issued to General Officers Commanding-iu-Chief and to Officers Commanding Districts that when there was no one over recruitable age available, a working farm bailifi or foreman, a head carter, horseman, and second horseman in the case of a large farm, or waggoner, a head stockman or yardman, a shepherd, and necessarv* milkers (until either women, or men not of recruitable age could be trained to take their place, or other means could be provided to replace them) should not be induced to enlist, and that sufficient engine-drivers, blacksmiths and thatchers should be left, as far as possible, in every district (3).
The same concession was also made in respect of the engine drivers and mechanics employed by proprietors of steam ploughs and threshing machinery.
In the event of a difference of opinion arising between Recruiting Officers and farmeis or proprietors of agricultural machinery' with regard to the enlistment of special men, it was arranged that the Chairman of each Petty Sessional Division in England and Wales should select a magistrate to act as referee in cases of the kind. Particulars of the case for reference to a magistrate were to be stated on a form which would be supplied by Recruiting Officers on request. The form, when completed, was to be forwarded to the Clerk to the Petty Sessional Division concerned, who would send it to the selected magistrate and arrange a day convenient
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, September 1914.
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 1915.
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1915.
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
to the parties for a hearing. At the hearing only the Recruiting Officer and the employer would be permitted to attend and be heard.
At this time the National Register was being prepared with a view to ascertaining definitely what men were available for military service, but on 28 September the President of the Board of Agriculture was able to announce that he had arrarged with the Secretary of State for War that, as soon as the analysis of the National Register had been completed, men of the classes of working farm bailiffs, shepherds, stockmen (includ- ing milkers), horsemen, thatchers, engine drivers, and mechanics and attendants on agricultural machinery', steam ploughs and threshing machines would not be accepted for enlistment, even if they shoiild offer themselves (i).
In connection with the system of recruiting adopted towards the end of 19 15 and usually known as Lord Derby's Recruiting Scheme, special arrangements were made to retain a sufficient number of labourers on the land (2).
Under this scheme a man who wished to join the Army might elect to be enUsted for immediate service with the Colours or to be " attested," placed in the Reserve (Section B), grouped, and returned to his civil oc- cupation until his group was called up for ser\dce.
There were 46 groups, 23 for single men (including widowers without children dependent upon them), each year of age constituting a separate group, and 23 similar groups for married men ; the first group consisted of single men aged 18 years, the 46th of married men aged 40. Men mar- ried subsequently to 15 August 1915, the date of registration, were treated as single men. It was proposed to call up the groups for military service in the numerical order of the groups, except that men of 18 years would not be called up for service in any case until they attained the age of 19 years.
To deal with questions arising in connection with the new recruiting arrangements local authorities were invited to form committees. These committees were styled Local Tribunals and a Central Appeal Tribunal was appointed by the Government to deal with cases referred to them by the Local Tribunals.
Certain classes of skilled agricultural labourers had been " starred " in connection with the National Register, and a list of reserved occupa- tions had been prepared which included certain occupations in trades aUied to agriculture. The Army Council had issued instructions to all Recruiting Officers that starred men and men on the list of reserved oc- cupations who wished to join the Army should not be enlisted for immed-
(t) Appeal by Lord Selborne to the farmers and occupiers of land in England and Wales {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1915).
(2) Circular, dated 19 November 1915, addressed by the Local Government Board to Local Authorities. Resume of this Circular so far as it relates to agriculture, and Statement prepared by the Board of Agriciilture as to the effect on agriculture of Lord Derby's Recruit ing Scheme, published in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 5.
THE AGRICUI,TURAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE 5
iate service with the Colours. They could only be attested, grouped, and passed to the Army Reserve, and immediately sent back to their civil occupations. They would be provisionally exempted from actual serv- ice and would not be called up unless it was decided by the Central Ap- peal Tribunal that it was no longer necessary in the national interest for them to continue to be provisionally exempted .
Questions as to whether the occupation of a man was, in fact, a starred or a reserv^ed occupation or whether it was necessary, in the national interest, that he should be retained in civil employment, were to be in- vestigated by the Local Tribunals, which would report to the Central Ap- peal Tribunal for decision.
Where a man who was actually engaged in a starred occupation had not been starred, the man or his employer could make an application to the Local Tribunal. If the Recruiting Officer agreed to the application, the man would be treated as though he had been starred. If not, the Ivocal Tribunal were to investigate the facts and report, with their recom- mendations, to the Central Appeal Tribunal.
If any " starred " man had inadvertentlybeen enlisted for immediate service with the Colours, the employer was to write at once to the Area Commander, the War Office having promised to take all possible steps to transfer the man to the Army Reserve and send him back to his civil occupation.
In the case of a man who was not in thelsitof " starred " or " reserved " occupations, but who might be individually indispensable to an em- ployer's business, the employer might bring the case of any such man — if he had been attested, grouped and passed into the Reserve (but not if he had been enlisted for immediate service with the Colours) — before the Local Tribunal with a view to his being placed in a later group, but in these cases the man himself had also to state that he was wiUing to remain in the employer's service if a claim were allowed, and the man's consent to this was therefore made a condition precedent to any claim by the employer.
If the Recruiting Officer raised no objection to the claim, the case might be treated as decided, and the I/)cal Tribunal would notif^^ the em- ployer accordingly. Failing agreement, the Local Tribunal would decide whether the man should be placed in a later group and if so in which group. It was not competent to the Local Tribunal in a case of tliis kind to decide that a man was to be provisionally exempted from service and not to be called up with the group in which he was placed.
The Local Tribunal could not place a man back more than lo groups but if, when the time came to call up the group to which the man had been postponed, the circumstances continued to be such as to justify, his being placed in a still later group, apphcation to this effect might be made to the Local Tribunal by the employer or the man as the case might be.
The term " indispensable " was to be strictly interpreted. It would not be enough for the employer to show that he would be inconvenienced, even seriously inconvenienced, by the loss of the man. Speaking generally, the employer had to show not only that the man was individually indis-
IHE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
pensable, but also that every effort had been made to obtain a tempo rarj- substitute for him, and that the employer had given reasonable facihties for men in his employment to enlist.
Farmers themselves, in common with other employers, had not l^een starred, but as it was essential from the national point of view that there should be someone on each farm to direct the business and ensure the proper cultivation of the land, the President of the Board of Agriculture urged farmers of miUtary age who desired to join the Army not to enHst for immediate service with the Colours, but to be attested and grouped in Section B, Army Reserve. If a farmer remained on his farm, it was thought that it should be possible for him in most cases to release his son for miUtary .service, miless that son were really indispensable to the cultivation of the farm owing to the enlistment of the skilled labourers.
If a skilled agricultural labourer who had been " starred " as such left his employment on the farm in order to take up other work not con- nected with agriculture, the " starring " of that man ceased to be oper- ative (i).
It was officially announced on 17 December 1915 that against the names of men " starred," men authorized to wear a war work badge is- sued by the Government, and men actually engaged in a reser^'^ed occup- ation a mark was placed in the Army Register (2). Owing to. the pres- sure in recruiting offices, however, it was thought that in some cases the mark might have been omitted. If any man in the categories mentioned received a notice calling bim up for ser\^ice, he was at once to see his em- ployer, who should forward the notice forthwith to the Recruiting Officer who issued it, together with a certificate signed by the employer, stating the precise occupation in which the man was actually engaged, and the name, address and business of the firm by which he was employed.
On receipt of these particulars the Recruiting Officer would provi- sionally cancel the notice calling up the man, and, if on investigation it was foimd that the statements made by the employer were correct, a mark would be placed in the Army Register against the name of the man. If the Recruiting Officer had reason to doubt whether the man was entitled to have a mark placed against his name, he would take steps to have the matter investigated.
War Agricultural Committees and their District Committees had not at tliis time the right to appear before the Local Tribunals, but they could bring to the notice of those Tribunals in writing any facts which they might consider of importance bearing on cases connected with the starring of skilled agricultural labourers, the indispensability of particu- lar employees, etc. (3).
Under the Military Service Act 1916 all men were on the appointed
(r) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1915.
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 191 6.
(3) Circular Letter, dated 29 December 1915, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1916).
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE
date (2 March 1916) deemed to have been enHsted and to have been pass- ed to the Reserve who : —
1. Were ordinarily resident in Great Britain on 15 August 1915, or had become or thereafter became ordinarily resident in Great Britain after that date ;
2. Had attained the age of 18 years on 15 August 1915 and had not attained the age of 41 before 2 March 1916 ;
3. Were on 2 November 1915 single or were widowers without children dependent on them, subject to certain exceptions, amongst which were ; —
{a) members of the Regular or Reserve Forces. {b) men who had left or been discharged from the naval or miUtary service of the Crown in consequence of disablement or ill-health.
(c) men who had offered themselves for enlistment and had been rejected since 14 August 1915.
The Act did not apply to men who voluntary attested imder Ivord Derby's Scheme in Section B, Army Reserve. Under Section 2, Sub-section 2 of the Act, Government Departments were empowered to certify that men engaged in certain occupations (known as " certified occupations ") might be exempted on the ground that the work of such men was work of national importance. The agricultural occupations which were so certified by the Board of Agriculture were as follows (i) : —
Agricultural Enginemen and Mechanics. — Agricultural machinery, steam ploughs and threshing machines: Attendant, driver, mechanics
Farm Workers. — Farm baiUff, foreman, grieve, steward.
Farm beastman, byreman, cattleman, stockman, yardman.
Farm carter, horseman, ploughman, teamster, wagoner.
Farm hind (if foreman or ploughman).
Farm servant (if foreman or ploughman) (Scotland).
Farm shepherd.
Thatcher.
Farmers and Market Gardeners. — Farmer (including market gardener and fruit farmer) provided that : —
(a) Farming was his sole occupation, and his personal labour or superintendence was indispensable for the proper cultivation of his holding; or {b) If he were partly occupied in another occupation and his per- sonal labour or superintendence was indispensable for the proper cultivation of his holding, and such cultivation was expedient in the national interest.
Foreman in aU departments of hop, fruit or market gardens.
Stud Attendants. — »Stallion man (a man who looks after and travels a stallion). Stud groom (Scotland).
These " certified occupations " were the same as those previously known as " starred " or " reserved " occupations, with some additions and revisions, notably the addition of " Farmer (including market gar- dener and. fruit farmer)".
(i) Notice to Farmers issued by the Board of Agriculture {Journal of the Board of Agri- culture, February 1916).
8 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
The only persons entitled to be exempted were those whose principal and usual occupation was one of the pertified occupations.
Applications for exemption were to be made to the I/jcal Tribunal, but the miUtary representative might object to a certificate of exemption being granted on the grounds that : —
{a) The man's principal and usual occupation was not in fact one of the " certified occupations", or that
(ft) Not withstanding that the man's principal and usual occu- pation was one of the " certified occupations " it was no longer necessary in the national interest that he should continue in civil employment.
An application for a certificate of exemption might also be made by or in respect of a man who was not engaged in a " certified occupation", on the ground that it was expedient in the national interest that the man should, instead of being employed in mihtary service, be engaged in other work in which he was habitually engaged or in which he wished to be en- gaged ; that, if he were being educated or trained for any work, it was expedient that he should continue to be so educated or trained ; that serious hardship would ensue if the man were called up for Army service owing to his exceptional financial or business obUgations or domestic position ; on the groimd of ill health or infirmity ; on the ground of a conscientious objection to the imdertaking of combatant service.
The Act did not apply to men who had attested voluntarily under lyord Derby's Scheme, but it was provided that a voluntarily attested man whose principal and usual occupation was one of the " certified oc- cupations", might go to the local military representative and claim that he should not be called up for miUtary service. If the military represent- ative agreed the necessary steps would be taken by the military author- ities to secure that the man was not called up so long as the exemption continued, but if the miUtary representative disagreed apphcation might be made to the Local Tribunal, who would decide the case.
As it was certain that the mihtary authorities would claim for the Army all men hable to mihtary service who were not absolutely essential on any particular farm the Board of Agriculture asked the War Agricul- tural Committees to consider the possibiUty of initiating some scheme for a redistribution of agricultural labour (i). There were districts in which some farms were still carrying practically their ordinary staff, while in other cases the labour had been so depleted as to render it almost imposs- ible to carry on the cultivation of the farms. It was recognized that any such scheme must be voluntary, but it was in the interests of the farmers, as well as of home food production, that there should be a redistribution of the available labour.
It soon became necessar^'^ to make a careful revision of the list of certified occupations in order to insure that as many as possible of the
(i) Circular Letter, dated 17 March 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 191 6).
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVrCE . 9
young unmarried men who could be spared without serious detriment to essential national services should he released for service in the Army (i).
In view of the evidence which had reached the Government that in certain cases the number of men of mihtary age who were being retained on the land was greater than was absolutely essential if full use were made of the services of older men, women and other sources of labour, it was decided from and after i May 1916, to apply a closer scrutiny to the cases of unmarried men who were farm baihflts, foremen, grieves and stewards if they were under 30 years of age, and to all other unmarried men who were under 25 years of age. It was not proposed to alter the existing arrange- ment so far as it related to the farmers themselves and to the small holders who were included within the definition " farmer (including market gardener and fmit farmer) ".
It was also decided that no single man of mihtary age should continue to be regarded as engaged in a certified occupation unless he had held his post, or one of similar character with another employer, previous to 15 August 1915.
The effect of these modifications would be that instead of there being a presumption that the men concerned could receive certificates of exemp- tion from military service, unless objection were made by the mihtary representative, the duty of showing that the men were absolutely indis- pensable for the cultivation of the farm or the maintenance of the head of Hve stock would be thrown on the farmers, and the^^ would have to satisfy the I,ocal Tribunals in each particular case that it was in the national interest that the men should continue in their civil employment.
Arrangements were made at this time for the appointment of repre- sentatives of the Board of Agriculture who would be authorized to appear before the x\ppeal Tribunals, and the Board of Agriculture requested the War Agricultural Committees to take immediate steps, through the Dis- trict Committees or otherwise, to nominate prominent agriculturists to represent the Board before each Local Tribunal.
The revised list of certified agricultural occupations was issued by the Board of Agriculture on 19 April 1916 (2). The men who ceased to be included in the Hst of Certified Occupations were as foUows : —
{a) Farm bailiff, foreman, grieve, steward. Unmarried men under the age of 30.
Farm beastman, byreman, cattleman, stockman, yardman. i
Farm ' carter, horseman, ploughman, f ^^^^^^^^^ ^,^ ^^^^ t^, teamster, wagoner. - ,
Farm hind (if foreman or ploughman). I 5 / 5-
Farm servant (if foreman or ploughman), j "
Scotland.
(i) Ciroilar Letter, dated 25 March 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County- War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 191 6). (2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, :May 1916.
10 THE AGRrCTJLTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Foreman in hop, fruit or market garden. Unmarried- men under the age of 25.
{b) Men who were not engaged in the same occupation on or be- fore 15 August 1915 as that in which they were now engaged.
As a result a certificate of exemption given to any man within those classes on the groimd that he was engaged in a certified occupation would automatically cease to be in force on i May, no matter what period of exemption had been granted previously by a Tribunal. If, therefore, his employer thought it necessary to retain his services, he would have to apply to the Local Tribimal for a renewal of the certificate of exemption, on the ground that his services were still indispensable.
Earl}' in the autumn of 19 16 the Army Council addressed a letter to General Officers Commanding in Chief, Districts, and to Officers Com- manding Recruiting Areas in which it was stated that in order to maintain the production of food supplies, to allow of the autumn cultivation, and generally to re\dew the agricultural situation, it had been agreed that, subject to any decision of the Man-Power Board, and subject to any revi- sion which developments of the militar}'' situation and further information in regard to the agricultural situation might demand, no more men from among those emploA'^ed in agriculture would, until i January iQiy.and, in the case of men whose whole time employment on a holding was necessary for maintaining milk production, until April 1917, be called to the Colours, except in return for men released from the Colours for work at agricul- ture (i).
Prior to these dates, however, direct substitution of men not fit for general service who were with the Colours would be made for men fit for service who were still in civil life, but cases would occur where it was more in the national interest to call up a man employed in agriculture from one place, and to send from the Colours a man not fit for general ser\'ice to work at agriculture in another.
To this general agreement the cases of certain men who had been re- fused exemption by the Tribunals, but who at the urgent request of the President of the Board of Agriculture had been allowed to remain for a further stated period in civil life for agricultural work, would be treated as exceptions, and their retention in civil employment was to be consider- ed by local military authorities together with the representative of the Board of Agriculture on the Coimty Appeal Tribunal.
A scale of labour had been agreed upon between the Army Council and the Board of Agriculture as desirable to retain on farms. This scale was: —
One skilled able-bodied man or lad (wherever possible not of milit- ary age) for each of the following : —
each team of horses required to cultivate the land ; every 20 cows in milk, when the assistance of women or boys was available ;
(i) Circular Letter, dated 5 October 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees {Journal of the Board of Agricnllure, October 191 6).
THE AGRICI'LTUKAL LABOURER AND MIIJTAKV SERVICE H
every 50 head of stall or yard stock, when auxiliary feeding was resorted to and the assistance of women or boys was available ;
every 200 sheep, exclusive of lambs, grazed on enclosed lands ; ever}' 800 sheep running on mountain or hiU pasturage.
It was not intended that this scale should be undeviatinglj- followed, nor did it embrace all descriptions of men employed on the land ; it was circulated merely to afford guidance as to the number of certain classes of men who were required to preserve the farming industry.
In connection with the arrangement above outhred Officers Command- ing Units at home were instructed to prepare lists of men who before enlistment were engaged in agriculture and who could be transferred to the Army Reserve and returned to their agricultural occupation, in order to release younger men who were fit for general service in the field (i). The Officers Commanding would appoint a Military Substitution Officer for each area, and a representative of agriculture was to be appointed to co-operate with him. Wherever possible, the representative of the Board of Agriculture before the Appeal Tribmial was to be the Agricultural Re- presentative for dealing with substitution cases, but if he could not under- take the duty, the Chairman of the War Agricultural Committee in consul- tation, if necessary, with the Committee was to nominate another person or other persons for the purpose.
The employer would be approached by the Substitution Officer with a view to ascertaining whether he was employing any man fit for general service. If he were, a substitute was to be offered; selected from men who, before enlistment, were employed in agriculture, and, if possible a man who was employed with that employer or in the same parish. If the proposed substitution were agreed upon, the War Office would take steps to place the substitute on the farm. If it were not agreed to, the Sub- stitution Officer was to consult with the Agricultural Representative and if the farmer were unwilling to agree to the siibstitution on grounds which appeared to the Substitution Officer and the Agricultural Representative to be unreasonable, the certificate of exemption held by the man fit for general service stiU employed by the farmer was to be re\'iewed, and the fact that a substitute had been offered and refused was to be brought to the notice of the Tribunal.
If a man who had been transferred to the Reser\^e for the purpose of working at agriculture should leave the occupation to which he had been assigned he was, as a rule, to be called up for service with the Colours again and would not be allowed to take up other employment without the con- sent of the military authorities.
Area Commanders and Agricultural Representatives were to satisfy themselves that the wages to be paid to the substitutes were fair and in accordance with the rates ruling in the district.
All differences arisins: between farmers and substitutes were to be
'C5
(i) Circular Letter, dated 9 November 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1916).
12 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
dealt with by the Area Commander in consultation, if necessary, with the Agricultural Representative and if a substitute left a farmer who had treated him well another substitute was to be provided if the farmer appHed for one.
Before the end of 1916, the War Office obtained, by means of a Cen- sus Form, particulars of the labour employed on farms, together with information as to the cropping and stock, and of the men formerly employed who had joined the Army since the outbreak of the War (i).
The forms were left on all occupiers of five acres of land and upwards, and were distributed and collected by the police. They were filled up in duplicate, one copy being sent by the police direct to the War Office, where the information was tabulated and summarized. The other copy was sent to the Officer Commanding the recruiting area in which the farm was situated. These latter forms were scrutinized by committees set up in each area and a report was attached to each form stating whether, having re- gard to the scale of labour agreed upon, together with a knowledge of local conditions, it was considered that the labour available was {a) suffici- ent, [b) excessive, (c) deficient. In cases where the labour on the holding was considered either excessive or deficient, the particular deficiency or excess was to be stated, e. g., ploughman, carter, general labourer.
Agriculturists were rex)resented on the committees undertaking the scrutiny. Arrangements for appointing suitable persons were made by the representatives of the Board of Agriculture before the Appeal Tribunal, in conjunction with ' the War Agricultural Committees.
The Agricultural Census disclosed that there was an unnecessarily strong complement of agricultural labourers in some parts of England and Wales, but that other farming districts had too few men left to secure that increase in food production which was desirable in the national interest (2).
However as a result of representations made to them by the Board of Agriculture and to enable a complete review of the situation as regards agricultural labour to be made in the light of the information disclosed by the analysis of the Agricultural Census, the Army Council agreed that a further short period of delay should be allowed in caUing up men from agriculture. This would be efiected by granting leave to all agricultural workers who were due to report on 1 January 1917, until such time as they received further instructions to join.
The urgent necessities of the mihtary situation in January 1917 made it necessary to call up half of the 60,000 men engaged in agriculture to whom the tribunals had refused certificates of exemption (3). It was
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1916.
(2) Xotice issued by the War Office on 21 December 1916, quoted in Memorandiun dated 22 December 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultura Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 191 7).
(3) N"otice to Farmers issued by the Board of Agriculture on i6 January 191 7 and Letter to the Press signed by the Secretary of State for War and the President of the Board of Agricul- ture and issued on 24 January 1917 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 1917
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE 1 3
- ■
agreed, however, that beyond 30,000 men, no more men would be taken from agriculture without the express approval and sanction of the War Cabinet.
In order to make good the loss of 30,000 men, the military author- ities arranged to replace them by a corresponding number of substitutes. The men would not necessarily be skilled agriculturists, but a con.siderable proportion would be men skilled in the management of horses. Efforts would also be made by the War Office to supply as many more men as from time to time they might have at their disposal from C3 men or other sources.
Recruiting officers were instructed to consult the representatives of the County War ^Agricultural Executive Committees in order to decide which men were to be called up for service in each recruiting area and sub-area (i).
Subject to the exigencies of the military situation, no more Class B or Class C men were to be taken from agriculture, and if a man, on medical examination, was placed in either of those classes he would not be called up, or if he had been called up since 12 January 1917, his notice would be cancelled and he would be returned to his civil occupation.
W^here a farmer had on his farm only the amount of male labour set out in the agreed scale, it was arranged that the position of his employees with regard to their liabiHty to mihtary service should not be affected in ally way by the number of women a farmer might employ. Women labour was not to be regarded as in substitution for male labour, but to be sup- plementary only.
The Hst of agricultural certified operations was again revised and the following amended list was issued on 20 March 1917 (2) : —
Farmer(including Market Gardener and Fruit Farmer) .—Provided that— (a) farming is his sole occupation and his personal labour or superin- tendence is indispensable for the proper cultivation of his holding ;
{b) if he is partly occupied in another occupation, his personal labour or superintendence is indispensable for the proper cultivation of his holding and such cultivation is expedient in the national interest.
Agricultural machinery, steam ploughs and threshing machines : At- tendant, driver, mechanic.
Farm bailiff, foreman, grieve, steward {Unmarried men up to the age of 30 not covered by list).
Farm beastman, byreman, cattleman, \ teamster, waggoner. i Unmarried men tip to
Farm carter, horseman, ploughman, > the age of 25 not covered- teamster, waggoner. i by list.
Farm hind (if foreman or ploughman). ;
Shepherd. _
Thatcher.
(i) Memorandum, dated 28 February 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 191 7).
(2) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture on 20 March 1917 {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 1917).
14 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Stallion man (a man who looks after and travels a stallion).
Hop, fruit and market gardens — Foreman (Unmarried men tip to the age of 25 not covered by list).
Seed growing industry: Head of department, seed expert {Unmarried men tip to the age of 30 and married men -up to the age of 25 not covered by list)
Forest -tree nurseries : Seed expert {Unmarried men up to the age of 41 and married men tip to the age of 31 not covered by list).
In view of the importance of maintaining a supply of agricultural seeds it was urged that farmers growing agricultural seeds in bulk for seedsmen should receive special consideration from the Tribunals with regard to the trained men required for the purpose.
Age meant age of the man on i May 1916. A man under the age limits stated in the list, if found on examination by a Recruiting Medical Board, before his case had been decided by a Tribtmal, not to be fit for General Service (Category A) or for Garrison Duty Abroad (Category B), was entitled to be treated as engaged in a certified occupation.
Unmarried men in any of the occupations included in the list were covered only if they could show that they were engaged in the same occupation on or before the date when the National Register was made, namely 15 August 1915.
Men who on 2 November 1915 were unmarried or were widowers without any child dependent on them were to be treated as unmarried men for the purpose of the list.
The Military Service (Review of Exemptions) Act, 1917, which received the Royal Assent on 5 April 1917, gave the Army Council power to call up for examination the following three classes of men excepted from the operation of the Military Service Acts, 1916, as being —
{a) a member of the territorial force, who was, in the opinion of the Army Council, not suited for foreign service ; and
{b) a man who had left or been discharged from the naval or military service of the Crown in consequence of disablement or ill- health ; and
(c) a man who had been previously rejected on any ground, either after offering himself for enlistment or after becoming subject to the Military Service Acts, 19 16.
These general powers did not, however, extend to any man who was for the time being engaged in agriculture and whose work was certified by the Board of Agriculture to be work of national importance and who was engaged on such work on 31 March 1917.
Although the local military authorities had lists in their possession as regards each area showing the men who were brought within the general provisions of the Act, they had no precise information as to which men were working on the land (i).
(i) Memorandum, dated 28 April 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1917).
THE AGRICULTURAL LAB0URP:R AND MILITARY SERVICE I5
It was, therefore, necessary to send a notice to every man who came within the general provisions. If a man engaged in agriculture received the notice, and claimed that he was not liable to have the notice sent to him, the procedure was to complete the certificate on the back of the notice and return it to the Recruiting Officer. The military authorities then sent to each County War Executive Committee full particulars of the men in the county who claimed to be exempted from the Act on the ground that they were employed in agriculture on 31 March 1917 and that their work was of national importance. The Committee ascertained whether each individual man was so employed and if they were satisfied that lie ought to be exempted they issued a certificate that he was exempt- ed from the provisions of the Act. If the Recriiiting Officer objected in any individual case to the decision of the Executive Committee, he sent particulars to the War Office, who referred the matter to the Food Produc- tion Department.
No hard and fast rules were laid down for the guidance of the Com- mittee as regards the particular agricultural occupations which were of national importance.
A deputation from the Federation of War Agricultural Committees in England and Wales waited upon the Prime Minister on 2 April 1917 and as a result of this deputation and of an agreement arrived at between the Army Council and the Federation, the whole question of agriculture and recruiting was re-considered by the War Office and the Food Produc- tion Department (i).
Previous arrangements of a general character were cancelled and as regards men employed in agriculture who had been refused exemption by the Tribunals, the following procedure was arranged. Where the man was employed on a farm, not being the farmer himself or the manager of the holding, and the Agricultural Representative appointed by the Executive Committee considered that if the man were taken for military service the labour on the farm would be unduly depleted, the Represent- ative was to bring the case at once to the notice of the Executive Commit- tee, with a view to their arranging for the provision of a substitute, either from an agricultural company, by the transfer of a farm worker classified B or C as regards military service and employed on a farm where there was excess of labour, from the National Service Volunteers, or otherwise. At the same time the Agricultural Representative was to notify the Re- cruiting Ofiicer concerned, or (if he were not aware which Recruiting Of- ficer was concerned) the Ofiicer Commanding the Recruiting Area, of his opinion and the action taken. The Recruiting Ofiicer or the Area Commander would then arrange for the man's calling-up notice te be suspended to enable a substitute to be provided, but if the substitute were not provided within a period of three weeks from the date of the
(i) Memorandum, dated 5 May 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 1917)-
l6 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Representative's notification the man would be called up for service with the Colours.
If, however, the man in question were the farmer or were, in effect, the manager of the holding and were required to maintain the production of food upon it, the Agricultural Representative was at once to notify the Executive Committee, who, if they were satisfied that the man's pre- sence on the farm was indispensable, were to notify the Area Commander to this effect ; if he agreed with the opinion of the Executive Committee, the Area Commander was required to submit full particulars of the case to the War Office and in the meanwhile the calling-up notice would be suspended.
To cope with the work involved by the new arrangements, the Food Production Department urged the Agricultural Executive Committees to make arrangements for the appointment of Representatives to act as assistants to the Committee's Chief Representative, and it was suggested that the Representatives of the Board of Agriculture before the Local Tribunals should be utilized as the local agents of the Executive Committee.
It was subsequently agreed that no men who had been on i July and still were employed whole time on a farm on farm work of national import- ance would be posted for service with the Colours, or called up for medical examination or re-examination, except with the consent of the Agri- cultural Executive Conmiittee, even though a substitute might have been provided or offered (i).
The description " employed whole time on a farm on farm work " covered men employed in agriculture as thatchers, drivers of engines or motor tractors (including tractor ploughmen), and market gardeners whole time employed in producing food of a character and amount to constitute national importance. The description did not include work on a poultry farm or a market garden for the production of flowers or of fruit.
The procedure to be followed depended upon whether the men's cases had been finallj^ disposed of by the Tribunals or not. In the former case, if the Recruiting Officer knew that the man came within the agreement and that the Executive Committee would not consent to his being called up, no action was to be taken, and the man was to be allowed to remain in his civil occupation. If the Recruiting Officer was in doubt he was to refer the case to the Agricultural Executive Committee.
Where a man held an absolute or conditional certificate of exemption, his case was to be referred by the local military authorities to the County Agricultural Executive Committee, and if he was a man to whose calling up the Committee would not be prepared to consent, and to whom they would be prepared to issue a voucher that he came within the agreement, no application for the withdrawal of the certificate was to be lodged with the Tribunal.
(i) Memorandum, dated i8 July 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board ■of Agriculture, August 191 7).
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE I7
Although men covered by the agreement who held temporary certi- ficates of exemption or who had not yet made application to the Tribunals were not liable to be posted for service with the Colours, even if they did not apply for certificates of exemption or for the renewal of a certificate of exemption, such men were recommended in their own interest to apply to the Tribunals for formal certificates of exemption or for renewals thereof.
If the recruiting officer objected in any individual case to the decision of the Agricultural Executive Committee, he was to send particulars to the War Office, who would refer the matter to the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture.
The effect of the agreement was that no man whole-time employed on a farm on farm-work could be removed from his civil occupation without the consent of the Agricultural Executive Committee. It was, however, the duty of the Committee to notify the military authorities that a particular man was not entitled to the benefit of the agreement in the following cir- cumstances : —
1. If the Committee were satisfied that the man's work was not of national importance ;
2. Where the man was employed on a farm on which there was an excess of labour, unless (a) within three weeks from the date on which the case was referred to the Committee they had specified a farm to which the man was to move within three weeks of the date of the Committee's notification to the man, and {b) the Committee were satisfied that the man would move as directed. If the man did not move within the time speci- fied, the Committee was to notify the Recruiting Officer that he was not entitled to the benefit of the agreement.
Doubt having arisen as to the meaning of the statement that the expression " whole time emplo5^ed on a farm on farm work " did not in- clude work on a market garden for the production of flowers or fruit, it was explained by the Food Production Department that the word " fruit " was intended to include only luxury fruit, such as grapes, peaches, etc. (i).
If the market garden on which a man was employed were mainly util- ized for producing vegetables and other crops of an amount and charac- ter to constitute national importance, the fact that a portion of the gar- den was devoted to fruit suitable for jam, or that part of the holding was an orchard, did not take the man out of the arrangement applicable to men employed whole-time on a farm on farm work provided that the whole time of the individual whose case was under consideration was devoted to the cultivation of the part of the garden which produced crops of national importance. Agricultural Executive Committees might also issue vouc-hers that they came within the agreement to particular individuals whole-time engaged on large farms in producing fruit for jam.
(i) Memorandum, dated 17 September 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 191 7).
Ii> 'XHE AGRICUWURAl, LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
In consequence of the passing of the Military Service Act, 1918, which receiv^ed the Royal Assent on 6 February 1918, it became necessary to issue fresh regulations and instructions (i).
So far as they affected men engaged in agriculture and allied trades the alterations made in the regulations and instructions related to the periods within which both attested and unattested men, whose certificates of exemption had ceased to be in force, might apply for the renewal of their exemptions.
No change was made in the case of men whose certificates had ceased to be in force before 11 March 1918, but as regards both unattested and attested men whose certificates ceased to be in force after 11 March 1918, an application for renewal might be made before or within seven days after the date on which the certificate ceased to be in force.
In April 1918 the need of the Army for men became urgent and arrange- ments were made with a view to releasing a number of men fit for general service without depleting the man-power of any farm (2) . The Agricultural Executive Committees were asked to indicate the individual men whom they would be prepared to release for military service upon the provision of substitutes. They would have ample opportunity of satisfying them- selves that the substitutes offered were suitable and consequently that the amount of skilled labour of farms would be safeguarded.
On 20 April 1918 an Order was issued as a Royal Proclamation under Section 3 of the Military Service (No. 2) Act, 1918, withdrawing certain certificates of exemption from military service (3). In so far as agriculture and the allied trades were concerned, the effect of the Proclamation was to withdraw the certificates of exemption granted or renewed to men born in the years 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898 and 1899, who had been classified in Medical Grade i or Category A, or who had not been medically graded or classified. It was, however, provided that application might be made to an Appeal Tribunal for the grant or renewal of a certificate of exemption in respect of a man who had established to the satisfaction of the County Agricultural Committee that he was a highly skilled agricultural worker, whole-time employed on a farm in farm work, and that he was irreplace- able and essential to the cultivation of the farm. Such application was to be lodged not later than 15 May 1918.
For dealing with agricultural cases the Local Government Board re- commended the Tribunals first to go through them with the National Serv- ice Representative and the Agricultural Representative (4).
(i) Memorandum, dated 25 March 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Bxird of Agriculture to County War Agricultural E.iecutive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 191 8).
(2) Memorandum, dated 15 April 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Execnitive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 191 8).
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 191 8.
(4) Circular Letter, dated 23 April 1918, issued by the Local Government Board {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1918).
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE IQ
A small committee or committees of three to five members would be best for this purpose. It would probably be found that in some cases exemption might be given, with the concurrence of the National Service Representative without a hearing. In those cases which it was found necessary to hear, notice of hearing was to be issued forthwith.
At the same time the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture urged Agricultural Executive Committees to ascertain at once the names of the men falling within the terms of the Proclamation and to send forms of application for leave to appeal for their exemption to the faimers employing such men (i). They were then to arrange for special meetings to consider applications received from employers.
Instructions were subsequently issued by the Ministry of National Serv- ice that recruiting authorities might use their discretion as to the posting of makers, erectors or repairers of agricultural implements, tractors, steam ploughs or threshing machines, and attendants, drivers or mechanics employed thereon, whether they came within the ages covered by the Royal Proclamation of 20 April or not, bearing in mind the need for men for the Army and the importance of food production (2). This enabled re- cruiting authorities to suspend the calling up of men of the ages and grades or medical categories afiected, with a view to allowing time for substitu- tion in urgent cases submitted by Executive Committees.
The Food Production Department laid particular stress on the im- portance of retaining the labour engaged in connection with steam tackle (3). Such labour was highly skilled and for the time being irreplaceable, so that any further reduction would entail the laying up of sets of tackle.
At a later date a special arrangement was made whereby, in view of the importance attached by the War Office to the maintenance of the light horse breeding industry, provisional vouchers certifying that they were engaged in an occupation of national importance might be issued by Agricultural Executive Committees to stud employees (4).
Further to meet the requirements of the military situation an arrange- ment was made by the Board of Agriculture with the Ministry of National Service and the War Office for 30,000 Grade i men to be made available from agriculture for military service not later than 30 June 1918 (5).
(i) Circular Letter, dated 26 April 1918, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1918).
(2) Telegram issued by the Ministry of National Service, 13 May 1918. Memorandum, dated 17 May 1918, addressed by the P'ood Production Department of the Board of Agri- culture to Coimty War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 1918). ^
(3) Memorandum, dated 5 June 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural E-xecutive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 1918).
(1) Memorandum, dated 8 August 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, September 191 8).
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, "May 1918.
20 THE AGRICUI*TURAL I,ABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
It was hoped that the large majority of these men would be recruited under the Proclamation of 19 April 1918, calling up men born in the years 1895-1899, but if the full number of men were not obtained under this Proclamation, it would be necessary to obtain the remainder from men up to 31 years of age.
It was expected that additional labour, including a large number of prisoners of war, would be made available for agriculture to take the place of the men urgently required for immediate military service.
It was subsequently arranged, however, that of the 30,000 men taken from agriculture 9,000 were to be left until after the harvest (i). Assur- ance was also given that no more " ke3^men " would be withdrawn from agriculture, subject to unexpected need arising for the Army, and that the " keymen " included in the 9,000 men to be left until after harvest would not be taken (2).
In September 19 18 an agreement was made between the Food Produc- tion Department of the Board of Agriculture, the I^ocal Government Board and the Ministry of National Service that men principally and usually engaged throughout the year in the following occupations, provided they were so occupied on 28 May 1918, should be entitled to receive vouchers from Agricultural Executive Committees (3) : —
(a) Rabbit catchers, rat and mole-catchers, vermin-killers.
(6) Hedgers, ditchers and drainers.
(c) Men wholly employed on individual agricultural estates in the ollowing occupations : —
Agriciiltural masons, bricklayers, carpenters, joiners, slaters and men engaged in fencing or in making walls or gates.
{d) Men engaged in looking after machinery for pumping-stations, etc., on agricultural estates.
{e) Sheep-dippers, shearers and drovers.
(/) Men wholly engaged in willow-farming and withy growing.
(g) Managers of sets of threshing-tackle.
(A) Men engaged in flax cultivation.
(i) Auctioneers and valuers engaged as land and estate agents, whose services were considered by the Agricultural Executive Committee as being essential for the purpose of carrying on work connected with agriculture and production.
It was further agreed that agricultural vouchers issued to men wholly engaged in the breeding of horses, whether heavy or light, would not be objected to by National Service Representatives.
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 191 8.
(2) Reply by I/>rd Clinton, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture, to a Question in the House of I^ords, on 8 August 1918. {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1 91 8).
(3) Memorandum, dated 17 September 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918).
THE AGRICULTURAI. LABOURER AND MILITARY SERVICE 21
On the other hand it was agreed that the following classes should not be entitled to agricultural vouchers and that any vouchers issued to them should be withdrawn :
(a) Estate foresters and woodmen.
{b) Private gardeners.
(c) Men engaged in lime burning for agricultural purposes.
(d) Poultry farmers.
{e) Milk recorders, nicotine recorders, members of Agricultural Wages Boards, and sack contractors.
(/) Heads of departments and experts in retail seed firms.
These classes were to have been variously dealt with. Estate foresters and woodmen of certain ages and grades, for example, were included in a new list of certified occupations which was being prepared.
At about the same time instructions were issued to Tribunals that in view of the importance, as a part of the general policy of food production, of maintaining the kitchen gardens of private households, exemption was not generally to be refused to an experienced kitchen gardener whose exemp- tion was found to be essential for the production of large quantities of necessary food supplies.
With the cessation of hostilities on ii November igi8 recruiting came to an end and as soon as possible arrangements were made for the demobilization of agriculturists.
The first to be released were the so-called " key-men ". Within a week from the date of the armistice some of these men were on their way back to their farms (i). At the same time arrangements were made for the immediate release of the men who had recently been called up and who were still in the country.
Up to 12 February 54,000 agriculturists had been demobilized (2). These included the so-called " pivotal," "contract " and " slip " men. The Board of Agriculture had submitted to the Department of Demobil- ization the names of 30,000 men for early release from the Colours as " pivotal " men in agriculture. The " contract " men were those who had been in a farmer's employment on or before 4 August 1914 and whom he desired again to employ. The " slip " men were men whom a farmer was ready to employ immediately they were demobilized, but who had not been in his employment before the War.
As demobilization proceeded the labour shortage became less and less acute and though for the harvest of 1919 it was still necessary to make special efforts to obtain the required labourers, towards the end of that year there was found to be no great deficiency in the supply.
(i) Reply of the President of the Board of Agriculture to a Question in the House of Com- mons, 18 November 1918 {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1918) (2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 1919.
§>\in
22 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
CHAPTER II. SOLDIER LABOUR.
§ I. General arrangements for the release of soldiers
FOR WORK on the LAND.
For the hay harvest of 19 15 arrangements were made that furlough should be given to a limited number of soldiers (i). The furlough granted to each soldier was not to exceed fourteen days and was to last only for such time as he was actually required for haymaking. The employment of soldiers was subject to the condition that suitable labour could not be found in the locality. Ever}'^ endeavour would be made to ensure that the men released had been accustomed to farm work, but no guarantee to this effect could be given.
Similar arrangements were made for the autumn cultivation in 1915 (2). In this case furlough was given up to a maximum of four weeks.
General arrangements for the employment of soldiers on farm work at any season of the year were made for the first time early in igi6 (3).
Under these arrangements furlough was given, at the discretion of the Military Authorities and as circumstances permitted, to a limited number of soldiers serving at home who had been accustomed to work on farms. The furlough granted to each soldier lasted onl^ for such number of days, not exceeding four weeks, as he was actually required for the work.
Soldier labourers were not supplied unless it was impossible to obtain suitable labour in the locality. Applications from farmers who desired to employ soldier labour were made to the Board of Trade Labour Ex- changes by whom they were transmitted to the Military Authorities. Farmers might apply for men for any class of farm work and when the nature of the work was specified in the form of application. Commanding Officers endeavoured to select suitable men so far as was possible. When a farmer applied for his son or one of his former labourers who was serv- ing at home, efforts were made to release him.
A farmer living in the neighbourhood of a military station could apply direct to a Commanding Officer for military labour which he required at short notice and for a period not exceeding six working days. This arrangement was made to enable the farmer to take advantage of fine days or short intervals of fine weather suitable for his work.
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Julv 1915.
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October iqiS-
(3) Notice to Farmers as to Soldier Labour, issued by the Board of Agriculture early in igi6 {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 1916).
SOLDIER LABOUR 23
— , : .
The arrangements made at this time contemplated also the temporary employment of convalescent soldiers on agricultural work within easy reach of where they were stationed. For the purpose of such employment, convalescent soldiers were granted sick furlough, which was liable to be cancelled forthwith if at any time a man's health so improved that he was fit for discharge from the depot or hospital or if his health was suffering from the work.
Applications from farmers desiring to employ convalescent soldiers were usually made to the Board of Trade Labour Exchanges, but a farmer living in the neighbourhood of the man's military station who required a man at short notice, could apply direct to the Officer Commanding the depot or hospital. In making application, the farmer was required to state clearly the exact nature of the employment in order that the Military Authorities might be in a position to decide whether a soldier was capable of undertaking the work he would be called upon to do.
There was as yet no arrangement for releasing soldiers to work con- tinuously on the land. The provision of soldiers for agricultural work was solely intended as a temporary expedient (i). vSoldiers serving abroad could not be brought home, nor could men under training be allowed aw?y, nor those required for necessary military duty, nor men who had recently been called up. It was to be understood that any soldier was liable to instant recall if required.
In July 1916, the Army Council gave their approval to arrangements tmder which squads of soldiers would be detached from their headquarters, supplied with tents and allowed to camp out in districts whe|e their services were required for the harvest, but subject to recall to their head- quarters at short notice (2) .
For the harvest of 1916 the Army Council decided to release some 27,000 soldiers (3). The terms and conditions of employment were the same as those already in force.
New applications for soldiers had to be made through the local Labour Exchange and no application was entertained unless it had been received at the Labour Exchange before noon on Wednesday, 9 Au- gust 1916.
Applications already made, if they asked for soldiers to 'be sent on dates between 14 and 21 August inclusive, were met as far as possible and no new application was necessary. In all other cases new applications had to be made.
The number of soldiers to be released represented only a small frac- tion of the number of men normally employed in the harvest, and many of the soldiers were unskilled in agriculture. It was also necessary, for
(t) Notice on the Employment of Soldiers on Agricultural Work issued by the War Office {Journal of the Board of Agricttlture, June 1916).
(2) Circular Letter, dated 7 July 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 1916).
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August igi6.
24 THE AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
niilitaiA' reasons, to retain in the Eastern counties a large proportion of the men released for harvest work.
For the spring cultivation of 1917 an arrangement was made between the War Office and the Board of Agriculture for placing a further supply of military labour at the service of farmers (i). In addition to the allot- ment of 15,000 men attached to home defence forces, whose labour would be made available to farmers under the arrangements hitherto in force, a further body of 15,000 men would be detached and quartered in different parts of the comitry.
The men would be quartered at infantry depots selected by General Headquarters. Each company would have an establishment of 250 with a due proportion of warrant officers and non-commissioned officers and would include men for clerical work to deal with applications from com- mittees and farmers. A major, captain, and two subalterns would be appointed to each company.
The Board of Agriculture in consultation with the War Agricultural Committees prepared a scheme for the distribution of this army of military labour between the various counties according to their requirements. Liberal allotments were made to the more important wheat-growing counties such as Norfolk.
A revised scheme for providing soldiers to assist in agricultural operations was drawn up about the same time (2). Some of the soldiers were to be provided from the Home Defence Force and others from the Army Class \^' Reserve.
Ths Home Defence Force men, 12,500 in number, were intended for the work of spring cultivation and would be subject to recall on 15 April. While the War Office could not guarantee that all these men would possess a knowledge of agriculture, they undertook to select, as far as possible, fit and able-bodied men with such knowledge. The demand for these men was to be ascertained bj^ the War Agricultural Committee of each county, and the Board of Agriculture notified of the number likely to be required. Certain military depots were selected to be used as Distributing Centres and the War Office would move men to these depots as soon as the numbers needed were made known to them by the Board.
An arrangement had also been come to by which 4,000 able-bodied soldiers belonging to Infantry Works Battalions would be transferred to the Class W Reserve, and placed at the disposal of the Board of Agri- culture in lieu of 4,000 combatant prisoners of war who had been allocated for agriculture in January 1917. These soldiers would, subject to unex- pected military exigencies, remain in agriculture until the end of the war.
In addition to these 4,000 soldiers, at least another 6,000 men of lower
(i) Journal of the Board oj Agriculture, February 1917.
(2) Circular Letter, dated 2 March 1917, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 191 7). v
SOLDIER LABOUR 25
medical categories, making 10,000 in' all, would be provided from classes of enlisted men not reserved for Home Defence, and would also be avail- able for farm labour until the end of the war, unless they were recalled for urgent military reasons. These men, until allotted to indiN-idual farm- ers, would be stationed at the selected military depots.
Any farmer who wished to emplo}' men belonging to either of these two classes was to make application to the County War Agricultural Committee.
The War Oftice were of opinion that the most desirable method of reinforcing labour on farms was by means of a system of sending detach- ments of soldiers to selected localities, but they were prepared to consider applications for the release of individual nien to return to particular farms, provided the circumstances were really exceptional (i).
The following were illustrations of what might be described as excep- tional circumstances : —
(a) Where the soldier was the farmer himself and was required to manage the farm ;
{b) Where a son, owing to his father's recent decease, had become the virtual tenant and was required to manage the farm ; or
(c) Where the wife and family of the soldier were living in one of the farmer's cottages, and the soldier was of low medical category.
As regards men serving overseas, an even greater degree of urgency was required to be shown before there was any likelihood of their release being favourably considered.
In May 1917, at the request of the Board of Agriculture, the Military Authorities instructed Commanding Officers that skilled sheep-shearers not in Category A, for whose services application 'was made, were to be granted one month's agricultural furlough, if they could possibly be spared from their units (2). Applications were to be forwarded through County Agricultural Executive Committees.
Special arrangements were made by the Army Authorities to provide soldiers to assist with the hay and com harvest of 1917 (3). The men were, however, to be available only until the end of the com harvest.
The soldiers whom it was proposed to supply were to be sent to Mil- itary Distribution Centres. A farmer requiring the assistance of such men was to apply to the Agricultural Executive Committee of his county by whom the application was to be passed to the vSub-Commissioner for the county of the National Sen/ice Department. It was this official who was responsible for seeing that the labour required was supplied.
(i) Circular letter, dated 28 March 191 7, addressed by the Director-General of Food Production to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agri- culture, April 191 7) "
(2) Memorandum, dated 14 May 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agriailtural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 191 7)
(3) Circular Letter, dated 19 Jime 1917, addre-^sed by the Food Production Department of the Board ot Agriculture to County War Agiicultiu-al Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 191 7).
26 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
In connection with the foregoing scheme for the suppl)'^ of soldier labour for the hay and com harvests, representations were made that in many districts the men would not be wholly employed on harvest work, inasmuch as a few weeks' interval would occur between the hay and com harvests, during which time farmers engaging these soldiers would desire to employ them on general farm work (i). Authority was accordingly given so to employ them.
The military authorities agreed, a few weeks later, that no soldiers who were then engaged on agricultural work were to be withdrawn from the land mitil further notice (2). This instruction applied to all classes of soldiers who had been made available for agricultural work. The sol- diers due to return to their units on 25 July were, therefore, to be allowed to remain on the farms where they were employed until the Executive Committees found it necessary to make use of their services elsewhere.
About the same time arrangements were made by which a large num- ber of soldiers were to be made available for work on the land in connection with the programme for increased cultivation for the 1918 harvest (3), These men were to be made available gradually and were to be sent to Agricultural Distribution Centres (with which the existing Agricultural Depots would be incorporated) conveniently situated for each county.
The arrangements contemplated included a scheme for the supply of horses with soldier ploughmen, to which we shall have occasion to refer later, and the supply of tmskilled labourers to farmers requiring such men for work in connection with the 1918 harvest.
Farmers who were entitled to the services of these men but were un- able to commence of)erations before the harvest and were in need of addi- tional men for harvest, were to be allowed to have the men forthwith at the rates of wages laid down for harvest work. These soldiers were to be allotted, subject to military exigencies, for permanent employment in connection with the 1918 programme, but as regards the men out on harvest work re-allocation amongst the various counties might be neces- sary after harvest.
In December 1917 a simplification was introduced into the method of releasing for agriculture men of low category serving at home 14). It
(i) Circular Letter, dated 29 June 191 7, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 191 7).
(2) Memorandum, dated 10 July 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 191 7).
(3) Circular Letter, dated 19 July 1917, and Memorandiun, dated 23 July 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1917).
(4) Memorandiun, dated 11 December 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 7).
SOLDIER LABOUR 27
was arranged that the local representatives of the Food Production Depart- ment should bring to the notice of the Agricultural Commandants at Dis- tribution Centres the names and addresses of such men whom they had asked to be made available for agriculture. The Commandants would forward the names direct to the headquarters of the Command in which the men were serving, indicating to which Agricultural Company the men should be posted if they could be made available. The ordinary proced- ure would then be followed as to transferring and posting the men as between Commands.
The arrangement did not apply to men in Category A nor to men serv- ing abroad ; applications in respect of such men were to be dealt with by the Food Production Department as previously. As regards men serving overseas, applications could only be considered respecting men in medical categories below A. Men in Category A and in the Mechanical Transport Section of the Army Service Corps were not available for trans- fer to agricultural companies.
In the same month a large number of unskilled soldiers was made available for agricultural work, and the Food Production Department asked the Agricultural Executive Committees to arrange for their employment at once on drainage work, ditching, etc., as much work of this kind was urgently required to be done in every coimty (i). The Executive Com- mittees were informed that in any case in which they considered that compulsory orders should be made to carry out such work, they need not be deterred from making such orders by fear of lack of labour for the purpose as this source of labour could readily be drawn upon. If the number of soldiers required was not available at the Distribution Centre serving the county, immediate application was to be made to the Depart- ment, stating the additional number of men required, when arrangements would be made for their transfer from another centre.
A further provision whereby the number of soldiers at work on the land was slightly increased was an arrangement made at the end of 1917 between the War Office and the Food Production Department whereby in exceptional circumstances and on the recommendation of the Agri- cultural Executive Committee concerned, an extension of leave not ex- ceeding one month would be granted to any serving soldier who at the time of the application was on leave and whose services were urgently required on the particular farm (2).
There was now a fully developed system for the employment of soldiers on the land and the arrangements made in 1918 related for the most part to questions of detail.
(i) Memorandum, dated i(j December 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1918).
(2) Memorandum, dated 28 December 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to Coimty War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of tke Board of Agriculture, January 191 8).
28 THE AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Thus in June 19 18, in view of the need for increased supervision over the work which the soldier labourers were called upon to perform, the Agricultural Executive Committees were asked by the Food Production Department to arrange for periodical inquiries to be made (i). This could be done either by a personal visit by an officer or member of the District Committee or by reference to the police as to whether the soldiers were employed at the place and on the work to which they were sent out. In this matter committees were urged to seek the co-operation of the Com- mandant of the Distribution Centre and in any cases where inquiry showed that the soldier should be withdrawn, to ask the Commandant to take the necessary action at once.
For harvest work in 1918 the Army Council decided to release several thousand soldiers on agricultural furlough (2). These men were to be dis- tributed among the counties where labour assistance for the harv^esl was most needed. Application for soldier labourers for the harvest was to be made to the Agricultural Executive Committees, who would arrange with the Commandants of the Distribution Centres.
Amongst the soldiers who on this occasion were made available for agriculture was a small number of men from Command Depots (3). The employment of suitable convalescent soldiers on harvest work was also authorized on condition that they returned to hospital each night or once every three days for medical examination. Men belonging to the Royal Air Force were also encouraged to volunteer for harvest work in the neighbourhood of their camps when they could be spared from their ordinary duties.
In an Army Council Instruction issued by the War Office on 7 Septem- ber 19 18 it was stated that recent medical inspections had shown that there was a number of Categor}'- A men .serving in Agricultural Companies and it had been decided to withdraw them after 15 vSeptember 19 18 for militar}'- duty whenever they could be replaced by soldiers of a lower category (4). Exceptions were made in the cases of those employed in certain kinds of work.
Soldiers who were eligible would continue to be posted to agricultutal companies, but those sent out for farm work on or after i August 1918 would be withdrawn after 15 September.
The arrangements for withdrawing the A men would be carried out between the Cotmty Agricultural Executive Committees and the Command- ants of Agricultural Distribution Centres.
(i) Memorandum, dated 3 June 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 191 8).
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1918.
(3) Memorandum, dated 5 July 191 8, issued by the Food Production Department oi the Board of Agricultiu-e to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July ic)i8).
(4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918.
SOLDIER LABOUR 29
As far as possible trained or partly-trained soldiers would be selected for withdrawal in priority to others, but due consideration would be given to the inconvenience which might be occasioned if certain men were taken away from their employment sooner than was absolutely necessary.
The Agricultural Executive Committee might decide that, in some cases, it was not necessary to replace a Category A man withdrawn from a farm, in which case they would be free to allot the lower category man, supplied as a substitute, to any other farm which was in need of labour.
If at any time there were no further A men on the strength of the companies at a centre, a report was to be made to the War Office, so that instructions might be issued for the disposal of the substitutes who would be sent there.
As A men could only be withdrawn as lower category men became available it was important that all experienced farm labourers serving in units at home in a lower category than A should be transferred to the Labour Corps and posted to Agricultural Companies. The only exceptions were Bi men who were fully -trained infantry men and men in technical corps more usefully employed at a trade from which they could not be relieved, and which would be of no value to agriculture.
The cessation of hostilities on 11 November 1918 could not, of course, be followed by immediate demobilization, but men of low medical category who were experienced farm workers and were serving at home were at once sent to Agricultural Companies and made available for agricultural work (i). This provision was extended by an Army Council Instruction issued in January 1919, which allowed any agriculturist serving at home, whatever his medical category, to be attached to an Agricultural Company, pending his demobilization (2). Over 12,000 men were sent out to their former employers on furlough under this procedure.
On the other hand, many of the soldiers employed on the land were not, in normal times, agricultural labourers and would on demobilization have been lost to agriculture. Consequently it was decided in May 1919 temporarily to retain for agriculture up to 20 per cent, of the soldiers employed on the land, in and attached to Agricultural Companies, in ad- dition to the men whose application for demobilization as " pivotal " men had been sanctioned by the Ministry of Labour before i February 1919 (3). These men were to be selected by War Agricultural Committees in conjunction with Agricultural Commandants and would be nominated from those considered to be indispensable. All other soldiers employed on agriculture were to be withdrawn, a fortnight's notice being given to farmers before their withdrawal.
Eventually, as the demobilization of agricultural workers proceeded, even this reduced supply of soldier labourers was withdrawn.
(i) Reply by the Under Secretary for War to a Question in the House of Commons, 19 November 191 8 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 8).
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 1919.
(3) Journalof the Board of Agriculture, May 1919.
30 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
§ 2. The conditions of employment.
Under the arrangements made for the release of soldiers for the hay- harvest and for the autumn cultivation in 1915 and under those made early in 1916 for the employment of soldiers on farm work at any season of the year, each soldier labourer was to be paid 4s. a day if he provided his own board and lodging or 2S. 6d. a day if board and lodging were pro- vided by the farmer (i).
These rates were to be inclusive of all allowances and were to be paid in respect of wet as well as of fine days. The hours worked were to be those customary in the district.
No charge was made to the farmer for the railway travelling expenses of the soldier labourers assigned to him, but he was expected to provide conveyance from and to the nearest railway station.
A convalescent soldier might either live away from the depot or hos- pital, or go to his work daily from his military quarters. The cost, if any, of moving the man to or from his work was borne by the farmer, except that no charge was made to the farmer for railway travelling expenses, if the man was employed for a week or more at a distance of 20 miles or over by rail, or if the man was away at least 3 days at a distance by rail of less than 20 miles.
If the convalescent soldier went away from his military station he was to be paid 3s. 6d. a day if he provided his own board and lodging and 2s. a day if board and lodging was provided by the farmer. One rest day in every sev^en days was to be allowed to him and in respect of that day he received Army pay.
In cases in which the convalescent soldier returned each day to his depot or hospital, he was to be paid at the rate of 3^/. per hour, including hours for meals. At least one good meal was to be provided by the farmer, if the hours of work were such as to prevent the soldier returning to his unit for his midday meal.
The rates of pay for soldier labourers employed for the com harvest of 1916 were fixed as follows (2) : —
{a) In Cambridgeshire, Essex, Huntingdonshire, the Isle of Ely, Lincolnshire, the Soke of Peterborough, the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire and Rutland, 6s. a day for 10 working hours if the soldier provid- ed his own board and lodging or 4s. 6d. if board and lodging were provided by the farmer, with 6d. an hour overtime.
{b) In the remaining counties of England and Wales, 5s. for a day of 10 working hours if the soldier provided his own board and lodging, or 3s. 6d. if board and lodging were provided by the farmer, with ^d. an hour overtime.
(i Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July and October 1915, and Notice cited in note (3), page 22.
(2) Notice cited in note (i), page 23.
SOLDIER LABOUR 31
These rates were to be inclusive of all allowances and were to be paid in respect of wet days as well as of fine days.
The soldier's Army pay during the days on which he received civil pay from the farmer was regarded as included in the civil pay. He was credited with his Army pay for any Sunday included in the furlough, if he were not given civil pay on that day. He received no lodging al- lowance, rations, or ration allowance from Army funds, nor was he to be billeted. If separation or famih'^ allowance had been issued before the soldier's employment on farm work it continued to be issued during liis absence.
Soldiers injured while in the farmers' employ had no claim to Army pension, but would be dealt with imder the Workmen's Compensation Act, the iarmer insuring as for the rest of his labour. They continued as sol- diers for health insurance, and the farmer paid no contribution for this.
The farmer was at liberty to dismiss a man upon giving one day's notice or one day's wages in lieu thereof ; the man's furlough was thereupon considered as cancelled and he returned at once to his imit.
Under the arrangements made for the release of soldiers for work in connection with the spring cultivation of 1917 the wages to be paid to the soldier labourers were to be at local rates as determined by the War Agricultural Committees (i).
Under the revised scheme for releasing soldiers for work on the land issued in March 1917, it was provided that, when the farmer boarded and lodged the men, he would pay the rate of wages current for agricul- tural labourers who lived in ; otherwise, he would be required to pay the rate current for agricultural labourers who lived out (2). When the Officer Commanding Agricultural Company desired information as to what the current rate was or what were fair wages for overtime work, he was to refer to the War Agricultural Committee whose decision would be final.
With regard to the payment of men belonging to Agricultural Com- panies who were boarded and lodged by their employers some misunder- standing arose and in many cases the employers, instead of paying the " living-in " rate, were allowed to pay the " living-out " rate and to have the soldiers billeted on them vmder Army conditions. The effect of this was that the employer had paid less than the " living-in " rate. Command- ing Officers were, therefore, instructed to take care that where men were provided with food and accommodation by their employers billeting money was not to be paid, but the full amount of the " living-in " rate was to be charged to the employers (3).
When the employer provided lodging, cooking facilities (including
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, 'Fehruary 191 7.
(2) Ciroilar Letter ated in note (2), page 24.
(3) Army Council Instruction, No. 525 of 1917- — Memorandum, dated 31 March I9i7» issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriciilture to County War Agri- ctxltural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1917)-
THE AGKICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
fuel) and light, but not food, he would be required to pay the " living- out " rate of wages for the men, but against this charge he would be cred- ited with a sum equivalent to that which he would have received if the men had been formally billeted upon him under the Army Act, i. e. gd. per day for the first soldier and 6d. for each additional soldier. The effect of this Regulation is shown by the following examples :
1. Assuming the " living-out " rate in the district was 25s. and the " living-in " rate los. per week, the farmer who boarded and lodged a soldier might have been previously permitted to deduct the billeting al- lowance of 19s. 3^/. per week from the 25s. " living-out " rate, or in other words, he had secured the services of the soldier for 5s. gd. per week, plus the cost of keeping him, whereas the " living-in " rate for the district was known to be los. per week. He would now have to pay the local " living-in " rate, viz., ids. per week.
2. Assuming the district rate of wages was 25s. and a farmer had hired two soldiers to whom he supplied lodging, cooking facilities (including fuel) and light, but no food,
s. d.
for the first man he might deduct 9^. per day .... 5 3 for the second man he might deduct 6d. per day ... 3 6
^ V
so that the weekly' sum due from him was 50s., less 8s. gd. = 41s. 3^/.
In regard to the soldier labourers released in 1917 to assist with the hay and com harvest, it was laid down that when the farmer boarded and lodged the men they were to be paid the rate of wage current in the district for harvest work for agricultural labourers who lived in subject to the minimum rates mentioned below (i). Otherwise he was to pay the rate current for harvest work for agricultural labourers who lived out, subject to the minimum rates mentioned below. In the event of any dispute as to what the current rate was, whether for men living in or out, the decision of the County Agricultural Executive Committee was to be final.
For the hay harvest the minimum rates of wages would be as follows, but the local rate of wages was to be paid if it were in excess of these minimum rates : —
(«) 5s. od. for each week-day while the soldier was employed (and each Sunday on which he worked), if the soldier provided his own board and lodging. Overtime at the rate of bd. per hour, after 10 working hours.
[h) 2s. 6d. for each week-day while the soldier was employed (and each Sunday on which he worked), if board and lodging were provided by the farmer. Overtime at the rate of 6d. per hour after 10 working hours.
(i) Circular Letter dted in note (3), page 25.
SOLDIER LABOUR 33
For the com harvest the minimum rates were to be as follows, but the local rate of wage was to be paid if in excess of these minimum rates : — (a) Cambridgeshire, Essex, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Lincoln- shire, Soke of Peterborough, Suffolk, the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire and Rutland : 7s. od. per day of 10 working hours, if the soldier provided his own board and lodging, or 4s. 6d. if board and lodging was provided by the farmer, with 6d. per hour overtime.
{b) For the remaining counties of England and Wales : 6s. for a day of 10 working hours, if the soldier provided his own board and lodging, or 3s. 6d. if board and lodging were provided by the farmer, with 6d. an hour overtime.
When the men were not actually engaged in harvest work, the fol- lowing minimum rates of wages would apply (i) : —
{a) 4s. 2d. for each week-day while the soldier was employed (and €ach Sunday on which he worked), if the soldier provided his own board and lodging.
{b) IS. 8^. for each week-day while the soldier was employed (and each Sunday on which he worked), if board and lodging were provided by the farmer.
The locail rate of wages was however to be paid if in excess of the minimum rates.
The number of soldiers engaged on agricultural work made it neces- sary at the end of 1917 to modify the arrangement by which farmers had been at liberty to seild soldiers back at a day's notice (2) . This arrange- ment had originally been intended to apply to men only sent out for a short time, such as harvest time, and was likely to entail considerable congestion at Distribution Centres if farmers started sending men back whenever there was a spell of bad weather which interrupted outdoor work.
It was therefore decided that in the case of men who had been accept- ed by a farmer and retained more than six days, a fortnight's notice was to be given in writing to the Agricultural Commandant of the Distribution Centre from which the man was sent indicating when it was wished that the man should be withdrawn and the grounds for doing so. This was not to apply to men who were sent out for definite periods of under or up to one month.
Exceptional cases might arise which made it desirable to withdraw the man at short notice, and the Agricultural Commandants were, so far as possible, to accept such men if due notice were given.
In the same way a fortnight's notice was, if possible, to be given to a farmer before a man was withdrawn for military reasons. "
In April 1918 it was laid down by the Army Council that thenceforth
(i) Circular Letter cited in note (i), page 26.
(2) Circular Letter, dated 21 December 191 7, addressed by the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1918).
34 THE AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
farmers would be required to provide board and lodging for soldiers em- ployed in agriculture and to pay for their ser\'ices at the local " living-in " rate, with a minimum of los. per week (i).
These conditions were amended in September 1918 in view of the de- cisions of the Agricultural Wages Board (2). It was decided that a min- nimum cash payment of 12s. 6d. per week was to be given and that overtime was to be paid for at the new rates.
§ 3. The supply and training of tractor drivers and steam plot-gh
OR threshing tackle men.
It was found that many of the so-called skilled men who were being sent to Distribution Centres in 19 17 had little or no previous experience of farm work, but that a considerable proportion of them possessed other experience which would enable them to be quickly trained for various branches of work connected with the new programme. The P'ood Pro- duction Department of the Board of Agriculture accordingly prepared schemes for the training of {a) tractor drivers, and [h) steam plough or threshing tackle men (3). '
It was arranged that a careful examination of each man should be made on his arrival at the Distribution Centre, with a view to selecting those who by a short course of training could be made of value for some branch of farm work. As far as possible non-commissioned oflicers were to be selected for tractor or steam-plough work as with the higher wages paid for this class of work they would not lose by their transfer to agri- culture.
The men most suitable for training for tractor work would, as a rule, be men of the Mechanical Transport Section of the Army Service Corps, or men engaged in the motoring or engineering trades previous to enlist- ment. From these and other suitable candidates about 12 men were to be selected for each county for training as tractor drivers.
The tractor representative of the Food Production Department was to be asked to prepare a list of the tractor drivers under his charge in the county who were sufficiently skilled to be capable of training other men in both driving and ploughing, and to submit the list to the Labour Branch of the Food Production Department. The Department would subse- quently arrange for the tractor representative to take over the men se- lected, who were \o be trained in both ploughing and tractor driving.
(i) Memorandum, dated 3 April 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1918).
(:;) Memorandum, dated 23 September 191 8, addressed by the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918).
(3) Memorandum, dated 17 September 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1917).
SOLDIER LABOUR 35
Under normal conditions the course of training was not to extend beyond a fortnight.
The men most suitable for employment as steam plough and thresh- ing tackle men would be those who had had previous experience in agricul- tural work, or who were intelligent, strong, active and willing to work long hours (if necessar>'), or any men who had been accustomed to agri- cultural engines, steam road rolling engines or hauling engines. In the first instance the men would receive a wage of 25s., which, if they made proper progress, would be increased at the end of the first month, and again when the man had become thoroughly proficient. For a commencement, the six most suitable men would be selected from among the soldiers sent to each Distribution Centre, and the Department would arrange through the Steam Cultivation Development Association and threshing tackle owners for the training of these men, so that all steam ploughing and threshing tackle might be kept fully manned.
In asking the owners of threshing tackle to undertake the training of soldier labourers, the Food Production Department informed them that it was prepared to approach the War Office for leave to be granted to skilled men then on military service who were not in Category A nor emplo3-ed in the Mechanical Transport Section of the Arm\' Service Corps (i). No guarantee could be given, however, that any men could be granted fur- lough, and owners of threshing tackle were urged to apply for men suit- able to be trained, and to arrange to employ a gang of four or five sol- diers to travel with each threshing machine from farm to farm in order to avoid the serious dislocation which otherwise occurred owing to so many farm hands being taken from their ordinary work on the arrival of the threshing machine.
By the end of 1917 the supply of tractors was largely increased, and it was decided to send a considerable number of soldiers from the Distri- bution Centres direct to tractor representatives to undergo their entire training on the land (2). It was expected that the training of these men would not take more than six weeks. Tractor representatives were asked to arrange to take immediately soldiers for training in this way with 50 per cent, of the tractors then in the county ; this departure was not how- ever to interfere with the training of such men as became available from the training schools.
A statement was sent by the Food Production Department to tractor representatives of the number of men whom the Department had instruct- ed the Distribution Centres to place at their disposal. When these men had completed their training they were to be retained by the tractor repre- sentative as " third men " pending the arrival of further tractors. "
^i) Circular Letter, dated 18 September 191 7, addressed by the Food Production De- partmeat of the Board of Agriculture to owners of threshing tackle {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 191 7).
(2) Circular Letter, dated 15 December 1917, addressed by the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture to tractor representatives {Journal of the Board of Agricul ture, January 1918).
36 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
vSoldiers trained entirely by tractor representatives were to be paid at the rate of 25s. a week for a month, without a proficiency bonus, but men from a training school were to be paid at this rate for two weeks onl5^ At the end of either period the men, if proficient, were to be paid 30s. a week for the next two weeks without bonus and thereafter 30s. per week and a bonus of is. per acre ploughed, the bonus on other operations being based on is. for every pound sterling charged to the farmer. The payment of bonus was limited to 2s. an acre (or 2s. in the pound for oper- ations other than ploughing) for any one tractor and plough. The di- vision of this sum, if there were more than two persons employed, was to be determined by the tractor representative. Trained men instructing others were to be paid los. for each learner who was passed as efficient.
In the schools established for the training of soldiers as tractor drivers and ploughmen, 4,093 soldiers were trained. About 200 soldiers were also sent out for training with steam plough and threshing sets (i).
In August 1918, owing to the issue of revised regulations in regard to the pa}' of soldiers and owing to the fixing of local rates of wages by the Agricultural Wages Board, it became necessarj^ to alter the rates of payment to soldiers engaged on tractor work (2).
For the future, in each county where the Agricultural Wages Board had fixed rates, all soldier labourers engaged on tractor work were to be paid the minimum rate fixed for the number of weekly hours specified by such Board. This entailed the abolition of the existing 30s. rate and 60 hours per week in these counties.
Overtime in excess of the hours specified by the Wages Board and Sunday work were to be paid for at the rate fixed by the Wages Board, and Sunday pay at the overtime rates, if no other rate had been fi^ed.
In addition a bonus not exceeding 8^. in the pound charged to the farmer in respect of any one tractor and implement might, at the dis- cretion of the Agricultural Executive Committee, be paid to persons engaged on tractor work, i. e., if the bonus were fixed at 3^/. in the pound and the team consisted {a) of one person, the bonus payable would be $d. in the pound, (b) of two persons, the total bonus payable would be 6d. in the pound, and (c) of three persons, the total bonus payable would not exceed 8^. in the pound.
In the unlikely event of the above rates (including bonus) falling short of the minimum for soldiers, namely 12s. 6d. per week, plus board and lodging, soldiers were to be paid such minimum.
If no Agricultural Wages Board rate had been fixed, the existing scale would obtain until such rate was fixed, namely 30s. per week without overtime for a 60 hours week, plus bonus of is. per acre ploughed, etc., and 6d. per hour for Sunday work up to a maximum of 5s. for any day.
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1918.
(2) Memorandum, dated 17 August 1918, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to Coxmty War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, September 1918).
SOLDIER LABOUR 37
Should it become necessary to dismiss labour owing to the shortage of work reference should first be made to the Department with a view to the surplus labour being transferred elsewhere. If this were not possible soldiers could then be returned to their Agricultural Companies.
Individual applications by soldiers for transfer to other coimties in which they ordinarily resided would in future be arranged between the Committees of the counties concerned, but authority was to be obtain- ed from the Officer Commanding the men's Agricultural Company before transfers were effected.
Soldier labourers were entitled to such leave as was laid down in Army Regulations. During leave they would receive Army pay from their Agricultural Companies and they would not therefore receive any payment from the Agricultural Executive Committee during such absence. Leave was only to be granted when, in the opinion of the Committee, the labour could be reasonably spared.
It was found in practice that the training of men did not interfere with the output of the tractor and the bonus of los. for each man passed as competent was cancelled.
Payment for soldier learners was to be the Agricultural Wages Board minimum rate without bonus until they were considered competent. If no such rates had been fixed they were to be paid 25s. a week for two weeks, 30s. a week for two weeks, and then when competent 305'. a week and acreage bonus. Soldier learners might also be paid subsistence and travelling allowances on the same terms as competent labour.
When, in accordance with the decision of the War Office in September 1918 men of Category A were withdrawn from Agricultural Companies, special exception was made in the cases of those who were employed as tractor-drivers, steam-plough drivers and threshing-engine drivers (i).
Immediately after the armistice it was announced that all threshing- machine drivers, irrespective of category, who were then serving with the Home Forces would be released immediately on agricultural furlough (2). This provision affected some 250 to 300 men, who were to be distributed from the Centres serving their counties of origin
§ 4. The supply and trainixg op horse ploughmen.
Special arrangements were made at various times for the supply and training of horse ploughmen.
Thus, in March 1917, in view of the dearth not only of agricultural labour, but in some districts of horses suitable for farm work, the Army Council directed commanders of units in possession of draught horses or mules to arrange for the temporary loan of horses and drivers to farmers in the vicinity of their stations who might require such help (3). Payment
(i) Journal of the Board of Agricitlture, October 1918.
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, November 1918.
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 1017.
384684
38 THE AGRICULTURAX, LABOUR SUPPLY DLTUNG THE WAR
would be required at the rate of 4s. per day for each horse for a working day of eight hours, farmers supplying without charge forage and where necessary stabling. Drivers were to be paid by the farmer at the rates already laid down by the Army Council.
The arrangements made in July 1917 (i) in connection with the programme for increased cultivation for the 19 18 har^^-est included the supply of : —
{a) Horses with soldier ploughmen to be let out for fixed periods (according to scale) to farmers who were materially increasing their com area for 1918, but were unable to carry out the work without this assistance ;
{h) Horses with soldier ploughmen working in gangs equipped with necessary implements who would deal with small areas (less than eight acres) of corn land which farmers could not undertake without such assistance ;
(c) A limited number of experienced men to' farmers who had un- dertaken or would undertake to increase materially their acreage of com land, but who could not do so without the help of experienced men, but had both horses and implements available for the purpose ;
(d) A limited number of experienced men to farmers who without such assistance would have farm horses idle entailing a less area of their arable land being cultivated for the 1918 harv-est.
The details of the schemes for the supply of teams of horses do not here concern us, but it ma^' be noted that a soldier or other ploughman was to be allotted to take charge of each team. When a team was lent to a farmer he was to find board and lodging for the ploughman and to pay him the local rate of wage for a skilled ploughman, deducting i6s. a week for his board and lodging.
Assistance to the smaller farmers was to be given by means of travel- ling gangs, consi-sting of a numberof teams varying according to the ariiount of work to be done. Small gangs of three or four teams were to form a working unit and were to be placed in charge of a senior ploughman, who was to be paid 3s. a week more than the others. As far as possible a non- commissioned officer was to be selected as senior ploughman, if possessed of the necessary qualifications.
When in »September 1917 schemes were prepared for the training of tractor drivers and steam plough or threshing tackle men, a scheme was prepared at the same time for the training of horse ploughmen (2). It was pointed out that amongst the soldiers sent to the Distribution Centres would be found many who had had long experience of horses in towns, but who lacked agricultural knowledge. These men, after being taught to plough, etc., could be entrusted with the working of a team of horses. In .some cases skilled ploughmen in charge of Government horses could be selected to give the course of training, but it would also be open to the Agricultural Executive Committees to make arrangements with some
(i) Circular Letter cited in note (3), page 26. (2) Memorandum cited in note (3), page 34.
SOLDIER LABOUR 39
of the best farmers who had ploughing work in progress to have men taught by their own ploughmen. Under normal conditions the period of training was not to extend beyond 14 days.
An alternative arrangement that had already been adopted by several Committees was to secure suitable land within easy reach of the Distri- bution Centre to be ploughed free of cost to the farmer. In this case one or two competent ploughmen would be required to act as instructors and the requisite number of horses could be obtained for the purpose by the Committee under the Horse Scheme already referred to (i), as well as ploughs, if these could not be borrowed.
Where a man was being trained with one of the gang-ploughmen, or by a ploughman employed directly by the Committee, the ploughman might be paid a bonus of 5s. for each man taught. When. the training was given by a farmer, he might be allowed the free ser\n"cesof the men undergo- ing training for ordinary farm work when plougliing could not be done.
It was obviously an advantage to the unskilled man to be trained in order that he might subsequently secure a higher rate of wages and it was also advisable to offer some further monetary inducement to become proficient in the shortest possible time. The Food Production Department had therefore arranged that whilst any man was undergoing training in horse ploughing or tractor driving, and had to live away from his mil- itary depot, he should be paid only 21s. per week (living-out rate), but when he was able to show proficienc)^ in the work he should be paid a bonus of IDS. and thereafter be secured employment at the full rate of wages.
Where soldiers were being trained in the vicinity of the Distribution Centre, returning to barracks each night and still remaining under militaiy control, they would receive only their military pay during the period of training, but would be entitled to the los. bonus on passing the profici- ency test.
The men were to be examined at the end of 14 days' training and if a man was sufficiently advanced to enable him to be employed forthwith in the particular branch of work for which he had been trained, the Agri- cultural Executive Committee was to grant him a certificate of proficiency. If it was considered that a further week's training was essential before the soldier could become proficient arrangements were to be made for this to be given. On the other hand, if it were thought that the man was not likely to prove satisfactory- even with this additional training, he was to be returned to the Distribution Centre, no bonus being payable in these circumstances.
Schools for the training of horse ploughmen were quickly established in many counties and other counties sent out men to be trained by farm- ers (2), The former method was, however, considered the most satisfac-
(i) See above, page 3S.
(2) Memorandum, dated 8 November 191 7, issued by the Food Production Department .the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 7)
40 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
•^ -
tory as at the training schools the men could be trained with the horses with which they would be sent out under the Horse Scheme, and a closer control could be kept over the subsequent movements of the men.
Apart from the soldiers trained as ploughmen on selected farms, about 4,000 men were taught to plough at the 30 training schools established in the neighbourhood of Distribution Centres (i).
When the War Office decided in September igi8 to withdraw men of Category A from Agricultural Companies the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture was able to arrange with them that soldier ploughmen who had recently been graded "A" should not be withdrawn from the farms, even though substitutes had already' been pro- vided b}'^ the Military Authorities (2). The War Office further agreed to make every effort to find an additional number of skilled ploughmen to assist in the autumn work. Ploughmen serving in the Army at home were to be sent out on two months' agricultural furlough, if they could be made available.
§ 5. The number of soldier labourers employed.
It was not until 1916 that soldier labourers were employed in large numbers. Towards the end of August of that year it was .stated in Parlia- ment that under the new arrangement which had been advertized in the Press on 5 August (3) applications had been received up to midday on 9 August for 3,244 soldiers required to start work in the com harvest (4). The number of men required for general purposes applied for under the previous arrangement, which still continued, was largely in excess of that number and was increasing from day to day (5). During the period 3 June to 28 July, 33,089 soldiers were applied for through the Labour Exchanges ; these included many personal applications which could not possibly be granted, and 14,227 were supplied by the military authorities.
In the Spring of 1917, 18,000 Category " A " ploughmen were released on furlough for two months to assist with spring cultivation, and in the autumn of the same year, 1,500 ploughmen were given furlough for three months. For the harvest of 1917 leave was given to 17,000 soldiers (6).
In the first half of 1918 an inquiry was made into the wages and conditions of employment in agriculture and some of the investigators stated in their reports the number of soldiers employed at that time in
(i) Journal of the Board ol Agriculture, December 1918.
(2) Notice issued by the Food Production, Department of the Board of Agriculture on i6 October 1918 {Journal oj the Board of Agriculture, November 1918).
(3) See above, page 23.
(4) Reply by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture to a Question in the House of Commons, 21 August 1916 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, September 1916).
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, September 1916.
(6) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 8.
SOI.DIKR LABOUR 4I
different counties (i). Thus the number of soldiers employed in the East Riding of Yorkshire was reported to be 1,183 i "^ the lyindsey Division of Lincolnshire, 1,049 '< i" ^^'^ Kesteven Division of Lincolnshire, 384 ; in lyeicestershire, 1,149 '• ^" Rutland, 205 ; in Nottinghamshire, 843 ; in Derbyshire, 650 ; in Somersetshire, 1,580; in Cornwall, 977 ; in Gloucester- shire, 1,170 ; iii Worcestershire, 950 ; in Shropshire, 888 ; in Warwick- shire, 1,156 ; in Staffordshire, about 1,000 ; in Cheshire, 1,350 ; in Lancashire, 1,541 ; in Cumberland, about 900 ; in the North Riding of Yorkshire, 941.
At the beginning of August 1918 the number of men in Agricultural Companies was about 70,000 (2) and shortly after the armistice it was stated in Parliament that there were over 79,000 men in Agricultural Companies and that 5,000 ploughmen who were in medical category A had just been sent out on two months' furlough (3). During the harA-est 20,000 soldiers had been supplied, of whom about 3,000 were still engaged on potato lifting.
In December 19 18 it was stated that apart from the men in Agricul- tural Companies there were 10,500 men temporarily engaged on seasonal work. There was one soldier eraplo3'ed on farm work to every nine civil- ian male workers (4).
In spite of the fact that the majority of men available had no previous experience of agriculture, the employment of soldiers proved a success. Under the training given to them by their employers the unskilled men quickly became useful farm hands (5). The Report on the Wages and Conditions of Employment of Agricultural Labourers stated that though imfavourable opinions had been expressed by individual farmers whose experiences had been unfortunate, there could be no doubt that the soldiers had as a whole afforded most valuable assistance to agriculture (6).
(i) Wages and Coxditions of Employment in Agriculture. Vol. I : General Report Vol. II : Reports of Investigators. London, 1919.
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 191 8.
(3) Reply by the Under Secretary for War to a Question in the House of Commons, 19 November 1918 {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1918).
(4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1918.
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1918.
(6) Vol. I, page 48.
42 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
CHAPTKR III. PRISONERS OF WAR AND INTERNED CR'ILIANS.
§ I. Prisoners of war.
An important source of labour during the last two years of the War was found in the military prisoners of war. Arrangements were first made for their employment early in 1917 (i). A scheme was prepared by the Board of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Army Council, under which all suitable prisoners of war, both military and civilian, who had any experience of agricultural woik were to be allotted to the Board of Agriculture, as well a number of civilian prisoners of suitable physique who did not possess any previous agricultural exper- ience.
The number available for England were to be distributed for agricul- tural work in the several counties in such numbers as the Board of Agri- culture considered desirable. In the first place the Board would place 75 prisoners at the disposal of each County War Agricultural Committee, and any prisoners beyond this number would also be furnished in batches of 75. This was done with a view to economizing military guards. Ar- rangements were to be made for housing the prisoners in depots from which they could be sent in small working parties, consisting as a rule of not less than five men. Prisoners thus employed would remain under military control, guards being provided both at the depot where they were housed and for each working party.
In selecting the district in which the prisoners allotted to any county could best be used, the Agricultural Committees were urged to bear in mind —
(a) The necessity of some suitable building being available for use as a depot, in a central position, and capable of accommodating the pris- oners, and with other accommodation near by for housing the guard, about 35 in number.
(6) That the prisoners could be employed only within a radius of about three miles from the depot, except in cases where special facil- ities were provided by employers or by the Government for the transit of prisoners and their guards beyond that distance.
(c) That it was necessary that there should be sufficient work within the radius to keep at least 65 of the prisoners employed for a period of not less than two months.
(i) Circular Letter, dated 16 January 1917, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Febrtiary 191 7).
PRISONERS OF WAR 43
Application for prisoners of war was to be made to the Secretary of the War Agricultural Committee for the County.
The prisoners were to be fed and boarded by the military authorities. Employers would not be required to provide any food for them.
The rates of pay for day or piece work were to be fixed by the Exec- utive Committee of the War Agricultural Committee with due regard to the rates of wage current in the locality for ordinary agricultural labourers. Two scales of pay were to be prepared, one for men having a previous knowledge of agriculture, and the other for the men lacking such experience. The scale when prepared was to be submitted to the Board of Agriculture for consideration.
The prisoners were only to be employed during the hours of labour customary for agricultural labourers in the district and no work was to be performed by them on Sundays, except the milking or tending of live stock, or attention to produce grown under glass, and this only provided the prisoner were not engaged for more than two hours in all.
Employers were required to pay the sum due for the hire of prisoners of war to the officer, or other authorized person, at the depot on the Mon- day or Tuesday following the week of employment.
Employers were not to be liable to pay compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act.
In addition to ordinary work of cultivation, prisoners might be em- ployed in connection with the scouring or clearing of water-courses and ditches where neglect of such work was likely to prove detrimental to adjoining agricultural land, or other useful work which had a direct bearing on the increased production of food stufifs in the immediate future.
Owing to the very large demands which were made by Government departments for the employment of combatant prisoners of war on work of urgent national importance, it was not found possible immediately to allocate prisoners for agricultural work under this scheme. Permission was, however, accorded to employ in agriculture a few prisoners who had been allocated to various forms of work, but could not for the moment be employed thereon (i).
In June 1917, however, arrangements were made whereby a consider- able number of military prisoners was rendered available for agricul- tural work or for carrying out drainage schemes which were likely to in- crease production for the 1918 harvest(2). In special cases the size of the batches of prisoners could be reduced to not less than 40 men and the guard was calculated at one third of the number of prisoners sent.
Early in 1918 the Government decided that a large number of Ger- man prisoners, selected as being skilled ploughmen, should be sent-to England to assist in the ploughing and subsequent cultivation of the ad-
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 1917.
(2) Circular Letter, dated 20 June 191 7, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 1917).
44 THE AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
ditional land to be cropped in time for the 19 18 harvest and a scheme was prepared by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture ( i). Groups of from 30 to 40 men were to be sent to four or five selected places in each county to assist with ploughing and other tillage operations within a radius of about five miles from each centre.
The group of prisoners was to be housed in suitable depots selected by the Food Production Department, after consultation with the Agri- cultural Executive Committees, and approved by the War Office. As . far as possible centres were to be formed near a market town and railway station. The premises for housing the prisoners were to be acquired and adapted by the War Office, who would be responsible for the control, feeding, etc., of the prisoners.
The prisoners were to be guarded whilst at the depot, but during the day they would be sent out without guards in gangs of four or five to work under the supervision of an English soldier ploughman or police- man ploughman (who would take part in the work and be known as " gang foreman ") with teams of horses supplied by the Food Production Department, or singly to farmers in the locality who were short of plough- men. The necessary farm implements were to be supplied by the Food Pro- duction Department and forage for the horses by the Army Service Corps.
While the County Agricultural Executive Committee would be re- sponsible for organizing the work to be undertaken by gang teams (mak- ing contracts with farmers, collecting dues, etc.) they were recommended to delegate the work to the District Committee in whose area the depot was situated, or, if more than one rural district was served from the centre, to allocate the teams between the District Committees interested, making each responsible for keeping the teams allotted fully employed.
In order to give more time to the Executive or District Committees to organize the work, it was arranged to supply only half the number of horses in the first instance. This gave an opportunity of testing the proficiency of all the prisoners as ploughmen and of arranging for the exchange of any proved to be unskilled, before the remainder of the horses were despatched.
For work within easy reach of the depot the horses were to be stabled near at hand, but for work on land situated further away teams were to be stabled as near as possible to their work, and a soldier would be bil- leted near by to take charge of them.
The prisoners required to man the teams in outlying districts were to be transferred to and from the depot each day in some suitable vehicle or when possible b}' train. Whilst away from the depot they were to be in charge of the gang foreman and to be supplied with suitable rations for their midday meal.
{ I ) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture, and Memoranda, dated 22 January 1918 and 28 January 1918, issued by the Food Production Department to County War Agricultural Executive Committees. War Office Letter, dated 17 January 1918 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 1918).
PRISONERS OF WAR 45
For each depot a non-commissioned officer, not above the rank of corporal, was to be employed to supervize the despatch of gangs each day in accordance with the instructions received from the District Com- mittee. He was also to be charged with the keeping of weekly records of the work done by each gang and of the forage issued, and with the care of implements, was to report cases of sickness among the horses and to be generally responsible for the discipline of the gang foremen. Any slack- ness or misbehaviour of prisoners while out at work was to be reported to the non-commissioned officer in charge of prisoners of war.
For ploughing undertaken at piece-rates the farmers were to be charged according to the scale already fixed for team ploughing, and for subsequent tillage operations according to a scale to be drawn up by the Agricultural Executive Committee and approved by the Food Produc- tion Department.
A farmer in the vicinity of a depot who desired the serv^ices of one or two prisoner ploughmen for a few days to work teams which would otherwise be standing idle was to be supplied with such men provided convenient arrangements could be made for handing over the prisoners each da}' to the farmer and for their return to the depot before dark. In such cases the farmer was to be made responsible for the safe custody of the prisoners during the day, and was to pay the Executive Committee for their labour at the rate of 5 ^(^. per hour.
Prisoners for whom horses had not been supplied could be employed in gangs of four or five on ordinary agricultural wcrk, such as hedging, ditching, etc., within a five-mile radius of the depot. The farmer em- ploying them was to be charged at the current rates payable locally for ordinary civilian labour, with a minimum of ^d. per hour.
Farmers desiring to employ prisoner of war ploughmen or agricultural labourers as whole-time workers, boarding and lodging them on the farm, were allowed to do so subject to the approval of General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Command. Not more than three prisoners of war could be allotted to any one employer without special sanction.
Under this scheme the farmer was required to employ the prisoners of war for at least a fortnight. He was to be responsible for their safe custody and was to take due precaution to prevent them from being in- terfered with by the inhabitants. He was to house them in healthy, comfortable and warm premises and to supply straw to fill palliasses as well as the necessary cooking utensils, crockery, artificial light, facilities for washing, etc. Clothing and bedding would be supplied by the Govern- ment. Three meals were to be provided per day and in no case on a less generous scale than that of an ordinary civilian farm labourer. In case of medical assistance being required the employer was to call in the local practitioner and the fees would be paid to the doctor direct by the State.
For the men's services the employer was to pay to the Commandant of the prisoners of war camp from which they were drawn at the minimum rate of 25s. per week, subject to deductions of {a) 15s. per week in respect of board and lodging, and (i) such further sum as the Commandant might
46 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
direct to be paid each week by the farmer to the prisoner of war. The rate of payment to the State for overtime work was to be assessed by the Commandant after consultation with the Agricultural Executive Committee and would not be less than the local overtime rate for civil- ian labour.
The normal rate of pay for a prisoner of war was to be id. per hour. For those who had shown proficiency and industry the Agricultural Exec- utive Committee could recommend payment at the rate of i y^d. per hour. Non-commissioned officers who volunteered for such work were to be given 2d. per hour. For overtime prisoners were to be paid at the usual hourly rate of working pay. No extra remuneration could be given to prisoners of war by their employers.
For the hay and corn harvests of 1918 special arrangements were made for the employment of prisoners of war (i). All prisoners in agri- cultural camps and at least 50 per cent, of the prisoners employed on land reclamation work were to be made available for harvest work. After the requirements of the neighbourhood had been supplied, the surplus were to be sent out in migratory gangs.
Government Departments employing prisoners were also asked to release as many as possible for harvest work. Such prisoners were to be emploj^ed as far as possible in the neighbourhood. of their working camps, but any surplus would be available for employment in migratory gangs. Other prisoners, sent directly from parent camps, were to be temporarily placed by the War Office at the disposal of the Agricultural Executive Committees for the formation of additional gangs.
Each migratory gang was to consist of ten prisoners and two guards. The Executive Committee was to decide where each gang was to be located for har\^est work, but gangs were not to be worked within five miles of the coast without the express sanction of the Area Commandant, nor in the vicinity of an aerodrome, munition works or other important military or naval station. Nor could they be worked in a neighbourhood served by a schoolboy camp or women's agricultural camp.
The Executive Committee was to select and secure accommodation for each gang consisting of not more than 12 (10 prisoners and two guards) in a suitable lock-up building with a sufficient supply of good water at a fixed price of 3^. per head per night. Where such accommodation could not be secured a suitable site for the erection of one or two tents was to be obtained at a cost not exceeding id. per head_ per night. Where gangs greater than 12 were required the local Quartering Committee was to be consulted as to their housing. The military authorities would provide the necessary tents and stoves and the prisoners would be pro- vided with palliasses, blankets, mess-tins and cooking utensils.
Each farmer employing prisoners was to be required to provide a suitable mid-day meal at his own expense. Tea, coflfee, cocoa or milk
(i) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agricul- ture, 19 June 1918 {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 1918).
PRISONERS OF WAR - • 47
might be given, but not intoxicants. Apart from this meal, rations for the prisoners and guard were to be supplied by the military authorities. The following charges were fixed for prisoner labour : —
[a) Whilst employed on hay harvesting : 4s. 6d. per day of 10 hours (excluding meal times).
[b) Whilst employed on com or potato harvesting: 5s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. per day of lo hours (excluding meal times).
[c) Whilst employed on ordinary agricultural work owing to harvest work being stopped in the locality : The existing rate of pay for prisoners employed on agricultural work in the county, less one halfpenny per hour to meet part of the cost incurred by the farmer in providing the mid- day meal and refreshments.
{d) When employed overtime on haysel or com harvest : Sd. per hour.
These charges were to be paid to a representative of the Agricultural Executive Committee, who handed over the amounts to the Commandants of the prisoners of war camps concemed after deducting the sums paid for the accommodation of prisoners and guard, and is. in the pound on the full amount received for the prisoners' work. The latter deduc- tion was intended to meet the costs to which the Committee would be put in connection with the scheme.
Some modifications were made in this scheme a month later (i). The War Office were not able to agree to the mid-day meal being provided by the farmer and it was arranged that rations to include the mid-day meal should be provided by the Military Authorities. The Food Produc- tion Department of the Board of Agriculture requested that the ordinary scale of rations laid down for prisoners should be increased for men em- ployed for long hours daily on harvest work.
The following revised scale of charges was fixed for prisoners when employed on corn or potato harvest work : ys. for a day of lo hours, ex- cluding meal-times, in the counties of Cambridge, Essex, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Soke of Peterborough, Suffolk, the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire and Rutland, and 6s. for a day of 10 hours in the remaining counties of England and Wales.
In October igi8 there were 330 depots in various parts of the country from which prisoners of war were sent out daily for agricultural work (2). P<ach of these depots contained 30 or more prisoners of war. INIany pris- oners at the depots claimed to be skilled threshing macliine drivers and feeders. It was, therefore, possible that threshing sets could be worked wholly by prisoner labour within a three to five-mile radius of the depots. If in any particular depot the skilled men required were not available, men of the required type coitld be transferred from another depot where there
(i) Memorandum, dated 17 July 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1918).
(2) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture, 14 October 1918 [Journal of the Board of Agriculture, November 1918).
48 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
' was a surplus. In the event of owners of idle machines being unwilling to employ prisoners as drivers or feeders, the Food Production Depart- ment urged the Agricultural Executive Committees to consider whether the machine should be taken over and worked by prisoner labour under their control.
Provision was also made for the formation of migratory gangs for threshing work. At the conclusion of the com harvest the prisoners of war belonging to non-agricultural camps were withdrawn, but arrangements were made to replace them b^" prisoners from parent camps, and the gangs were allowed to remain out for any urgent agricultural work such as threshing (i).
For the emplo3'ment of prisoners of war in migratory gangs a slightly revised scheme was issued in December 1918 (2). Hostilities having ceased, British civilian labour was becoming available by reason of the closing of the munition factories, aerodromes, etc., and care required to be taken that prisoner labour should not interfere with the employment of British civiHans who desired to take up or return to farm work. Commit- tees were accordingly urged to dispense with prisoners in any district where available civihan labour could be placed.
In the revision of the scheme which was made at this time, the prin- cipal modification was that payment for accommodation, fuel and lighting and any expenses incurred in the conversance of the equipment and rations were to be made by the Agriciiltural Executive Committees, which could deduct these expenses from the moneys received in payment for the serv- ices of the prisoners before handing them over to the Commandants. In no case was more than id. per head per night to be paid for accommodation.
A further sUght modification in the scheme was made in February 1919, when it was laid down that where the farmer was responsible for guarding the prisoners of war during the hours of work, the rate payable by the farmer for their services might be reduced by ^d. per da}- per prisoner and that a similar abatement might be allowed where prisoners of war were fetched over one mile by the farmer or by soldiers of agricultural companies in his employment (3).
The total number of prisoners of war employed on agricultural work in January 1919 was 30,679 (4). At the beginning of September 1919, when repatriation was decided upon, there were employed 19,319 prisoners going out daily to work from 321 agricultural camps, 1,735 prisoners boarded out with farmers, 1,008 prisoners sent out from parent camps,
(1) Memorandum, dated 25 October 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, November 191 8).
(2) Memorandiuu, dated 6 December 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1919).
(3) Army Council Instruction, dated 25 February 1919 {Journal of the Board of Agricul. lure, March 1919).
{4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Decemher igig.
INTERNED CIVILIANS 49
and 3,041 prisoners working in migratory gangs. The total number employed at that date was 25,103.
The general repatriation of prisoners was arranged to take place at the rate of 400 daily, but was seriously delayed by the railway strike. By December, however, all prisoners boarded out with farmers, or working in migratory gangs or from parent camps had been repatriated, as well as about 15,000 of the men working from the agricultural camps, of which over 200 had been closed. The remainder were repatriated as rapidly as circumstances permitted.
Though the Enquiry into Wages and Conditions of Employment in Agriculture revealed some difiference of opinion amongst the farmers as to the value of prisoner labour, on the whole it appears to have given satisfaction As was pointed out by the Investigator for Sussex, they were young, strong and efficient workers, many of whom had been accus- tomed to work on the land (i). The help given by the prisoners of war during the IQ19 harvest went far to overcome the difficulties which arose through the withdrawal of the soldier labourers (2).
§. 2. Interned cr^ieians.
A small number of interned civihans (or, as they were officially called civilian prisoners of war) were also employed on the land. A scheme for their employment was prepared by the Home Office as early as June igi6 (3). It was proposed to choose certain civiUan prisoners of war from the intern- ment camps, who had good records and were trustworthy men as far as was known, to release them on parole and to send them on suitable condi- tions to such employers of agricultural labour in non-prohibited areas as might apply for them. The men chosen would not be German ; they would be subjects of Austria-Himgar\^ or of Turkey. They would be able to speak at any rate a little English, or if there were men otherwise suitable who could not speak Paiglish, it might be possible to arrange to send a small group of three of four with an interpreter. It would be possible in many, if not in most, cases to send men already accustomed to farm work. Where they were not accustomed the men would at any rate be able-bodied and used to manual labour.
The employer was to lodge the prisoner on his premises, to feed him, and to pay liim at the usiial rate paid in the district to English agricultural labourers, deducting the cost of his board and lodging at the rate of los. a week.
On receipt of an appHcation a selected man would be despatched^as
( 1 ) Wages and Conditions of Employment in Agriculture. Vol. I : General Report; page 50. Vol. II: Reports of Investigators, page 341.
(2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December igig.
(3) Memorandum prepared by the Home Office and sent on 26 June 1916 by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agrioiltural Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 1916).
50 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
quickly as possible to the applicant's address, free of cost to the applicant. Should the man in any way misconduct himself, or should the employer have other reasonable ground for wishing to terminate the emplojaiient, he was to inform the police, who would take the man back to camp, also free of cost to the employer.
The conditions of payment were slightly modified before the end of the year, the employer being allowed to deduct from the wages paid the cost of the man's board and lodging at the rate of 12s. 3^. per week (i). They were further modified in July 1917, when the Home Office agreed that when a man was paid a wage of 25s. a week or over, the amount to be deducted in respect of the cost of board and lodging might be increased to 15s. a week (2).
The provision whereby civilian prisoners could not be emplo^-ed in prohibited areas was modified in May 1917 to the extent that, although they could not be released for work in prohibited areas in coimties on the East Coast, their employment in prohibited areas elsewhere would be con- sidered, provided certain special conditions were observ^ed (3). At this time it was stated that there were over 500 civilian prisoners employed in agriculture.
The interned civihans gave every satisfaction to their employers. The farmers stated that the men were invariably wilHng and useful and gave no trouble whatever (4).
(x) Notice issued by the Board of Agriculture, 12 December 1916 {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 191 7).
(2) Memorandum, dated 25 July 1917, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 191 7).
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1917.
(4) Notice issued by the Board of Agriculture, 12 December 1916 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 191 7).
WOMEN LAND WORKERS 5 1
CHAPTER IV. WOMEN LANDWORKERS.
Estimates of the number of women employed in agriculture in England and Wales before the War vary so greatly that little reUance can be placed on their accuracy (i). It is certain, however, that the number showed a progressive decHne between 1851 and 190 1. According to the census taken at different times the number of female farm employees was 143,021 in 1851 ; 90,249 in 1861 ; 57,988 in 1871 ; 40,346 in 1881 ; 24,150 in 1891, and 12,002 in 1901.
In 1911 the number of women returned as agricultural labourers was 13,245. In addition to these there were 20,027 women returned as fanners or graziers ; 56,856 as farmers' or graziers' relatives assisting in the work of the farm ; 2,449 ^^ market gardeners, and 2,176 in other classes of agricultural occupations, making a total of 94,722 women engaged in agriculture.
The census having been taken in April many women more or less reg- ularly engaged in agriculture and the very large number who were casually employed were not enumerated. The Census of Production, taken in June 1907, gave ver^^ different results. According to this estimate the number of females engaged in agriculture in England and Wales was 244,000, including 144,000 members of occupiers' fanihes, 68,000 other persons permanently employed, and 32,000 persons temporarily employed.
Here there are discrepancies not easily explained. It would seem that in the Census of Population farmers' wives were not included as as- sisting the farmer, but that in many cases they were so included in the Census of Production. It is also probable that many women who worked more or less in the fields did not return themselves in the Census of Population as employed on farm work.
Obviously exact conclusions cannot be drawn from figures so unre- liable. It may, however, be said that comparatively little regular work on the farms was done by women, though they were largely employed on seasonal work. There were some exceptions to this. In Northumberland and other northern counties the decline in the number of women labourers was not so marked as elsewhere. In Wales, where small pastoral holdings are numerous, the women usually took entire charge of milking and dairy work and of the feeding of young stock, while many of the smaller hill
(i) Board of Agriculture and Fisheries : Report of Sub-Committee appointed TO consider the Employment of Women in Agriculture. London, 191 9. — Board of Agriculture and Fisheries : Wages and Conditions of Employment in Agriculture : Vol. I, General Report. London, 1919.
52 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
farms were run entirely by women, the men being engaged in mining or quarrjung (i).
§ I. The need of womev workers.
Early in the War it was seen that it would be necessary to induce women to work upon the land in greater numbers. The problem presented itself imder two aspects. It was necessary to encourage the village women to give the whole or part of their time to agricultural work in their own neighbourhoods, and, on the other hand, to enUst the services of towns- women for work on the land. We shall see that the village women proved the larger source of labour, but that the townswomen, though less nu- merous, played a specially important part since by their example and enthusiasm they encouraged the village women to come forward and by their mobility they were particularly useful in meeting sudden emergencies.
In developing the employment of women on the land many difficul- ties had to be overcome. A complex administrative organization was necessary', and elaborate arrangements had to be made for the training of the women who offered their services. The townswomen and others who were wilhng to go to any district to which they might be sent were mostly enrolled in a mobile force known as the Women's I/and Army. Help was also given by voluntary associations such as the Women's National I^and Service Corps.
§ 2. The DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME.
There existed in the minds of rural women the idea that work on the land was degrading and this prejudice had to be eradicated before they could be induced to offer their services. It was by the example of educ- ated women who took up farm work out of patriotism or of townswomen who did not feel the same prejudice, by persistent projjaganda and by the women's growing sense of the national danger that this difficulty was eventually overcome (2). The whole attitude of country women towards employment on the land became changed and those who had always shared in the work of the farm came to take a new pride in their occupa- tion (3).
Even more formidable was 4he prejudice of the farmers against women labourers {4). Tliis was partly overcome by systematic propa- ganda, by demonstrations of women's work, and by published accounts
(i ) Roberts (Mrs. M. Silyn) : The Women of Wales and Agriculture. Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918.
(2) Ernle (lyord) : The Women's Land Army. Nineteenth Century and After, January 1920. — Talbot (Miss Meriel L.) : Woman in Agriculture during War-time. Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 191 8.
(3) Roberts (Mrs. M. Silyn) : Article dted in note{i).
(4) Articles by I/jrd Ernle and by Miss Meriel L. Talbot dted in note (2).
WOMEN LANDWORKERS 53
of what women had accompHshed (i), but it was finally removed when the women proved themselves thoroughly efficient in many branches of agri- cultural work. It may be noted that the farmers' prejudice was less strong against the village women, even if unskilled, than against the imported women labourers (2).
Another difficulty arose from the fluctuating nature of the demand tor women's labour (3). Apart from variations due to the weather and to the seasons, there was great uncertainty as to the extent to which the farmers could rely upon other sources of labour, such as soldiers released for work on the land, or prisoners of war. The demands of the Army, too, varied according to the condition of affairs at the Front and the at- titude of the Tiibimals towards the agricultural labourers who stiU re- mained on the land was consequently uncertain.
In regard to the mobile labourers, the difficulty of finding accommoda- tion was a serious one (4). We shall see what steps were taken to meet it, but the difficulty was never completely overcome.
A difficulty affecting the village women was that many of them were imable to work on the land until provision was made for taking care of their children (5). Others were prevented from offering their services by want of suitable clothing (6).
§ 3. The ad:mikistrative organization.
It was only gradually that an administrative organization arose in connection with women's labour on the land.
In 19x5 women's county committees, working either in co-operation with or as sub-committees of the County War Agricultural Committees, were formed in many counties to carry on propagandist work with a view to inducing women to enrol themselves for farm work for whole or part time (7). Early in 1916 it was noted that such committees had already been formed in 25 counties.
In Cornwall women's committees were formed in each parish, the members of which were to make a canvass of the women of the parish, to compile a register of women willing to work on the land and to make provision for their training by local instructresses (8). The system ot
(1) From December 1915 to November 1918 the Journal of the Board of Agriculture conr tained information in every issue regarding the work which women were doing on the land.
(2) Ernle (I<ord) : Aiticle cited in note (2), i^age 52. "
(3) Ernle (I<ord) : Article cited in note (2), page 5^- — Lytteltgn (The Hon. Mrs. Alfred) : The Women's I,and Army. Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 191 8.
(4) Ernle (I,ord) : Article cited in note (2), page 52.
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1916.
(6) Ernle (I<ord) : Article dted in note (2), page 52.
(7) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, February 191 6.
(8) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 5.
54 THE AGRICUL,TURAL LABOUR SUPPI.Y DURING THE WAR
^^llage registers was recommended by the lyabour Exchange Department of the Board of Trade for general adoption in August 1915 (i).
In February 1916 the Board of Agriculture urged the formation in every county of a Women's Farm Labour Committee, with local subcommittees, working in concert with the War Agricultural Com- mittees, but carrying on its campaign with its own staff and organization (2)
The system recommended was that when a Women's Farm Labour Committee had been set up, it should appoint District Committees or Local Representatives and Village Registrars with a view to tmder- taking a sj^stematic canvass of the women of the county and the formation of a register of those women who were wiUing to offer their services. It was suggested that the War Agricultural Committee should delegate to the Women's Farm Labour Committee all questions relating to women's work on the land, and that two or more members of each committee should be co-opted on the other committee. A similar method might be adopted to co-ordinate the work of the District War Agricultural Committees and of the Women's Farm Labour Sub-Committees.
One of the duties of the Women's Committees was to arrange for hold- ing meetings for the purpose of inviting and encouraging women to work on the land. A panel of approved women speakers was drawn up by the Board of Agriculture.
Early in 1916, too, the Board of Trade increased the number of organ- izers of women's work attached to the Laboui Exchanges.
In January 1917 a Women's Branch of the Board of Agriculture was formed. Two months later it was more fully organized and became a section of the Food Production Department (3). It was made responsible for the selection, training and placing of the women who volunteered for the Women's Land Arm3\ To ensure efficient organization for the work, the Women's War Agricultural Committee in each county was asked to set up an Executive Committee with the following Sub- Committees :
(i) A County Selection and Allocation Committee with subsidiary Committees in the County Districts.
(2) An Instruction and Depot Committee.
(3) A Finance Committee.
(4) A Wages Committee.
The County Selection and Allocation Committee was expected to co-operate in the closest way with the Employment Exchanges ; to select
(i) Notes on war service for country-women issued by the I,abour Exchange Department of the Board of Trade (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1915).
(2) Circular I<etter, dated 23 Febniary 191 6, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 191 6).
(3) Circular lyctter, dated 30 March 191 7, addressed by the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 191 7).
WOMEN LAND WORKERS 55
the National Service and other volunteers, arranging for their medical inspection and the provision of their outfit, and for placing them, through the County Instruction and Depot Committee into Training Centres, or straight on a farm with the Government allowance of 15s a week for three weeks, paid to them while they were being instructed in their work by the farmer who afterwards employed them ; to inspect the posts and ar- range accommodation.
The Instruction and Depot Committee was to arrange for the training of the volunteers in various ways, in Agricultural Colleges and in Training Centres. It was also to organize a Depot to which the land workers could be sent if they were out of employment through no fault of their own. The outfit might in some cases be stored at the Depot ; in other cases, a storeroom under the management of voluntarj^ workers might be arranged.
The Finance Committee and its Treasurer (who required to be approved by the Board of Agriculture) were to make arrangements for the disburse- ments of such Government money as had been assigned to the use of the Women's War Agricultural Committee.
The Wages Committee was to decide upon the fair current rate of wages for different types of work in the county. It was considered im- portant that representatives of the War Agricultural Committee should join this Committee.
The existing organization in the different counties, whereby District Representatives and Village Registrars had been appointed was to be strengthened.
Twelve Travelling Inspectors were appointed for England and Wales and in each county there was a paid Organizing Secretar5% for whose work the Travelling Inspector was responsible.
This scheme of organization was completed by the appointment of Welfare Committees to look after the well-being of the workers.
To meet the sudden demands for additional labour wliich occur at certain seasons, a Seasonal Labour Committee was set up by the Women's Branch of the Board of Agriculture (i). The Women's National Land Service Corps, of which we wiU speak later, was appointed as agent of the Board of Agriculture for the supply of seasonal workers, and in 1918 en- rolled 3,000 women from the Universities and elsewhere to work in the flax-puUing camps in Somerset, Northamptonshire and other comities (2^.
§ 4. Village women'.
We have seen that the reluctance of the village women to work on the land was graduall}^ overcome. Comparatively few of them, however, were able to give their whole time to the work. To simplify the organ- ization of the part-time workers, use was made of group-leaders and fore-
(i) Ernle (Lord) : Article dted in note (2), page 52.
(2) Talbot (Miss Meriel L) : Article cited in note (2), page 52. — Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 1919.
56 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURINO THE WAR
women (i) . The group-leaders organized groups of part-time village women, went out with them at the start and, when moving to another centre left belund them a forewoman chosen from among the viUage workers. The forewomen arranged the time and pay sheets for their groups and paid the women their wages (2). A development of this system occurred later. In April 1918 a special appeal was issued for women with agricultural experience to act as " village forewomen " to lead and arrange the work of gangs of women on the land (3). They were to enrol in the Women's Land Army for six months and to be prepared to work wherever they were required throughout England and Wales.
To enable married women to work in the fields arrangements were sometimes made whereby other persons, not themselves able to do agri- cultural work, would look after their children in their absence. In some cases creches were established for the children of married workers. In this the War Agricultural Committee of the Holland Division of lyincoln- shire took the lead (4). Thus at Holbeach an tinfumished house was hired and furnished partly by gifts of furniture and partly by a fund of £25 collected from local farmers. Accommodation was provided for thirty children, preference being given to infants if appHcations were in excess of that number. The charges for taking in and feeding children were 6d. per day for an infant up to three years old and ^d. per day each for a second and third cliild.
In other cases women who could not themselves undertake farm work relieved the workers of part of their home duties by mending the family's clothes, by cooking the dinner, etc (5).
The village women would have come forward in greater numbers if they could have provided themselves with suitable clothes and foot- wear (6). This obstacle was partly overcome by arrangements made in the Spring of 1916 by the Board of Agriculture with the Co-operative Wholesale Society for the supply of suitable clotldng toW omen's Committees at the lowest wholesale terms (7). At the end of 1916, in view of the increasing shortage of labour, the Co-operative Wholesale Society foimd it necessary to notify the Board of Agriculture that it would not be pos- sible for them to continue their arrangements for the supply of clothing (8). Arrangements were, however, subsequently made by the Women's Branch
(i) Circular Letter, dated 30 March 1917, addressed by the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of thf Board of Agriculture, May 1917).
(2) Ernle (I/jrd) : Article dted in note (2), .page 52.
(3) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture in April 1918 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1918).
(4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1916.
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 191 5.
(6) Ernle (lyord) : Article cited in note (2), page 52.
(7) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 191 6.
(8) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1917.
- 3
^ s
- Kl
«1
■Si J
9 ^
it. a"
t ^
5 ^ u
•n 1
^^y-^i^^^;
WOMEN LANDWORKERS 57
of the Board of Agriculture whereby they were able to sell clothing at cost price to women who, for a certain period, had worked on the land for 24 hours a week (i). They also sold boots to land workers at wholesale prices, and allowed a bonus of $s. a pair to women who fulfilled the same conditions.
In spite of all the difficulties the numbers of women employed upon the land as part-time workers was more than trebled. It was estimated that in September 1918 at least 300,000 such women were at work (2).
In recognition of their patriotic spirit, the Board of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Board of Trade, proposed early in 1916 to grant a certificate, emblazoned with the Royal Arms, to women land workers (3).
It was afterwards decided that an armlet of green baize bearing a red crown might, in the discretion of the County Women's War Agricultural Committees, be issued to any woman or girl over school-leaving age who had actuall}' worked on the land for not less than 30 days or 240 hours {4). The distribution of the armlets was entrusted to the District Representa- tives of the County Women's War Agricultural Committees, who as a rule issued them through the Village Registrars. Any woman who had qualified for an armlet was also entitled to receive a certificate, signed by the Presidents of the Board of Trade and the Board of Agriculture, bearing the Royal Arms emblazoned in colours (5).
§ 5. The women's land army.
In January 1917 it was decided to form a mobile Land Army consisting of women who were prepared to give their whole time and to go any- where or undertake any agricultural work at the direction of the Board of Agriculture (6). The first appeal to women to join the Land Army was issued in March by the National Ser\ace Department and 45,000 women responded to the appeal.
At first the women were recruited by the National Service Depart- ment and handed over for selection, training, equipping and placing to the Women's Branch of the Food Production Department (7). The entire organization of the Women's Land Army was afterwards entrusted to that Department and it was through the Women's Committees in each county, in consultation with the Employment Exchanges, that the work was carried out.
In the autumn of 1917 an arrangement was made whereby, to prevent overlapping, women recruited for work under the Forage
(i) Ernle (Lord) : Article cited in note (2), page 5^- —
(2) Ernle (Lord) : Article dted in note (:), page 52.
(3) Circular letter, dated 23 February 1916, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 1916).
(4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 191 7.
(5) For the badges and awards of merit given to I,and Army women see page 62.
(6) ERNLE^{Lord) : Article dted in note (2), page 54- (;) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1917-
58 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Committee of the War Office and under the Timber Supply Department of the Board of Trade were included in the Land Army (i). Recruits were accepted for any of the three sections of the Land Army, but were to agree to be transferred to either of the other sections if the national interest required it. Enrolment was for one year (Class A) or for six months (Class B), except for the Forage Section, which was only for one year. Women who had already enrolled for the period of the War in the Land Army could, if they so desired, be enrolled under the new scheme for one year.
During the first few months after the formation of the Land Army the women met with considerable discouragement, through the prejudice of the farmers and the imcertain demand for their labour (2). The demand, howe\'er, increased after the summer of 1917 and the women found the opportunity to prove their utiHty. The need for Land Army women was most strongly felt after the call-up of men in the months from April to June 1918. During these months a recruiting campaign was vigorously pushed in the provinces as well as in London and met with great success. Over 28,000 volunteers offered themselves as a result of this campaign (3).
In September of the same year, 16,000 Land Army women were at work, and this was the highest figure which was reached at any one time (4) .
Besides working continuously on farms, the Land Army women were called upon to meet sudden demands for seasonal labour and on account of their mobility they often proved themselves exceedingly valuable in difficult circumstances.
Recruiting and Selection. — The method of recruiting and selecting women for the Land Army was as follows (5) : Forms of application were obtainable at any post office. On signing one of these, a woman received a summons from the nearest Employment Exchange to appear before a joint committee of the Emplo^^ment Exchange and the District Selection and Allocation Committee of the Women's War Agricultural Committee Her railway ticket to the place indicated was sent to her.
She was interviewed by the District Selection and Allocation Committee who considered whether she was physically fit for work on the land. If she were accepted for service the Committee then decided (a) that she was sufficiently skilled to go straight to a farm as a paid worker, or {b) that she was suitable to receive a bursary (15s. a week) and to be allocated direct to the approved farm on which she was to work, or (c) that she re- quired four weeks' training at a centre.
The recruit was then given a medical certificate, which she was to have filled in, either by her own doctor at her own expense or by one of the doctors on the Committee's panel. She was also given a measure-
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1917 and February 1918.
(2) Ernle (Lord) : Article cited in note (:), page 52.
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June and July 191 8.
(4) Eri«.e (Lord) : Article cited in note (2), page 52.
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 1Q17.
WOMEN HANDWORKERS 59
ment form for her equipment to fill in at once. She was then given her return railway ticket and told to await further orders.
If the recruit was passed by the doctor as fit for land work, the Com- mittee carried out the decision arrived at during the interview. The med- ical examination to which the volunteers were subjected was severe, as it was necessary to maintain a high standard of fitness and health. Of the women who responded to the first appeal, 50 per cent, were rejected (i).
When a recruit was to be sent to a training centre she received her instructions and a railway voucher from the Women's War Agricultural Committee, to whom all particulars were furnished by the District Com- mittee. Her progress was reported upon and, if it were satisfactory, arrange- ments were made to place her upon a farm as soon as she was ready.
Billeting. — Through the women's organization set up in every county suitable billets were found for Land Army girls sent to any dis- trict. The local rate of payment was ascertained and every care was taken to ensure the well-being of the land workers (2).
The compulsory powers of the Board of Agriculture in regard to billet- ing were very sparinglj' used, as it was thought that the land workers would not be likely to be made comfortable in biltets compulsorily ob- tained (3). In one county accommodation was obtained by compulsion for the women employed in threshing. In some cases camps were formed for the women landworkers or they were conveyed by lorries from con- venient centies. At times the accommodation provided was extremely rough and the women endured considerable hardship.
All billets, as well as training centres and hostels, were periodically inspected by ofiicial organizers and inspectors.
Outfit. — The outfit of Land Arm}^ women consisted of two overalls, one hat, one pair of breeches, one pair of boots, one pair of leggings, one jersey, one pair of clogs and one mackintosh (4). A second issue was made within the year of one overall, one hat, one pair of breeches, one pair of boots and one pair of leggings. The value of a year's outfit was estimated at £7. It was obtained from the War Office Contracts Department and distributed to the workers in each area through the Outfit Secretary and Store Superintendent (both voluntary) of the County Committees.
Wages. — At the outset a commencing wage of i8s. a week and a minimum of 205. per week after passing an efficiency test was guaranteed to women of the Land Army. In March 1918 the commencing wage was increased to 20s. a week and the minimum wage after passing an efficiency test to 22s. a week (5)
(i) Ernle (Eord) : Article dted in note (2), page 52. ^
(2) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture (/owf- nal of the Board of Agriculture, April 1918).
(3) ER^rLE (I,ord) : Article cited in note (2), page 52.
(4) Ernle (lyord) : Article dted in note (2), page 52.
(5) Circular I,etter, dated 4 March 1918, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 1918).
6o THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
As from 28 April 1919 the commencing wage for women of the lyand Army was laised by 2s. 6d. a week (i). They were to receive 22s. 6d. for the first three months' agricultural . work, which included the period of training, ana afterwards 25s. a week as the minimum wage. If, however, a higher figure had been fixed by the Agricultural Wages Board as the minimum wage for women doing the same class of work, the I^and Army women were to be paid at that rate.
To these wages must be added the value of the benefits offered by the Government to I^and Army women, such as free outfit, free instruc- tion, railway and travelling expenses in connection with employment and maintenance at a hostel while out of employment (2).
Badges and Awards of Merit. — Women enrolling themselves in the Ivand army for a year were given a service armlet after 30 days' or 240 hours' work on the land, a stripe for every six month's work, and a badge after two months' approved service (3) .
Two awards of merit were inaugurated in the I^and Army on 5 Octo- ber 1918 (4). The first was the Good Service Ribbon, which was awarded to all workers who had given six months' completely satisfactory serv- ice, both in and out of working hours. Of these ribbons 7,976 had been awarded up to October 1919.
The second was the Distinguished Service Bar, which was given for acts of courage and unselfish devotion in the service of others and also for special skill in the course of their employment. Up to October 1919, 46 Bars were awarded, and of these 24 were given for deeds of splendid courage and endurance, while 22 were awarded for really exceptional skill in such unaccustomed work as rearing bulls, driving tractors and shepherding. Ten Distinguished Service Bars were awarded to women in the tractor service, so that, though only two per cent, of the Land Army, they took 25 per cent, of these honours (5).
The Demobilization of the Land Army. — Demobilization of the Land Army went on gradually after the armistice (6). In the winter of 1918-19 many women withdrew from it. In October 1919 only 8,000 women re- mained, and it was decided to disband the Land Army on 30 November, by which time the potato harvest would be gathered in. The disbanded women were, however, encouraged to remain on the land, as their labour was permanently required. It was estimated that of those who were still
(1) Notice issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture, 14 March igiy {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 1919).
(2) Ernle (Lord) : Article cited in note (::), page 52. — Circular Letter, dated 30 March 191 7, addressed by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 191 7).
(3) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Febniary 1918.
(4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1919.
(5) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, 'D&otm.h&i 1919.
(6) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1919. — Ernle (Lord): Article cited in note (2), page 52.
WOMEN LANDWORKERS 6l
enrolled at the time the Land Army was disbanded about 75 per cent, wished to continue to do farm work. In Surrey, for example, out of 299 Land Army women, only 44 returned to their pre -War life.
At the time of the disbanding of the Land Army a self-governing as- sociation, called the National Association of Landswomen was formed to bind together all women workers on the land. This association was to endeavour to provide, at the expense of the workers themselves, the ad- vantages which the official organization had secured (i).
§ 6. The training of women workers.
One of the greatest difficulties in increasing the supply of women land workers was the provision of the necessary training. Even in normal times the facilities offered to women were wholly inadequate, as was re- cognized by the Agricultural Education Conference in its Report on Agricultural Education for Women, opportunely published in Novem- ber 1915 (2).
When it was realized that it would be necessary for women to take their share in agriculture, a few patriotic women, chiefly of the educated class, set themselves to obtain such training or experience as would enable them to be of some use on the land (3). They became students for short terms at such of the Agricultural Colleges and Schools as were able to ac- commodate them or arranged with individual farmers to get practice on the farms. These women usually paid for their own training or worked without wages until they were competent. Other women obtained by similar methods a training in horticulture.
During 19 15 a training centre was established on a farm in Essex by the Women's Farm and Garden Union. Instruction in all forms of farm work was given for a period of 12 weeks. The students usually paid for their maintenance, but the Union paid for the instruction. The women thus trained quickly found employment, many of them obtaining respon- sible positions.
In a Notice issued by the Labour Exchange Department of the Board of Trade in August 1915 stating that women were required for agricultural work it was suggested that the necessary training in milking and dairying
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1919. — Ernle (I<ord) : Article dted in note (2), page 52.
(2} Report of the Agricxjltural Education Conference on Agricultural Educ- ation FOR Women. London, 19 15. — In June 1910, the Rural Education Conference was constituted by the Boaid of Agriculture and the Board of Education for a term of three years. This period having expired, the Conference was reconstituted by the Board of Agriculture under the name of the Agricultural Education Conference (See Journal of the Board of Agri- culture, October 1914). Before the outbreak of the War the Board referred to the Conference the question of agricultural education for women. A siunmary of its Report on this question was given in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture of December 1915.
(3) Macqueen (Miss M. M.) : The Training of Women on the I^nd {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918).
62 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
should be given by farmers who intended to employ the trained women on their own farms (i). It was also stated that there were a few agricultural colleges and private farms where a short course of training could be obtained on payment of a fee, the cost being usually about £i per week for instruc- tion, board and lodging. In many counties there were travelling dairy schools which provided short courses of instruction, usually extending over about ten days, while a few County Education Authorities were arranging special short courses of training with a view to preparing women for light farm work. The Board of Agriculture had arranged for a limited number of courses of training extending over two to four weeks to be given at certain Agricultural Colleges ; in these courses maintenance was provided and no cost was involved for the women under training.
In- November 1915 the President of the Board of Agriculture addressed a Circular Letter on the training of women for work on the land to the War Agricultural Committees (2). He stated that the experiments which had been made in a few counties since the outbreak of the War had proved that it was possible, by providing selected women with short courses of traming, to make an appreciable addition to the number of available farm workers. In a Memorandum which accompained the letter these experi- ments were described.
The objects aimed at were (a) in the case of women entirely unac- quainted with agriculture, to give them an opportunity of becoming familiar with farm work and thereby gaining some confidence in themselves before seeking employment as wage-earners, and (b) in the case of women already familiar with farm work, to provide them with opportunities of extending their knowledge and increasing their efficiency. To meet these objects three methods had been tried.
In Cornwall the women's committees which were formed in each parish selected a number of capable women competent to act as instruc- tresses. These local instructresses held classes in such subjects as milking, the preparation of cattle foods and feeding calves, pigs and dairy cattle. More advanced instruction in dairy work was undertaken, if required, by the regular County Staff Instructresses. Classes by the local instructresses were also held in other branches of farm work, such as hoeing roots, har- vesting hay and corn, lifting potatoes, weeding and gardening.
The usual arrangements were for a farmer who had an efficient dairy woman to place her and the required number of cows at the disposal of the parish copimittee. Similarly, a farmer would allow a competent woman to hold a class in turnip hoeing, or any other branch of light farm work, on his land. The farmer was required to continue to pay the instructress her regular wage and she received, in addition, sixpence a day from county funds. In this way the number of women capable of working on the land was increased at very little cost to public funds.
(i) Notes on agricultural work and training for women issued by the Board of Trade (Labour Exchange Department) {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1915)' (2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1915.
WOMEN I.ANDWORKERS 63
In Nottinghamshire a different scheme was adopted. The Notting- ham County Council Advisory Labour Committee arranged for eight women to be housed at a farm-house in the county. The farmer allowed his farm to be used for the purpose free of rent, and gave a donation and weekly subscription towards general expenses. The women were selected by the Labour Exchanges from a large number of applicants and the course of training lasted three weeks. Two courses were held. Four of the women worked on the central farm and four on two neighbouring farms. The farmers in each case arranged for the instruction to be given, and gave the women their breakfast and dinnei in return for the work done. The vol- untary services of a matron superintendent were obtained to supervize the working of the scheme and the assistance of the County Agriculture Organizer and the Instructor in Agricultural Processes were also secured.
The pupils were given instruction in milking both in the morning and in the afternoon, and they also assisted with calves, pigs and poultry, hay-making, root singling and hoeing, top dressing with artificials, clean- ing and whitewashing cowsheds, gardening and pea picking. The course of instruction was too short to give a thorough training to the pupils, but it enabled them to become accustomed to rural life and conditions and gave the Labour Exchanges an opportunity of judging of their ability to take situations which farmers had applied to them to fill.
The third scheme was that carried out by the Board of Agriculture. The Board arranged with the Labour Exchanges and certain Agricultural Colleges and Farm Schools, situated in different parts of England and Wales for the training of a number of young women who were willing to accept employment as milkers and to undertake light farm work. The Board undertook the payment of the pupils' travelling expenses as well as of their board, lodging and tuition at the institution. The women were selected by the Labour Exchanges, who undertook to place the women out on farms on completion of their training.
The scheme was in operation for 25 weeks and the women selected were in nearly every case without previous experience of agricultural work. The length of the course varied from two to four weeks. In all, 218 women were passed through the course of training and of these 199 were placed in employment. A few unsuitable women were selected and the two- weeks' course was too short, but, as an experiment, the scheme was success- ful. The wages received by women trained under the scheme varied from 5s. to IDS. weekl)' when board and lodging were provided, or from 14s. to 20S. weekly when they lived out, cottages and perquisites being provided in some cases.
As a result of the Circular issued by the President of the Board- of Agriculture the instruction of women in light farm work and in milking was quickly organized in a considerable number of counties. The sys- tems adopted were various. In some counties, training was given at ap- proved farms ; the shortest "period for which training was given was from two to four weeks in Bedfordshire and Herefordshire ; the longest period was 12 weeks in West Sussex. In other counties courses of instruction
64 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
for women were opened at Agricultural Colleges and Farm Schools, this being facilitated by the fact that the number of men students was greatly reduced. In other counties special training centres were established. In others, again, classes were organized in the different villages, as had been done in Cornwall (i).
In the autumn of 1916 the Board of Agriculture offered to Local Education Authorities grants equal to two thirds of any expenditure they incurred in the training of women land workers (2). A number of scholarships of the value of £4 were also awarded providing for a four weeks' course of instruction at certain recognized institutions. Such scholarships were granted to applicants who were approved by the Women's War Agricultural Committee and undertook to give a stated period of service on the land after training. Advantage was taken of the scholar- ships by several of the voluntary organizations which helped to enlist the services of women workers and by individual women who desired to make themselves more efficient. It was particularly advantageous to women who were already occupied on the land but were compelled to take up unaccustomed tasks owing to the withdrawal of the men.
The short courses of instruction served to give the women some notion of the use of farm implements and the care of young stock, but their train- ing had necessarily to be completed by experience. They were usually quick to learn, as they had not only grit and determination, but a freshness of mind which the farm labourer had largely lost (3).
In 1916, as an outcome of the experiment made by the Women's Farm and Garden Union in the training of educated women, the Women's National Land Service Corps was formed, primarily for the purpose of training educated women to act as forewomen in charge of gangs of women workers on the land. The Government gave a grant to the Corps propor- tionate to the sums raised from voluntary subscriptions (4).
Arrangements for the training of the women joining the Corps were made by the Women's Farm and Garden Union, to whom various farms were lent for the purpose by different members (5). Facilities were also offered by certain Agricultural Colleges and Farm Institutes. The training was always for six weeks and was directed to making competent cow- women or horse-women of the members of the Corps. Most of the women who were enrolled paid for their own maintenance while training, but a
(i) For a summary of the provision made for instruction in 35 of the administrative count- ies in England and Wales, see the issue of June 1916 of the Journal of the Board of Agriculture. In the issue of July 191 6, a full account was given of a training centre established in the Lind- sey Division of Lincolnshire, and in the issue of December 1916 notes were published on two training centres formed in Nottinghamshire and a centre formed in Hertfordshire.
(2) Macqueen (Miss M. M.) : Article dted in note (3), page 61.
(3) Taxbot (Miss Meriel L) : Article cited in note (2), page 52-
(4) Circular Letter, dated 23 Febrxiary I9r6, addressed by the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 1916).
(5) Macqueen (Miss M. M.) : Article dted in note (3), page 61.
Women Haymaking.
Women Thatching. Cliches lent by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, London.
Clipping a I^incoln Ewe at a Demonstration of Women at Farm Work.
Ploughing at a Demonstration of Women at Farm Work. Cliches lent by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, London.
y. •--
5 ^
3 o
a «
■ft.
WOMEN LANDWORKERS 65
certain number of free trainings were given, the expense being met by subscriptions to the Corps.
The methods whereby the Land Army recruits were trained were as follows (i) :
1. Training under the bursary systems.
2. Training at a practice farm.
3. Training at an organized centre.
Under the bursary system the recruit was sent direct to the farmer who was to employ her. In consideration of training her for the work for which he required her, the farmer was allowed to have the recruit for three weeks without paying her any wages. During this period the Land Army made an allowance for her maintenance.
This system had the disadvantage that in many cases the farmer only trained the recruit for one particular process and when the season for that process was over she required further training before she was of much use to another employer.
Under the practice farm system the farmer undertook to train one, two or more women for four to six weeks. In return for the training he had the benefit of the women's labour, the Land Army giving them maintenance. The farmer did not employ the women he had trained, who were transferred to paid employment on other farms, but other recruits were sent to him to train.
The practice farm system was not uniformly successful. Its success depended upon the farmers' skill in imparting instruction and upon his ability to gauge the amount of work which a recruit was capable of doing. Moreover in certain classes of work it was very necessary that close super- vision should be given until the recruit reached a fair degree of efficiency and the farmer had not always time to give this supervision.
The third method was, on the whole, the most satisfactory. The recruits were sent to a central hostel, usually established on a farm where there were adequate facilities for training a large number of recruits, or in the centre of a district in which there were several farms suitable for training. The hostel was under the supervision of an instructress, who was able to give her whole attention to the work of training.
At first the period of training was restricted to four weeks, but this was found to be insufficient and the period was extended to six weeks with marked results. It was found that the last two weeks of training greatly increased the efficiency of the recruit. At the same time " effici- ency tests " were instituted.
In the majority of cases the training was given in stock or horse work, though there were exceptions to this rule as in some counties the general farm labourer was most in request.
It was found necessary to supplement the training with certain special
(i) The account which follows is in the main a summary of part of the article by Miss M. M. Macqueen on " The Training of Women on the l«ind, " to which we are also indebted for much of the information already given on the training of women landworkers.
66 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
subjects, such as thatching, hedging, etc. For such training special classes were usually held in connection with the training centre or, where the training was being given to women already in employment, at some central place where the women could meet after their working hours.
Special centres were also arranged for the instruction of women trac- tor drivers. These were similar to the ordinary training centres, the in- struction being given specially in the management of the tractors and of the various implements attached to them, and in the general work of cultivation. When the demand for women drivers increased, recruits were placed for work and training under skilled operators. The period of training was from four to six weeks.
Some of the Land Army recruits received a short training in gardening and were afterwards employed by market gardeners.
During the winter of 1917-18 short couises of instruction in the plant- ing of forest trees were given in the Forest of 'Dean by the Office of Woods, with the object of securing a number of forewomen capable of dealing with the gangs of women labour working at afforestation.
In making arrangements for the training of the Land Army, some difficiilty was caused by the fluctuating demand for women's labour, which made it necessary to have a larger number of women in training at one time than at another. In the Spring of 19 18, the number of women in training was between 300 and 400 ; in the July following the number had risen to 2,775. Between March 1917 and May 1919, some 23,000 women passed through the training centres (i).
§ 7. The kinds of farm work done by women.
In the first appeals to women to offer their services for work on the land, they were asked to undertake " light farm work," but it is remarkable how, as time went on, women more and more undertook the heaviest forms of labour. There was, moreover, a steady increase in their efficiency.
As early as October 1917 a Test Meeting for women land workers of the midland counties was held at Edgbaston (2). About 250 women farm workers entered for the Tests. The candidates were divided into three classes of workers, according as they had worked for twelve months or more on a farm, for six months, of tor three months. The Schedule was drawn up with a view to testing the general capacity of candidates for all-round farm work, as well as for special branches, such as those of the wagoner and the cowman.
Although 75 marks out of a possible 100 were necessary to secure an efficiency certificate and 70 per cent, for a highly commended certifi- cate, in the milking tests not a single candidate failed. The results in regard to forms of labour usually regarded as less suited to women
(i) Ernle (Lord) : Article cited in note (2), page 52.
{2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, September, October and November 191 7
WOMEN LANDWORKERS 67
labour were almost equally striking. Besides milking by hand and by machinery, the tests included pulling, cleaning and piling roots ; hoeing and singling roots ; trussing ; thatching ; loading and unloading ; mowing by hand ; grooming, harnessing and driving ; ploughing ; ridging ; drill- ing ; motor-tractor driving. The proportion of women who failed in the tests was very small.
The work of tractor ploughing by women was started in the autumn of 1917, when farmers were strongly of opinion that women were quite unsuited to the task (i). To meet these objections great care was taken in the selection and in the medical examination of recruits, while prefer- ence was given, where possible, to educated women. The number of women selected to receive training was 415 and of these 400 were actually employed.
The experiment of emplo3dng women threshers was also tried for the first time in the autumn of IQ17, when gangs were sent out to I^an- cashire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, where they did good work (2). In the following year a larger scheme was started and gangs of women threshers were employed in Kent, Essex, Warwick.'^hire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Glamorgan and other counties The women were housed in permanent billets and went out to their work every day. The gangs consisted as a rule of four Land Army women and a forewoman, and wages averaged 23s. per week. The work was of an arduous nature and trying in many ways, and only the strongest women were chosen for it. Some of the women improvized masks of muslin or light canvas as a pro- tection from dust and smoke.
In August 1918 returns were obtained regarding the occupations of 12,657 women of the Land Army and it was found that 5,734 were em- ployed as milkers, 293 as tractor-drivers, 3,971 as field-workers, 635 as carters, 260 as ploughman, 84 as thatchers, and 21 as shepherds, while the remainder were occupied in various other kinds of agricultural work (3).
Writing in the Autumn of 19 18 Miss Meriel L. Talbot stated that in milking and dairy work, the care of young stock, certain kinds of field work and the lighter kinds of forestry women proved themselves complete- ly efficient (4) The work of women in such occupations as threshing, thatching, and driving motor tractors was also remarkably successful, but in the heavier and more monotonous kinds of work the landswoman was not so successful. Manual work of this kind, without variety or change, tended to weary her physically and mentally. She was more adapted for those kinds of work which require knack, deftness of hands and personal interest and care.
Lord Enile, writing in the light of a year's further experience, .gave an estimate of the work for which women are best adapted which did not
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, DecembcF 1919. I2) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918.
(3) Erxle (lyord) : Article dted in note (2), page 52.
(4) Talbot (Miss Meriel I,.) : Article cited in note (2), page 52.
68 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
differ greatly from that of Miss Talbot (i) . He said that experience showed that there were particular branches of agriculture for which women had special aptitudes. First among these were the handling of live-stock and above all, dairying and the rearing of young animals In dealing with horses, their light hands compensated for any want of strength. They excelled in milking and dairy work, for the standard of cleanliness which they introduced was a valuable asset. A woman's secret with animals seemed to be that to her they were not machines but individuals. In the lighter branches of field-work and of forestry women did admirable work On market gardens their services were invaluable. In thatching, which was fast becoming a rare agricultural art, they proved most profici- ent. In driving motor-tractors they did at least as well as men ; here also light hands tell.
There were other kinds of work in which some women had completely succeeded, though more exceptional qualities were needed. Here and there a woman proved herself to be a competent ploughman, but on heavy land it was doubtful whether ploughing was a suitable occupation for women. In the dearth of male labour threshing was undertaken by women. They did it well, but it was a dirty and heavy job, and the pro- vision of accommodation was always a difl&culty Whether women gen- erally were fitted to become shepherds was still doubtful, yet du^ring the War women did wonders among the sheep.
In some counties, as for example in Monmouthshire (2) and in Devon- shire (3), derelict farms were given over by the County War Agricul- tural Committees to the Women's Committees to be cultivated entirely by women's labour.
(i) Ernle (Lord) : Article cited in note (2), page 52. {2) Roberts (Mrs. M. Silyn) : Article cited in note (r), page 52.
(3) Hamlyn (Miss S. C.) : A Woman's Farm in Devon {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, October 1918).
SOME OTHER SOURCES OF LABOUR 69
CHAPTER V. SOME OTHER SOURCEvS OF IvABOUR.
§ I. Belgian refugees.
A ftw of the Belgian refugees found occupation on the land in England and Wales, but the number was not as large as might have been expected. At the date when the Government Belgian Refugees Committee issued its first Report (i) 100,000 refugees had arrived in England and the vocations of 23,907 of these had been accurately classified ; only 654 had been engaged in their own coimtry in an agricultural occupation. At this time, too, though the shortage of labour in agriculture was already evident, there was some hesitation about employing Belgian refugees lest it should be to the detriment of British labour.
§ 2. Danish labourers.
In March 1916 the Central Labour Exchange Department of the Board of Trade imdertook to try to obtain Danish labour for work on farms in England and Wales which were outside the prohibited areas, provided they were assured that engagements for not less than 12 months could be guaranteed, and that third class travelling expenses of the men from Den- mark would be advanced by the farmers on the understanding that such advances might be recouped by deductions from wages (2).
The men were to be mainly 3^oung single men between the ages of 18 and 25, who had had practical agricultural experience, especially in dairy farming, and who had taken a short course at a farm school. The farmer engaging such labourers was required to board and lodge them under reas- onably comfortable conditions and to pay them the current rate of wages for skilled farm workers. Application for Danish labourers was to be made to the Board of Agriculture.
A small number of Danish agricultural workmen was also recruited in 1918 by the Ministry of Labour (3). Every care was taken to obtain men who were definitely qualified to undertake agricultural work.
§ 3. Conscientious objectors.
To find employment for conscientious objectors a committee was formed at the Home Office, and this Committee was able to arrange for
(1) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1915. •
(2) Notice issued by the Board of Agriculture on 22 March 191 6 (Journal of the Board of Agriculture, April 191 6).
(3) Memorandiun, dated 3 June 1918, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to Coimty War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 1918).
70 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
the employment of some of them on the land (i). The Home Office Com- mittee preferred to send out men for work in groups, but also supplied them in small parties to indi\ddual farms, provided the County War Agricul- tural Committees would supervize the arrangements for such parties.
Where the men where employed in groups the Home Office bore the expense of housing, feeding (up to 12s. 3^^. per week per man) and clothing the men, of medical attendance and insurance, and of paying them their personal remuneration of 8^. a day, less any deductions. The Coimty War Agricultural Committee had to undertake to house and feed the men, settling with the Home Office Committee the expense to be incurred, and charging it, when incurred, to that Committee. On the other hand the Home Office Committee were credited each month with the wages at the current local rates payable for ordinary civilian agricultural labourers.
Where the men were sent out in small parties to farms, the County War Agricultural Committee had first to arrange for the collection of information as to the farms on which this form of labour was required. They also arranged for the reception of the men, for their despatch to the farms and for the inspection of the accommodation, etc., provided. The farmer paid to the representative of the War Agricultural Committee the sum fixed by the Executive Committee, with the approval of the Home Office Committee, as representing the local current rate of wage for men either {a) skilled or {h) unskilled in agriculture, while the Agricultural Committee's representative paid the men the sum fixed by the Home Office as their personal remuneration {8d. a day less any deductions) and accounted for the balance to the Home Office Committee.
The hours worked were those obtaining in similar work in the district.
While they were at work the conscientious objectors were not imder military discipline, but were subject to civil control exercized by a respon- sible person nominated by the War Agricultural Committee to act as agent for the Home Office, or by the employer or body of employers. Any man who misbehaved himself or was persistently idle or was otherwise unsuitable for the work could be removed if the employer required and, if necessary, could also be made the .subject of disciplinarj' action by the Home Office Committee.
§ 4. National service volunteers and war agricultural volunteers.
In the spring of 1917 the Board of Agriculture made arrangements with the National Service Department whereby farmers would be able to secure for agricultural work men belonging to the National Service Volunteers enrolled by that Department (2).
(i) Circular Letter, dated 21 February 191 7, addressed by the Food Production Depart ment of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 1917).
(2) Circular Letter, dated 27 Alarch 19x7, addressed by the Food Production Depart- ment of the Board of Agriculture to Agricultiual Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, May 191 7).
SOME OTHER SOURCES OF LABOUR 7 I
Farmers desirous of employing them were to apply on the proper form When filled in, the forms were to be sent to the War Agricultural Ex- ecutive Committee of the cotmty in order that they might have an oppor- tunity of considering and recommending the relative importance of the applications. This was to ensure that priority should be given to the applications from farmers known to be most .in need of additional labour. Subsequently the forms were to be forwarded by the Committee to the District Agricultural Commissioner of the National Service Department, aud it would be the duty of that official to endeavour to supply each farmer concerned with the labour he required.
It was suggested by the Board of Agriculture that the applications of farmers for National Service Volunteers should be dealt with by the Lab- our vSub-Committees which they had recently recommended the War Agricultural Executive Committees to appoint.
In a Memorandum on the sources of additional labour for harvest work, dated 5 July 1918, the Food Production Department urged the Agricultural Executive Committees to make every effort to enrol every available man under the War Agricultural Volunteer Scheme (i).
War Agricultural Volunteers were men who entered into an agreement with the Minister of National Service to undertake agricultural work to which they might be assigned by the Minister during the War for a period not exceeding 12 months in all (2).
No man was enrolled as a War Agricultural Volunteer until he had actually been accepted by an employer as suitable for an acttial vacancy, and the vacancy had been approved by the Agricultural Executive Com- mittee of the covmty.
Vacancies for seasonal workers were not so approved.
Men were enrolled as War Agricultural Volunteers either through the agency of an Employment Exchange or through the Agricultural Executive Committees. They were enrolled either for general work (that is, for work anywhere in England or Wales) or for local work (that is for work within daily reach of the volunteer's home).
The rate of wages paid to the volimteer was the rate current for the job on which he was emploj'ed. Over and above his wages he received the following allowances : —
1. Travelling Allowance. — {a) If the farm were at a distance beyond that which he could reasonably travel daily from his home, a free railway warrant at the commencement and completion of the work which he was directed to take up, or (/;) if the farm were within daily travelling distance from his home, the daily cost, if any, of a workman's return ticket by railway. _
2. Suhsistence Allouance. — If the work were beyond daily travelling distance from liis home and if he had dependants for whose
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1918.
(2) Statement i&'iued by the Ministry of Nalional Service {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, July 1918).
72 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
maintenance he was responsible and from whom he was obliged to be separated owing to his being at such work, subsistence allowance at the following rates : —
[a] If married, or if unmarried and his home was mainly dependent on him, 2s. 6d. per day for seven days per week ;
{b) If unmarried and his home was partially dependent on him, IS. 6d. per day for seven days per week.
If, after being placed in employment by the Minister of National Serv- ice, his employment, owing to no fault of his own, came to an end during the war, and no further work were available for him, a War Agricultural Volimteer was entitled to receive an out-of-work allowance at the rate of 3s. 6d. per day (including Sunday) for any remaining portion of a period of six months from the date on which he was placed in employment by the Minister of National Service. The first payment of this allowance was due one week after the commencement of unemployment.
No man who had not attained the age of 45 at the date of his appli- cation for enrolment would be enrolled as a War Agricultural Volunteer vmless he proved that he was in Medical Categories B3 or C3 or in Grade 3. The Ministry of National Service arranged that so long as a man con- tinued to be engaged as a War Agricultural Volunteer he would not be liable to be called up for military service, provided he applied for such exemption.
Men who entered agricultural employment after 28 May 19 18 could be enrolled as War Agricultural Voltmteers and assigned to their existing employment, provided they were otherwise eligible for enrolment and the employment was approved by the Agricultural Executive Committee (i). Such men might claim subsistence allowance only and not daily travelling allowance. Subject to similar conditions, men who were employed on non-agricultural work could be enrolled and assigned to the same employer for employment on agricultural work. Any man who had been placed as a National Service Volunteer in agriculture could, on leaving his Na- tional Service Volunteer job, be enrolled as a War Agricultural Vol- unteer, notwithstanding his having been engaged in agriculture on 28 May 19 18.
§ 5. Schoolboys, schoolmasters, ministers of religion, civil servants, etc.
In the early part of 1915 the Labour Exchanges approached the various authorities which had charge of boys, including the Industrial and Reformatory Schools, with a view to obtaining boys for placing in
(1) Information circulated to County War Agricultural Executive Committees by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture on 25 October 1918 (Journat of the Board of Agriculture, November 191 8).
|
J. |
r? |
|
o |
|
|
rt |
« |
|
c |
K |
|
Ch |
A. |
|
tf |
•^ |
|
ti |
-5; |
|
it |
|
|
1^ |
|
|
•"< |
A. |
|
n |
|
|
O |
5 o
■■^- 2
u
SOME OTHER SOURCES OF LABOUR 73
situations on farms or market gardens (i). The number obtainable from this source was not, however, very large.
The shortage of labour being much more serious in 1916 than in 1915, the Board of Agriculture addressed a Circular I^etter to the War Agricul- tural Comtmttees asking them to ascertain the probable demand for aux- iliary and holiday labour both for the harvest and for other seasonal work. It was probable that assistance could be obtained from the masters and boys of public and secondary schools, and from such bodies as the Boy Scouts Associations, the National Union of Teachers, the National Schoolmasters' Association, Officers' Training Corps, the Architectural Association, and industrial co-operative societies.
The Board urged that the resources and machinery of the Labour Exchanges should be used in mobilizing the available labour. They also suggested that local registers should be kept of those persons who were willing to assist in harvest work and that the countrj^ clergy and minis- ters of all denominations, or the village schoolmasters, should be asked to act as registrars and to put farmers in touch with those persons who registered their names.
A typical case of the employment of school boys was described in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture of October 1916 (2). The British Flax and Hemp Growers' Society, which was formed to administer grants from the Development Fund for the purpose of reviving flax and hemp growing in England was faced during the summer of igi6 with a serious shortage of labour for the flax-pulling in the Yeovil district of Somerset. A sufiicient number of women was not to be relied upon and no soldiers were available. The Bristol Grammar School authorities were accordingly approached and, after consideration, undertook to render all the assistance in their power. A company of 60 strong boys, varying from 15 to 18 years of age, volunteered for the work.
In view of the fact that the flax existed in patches varvnng from 2 to 6 acres, situated in different parishes, which were often separated from one another by a distance of 3 or 4 miles, it was decided to form a camp at a central position where the boys could live in semi-military fashion. The Yeovil Local Committee of the Society, composed of farmers and flax spinners of the district, selected a site for the camp in a sloping field at South Petherton, close to a river, and provided every possible convenience to make it a good camping ground. In so far as the camp organization was concerned the school submitted an estimate of the cost, undertook all responsibility and made the necessary arrangements. A small advance party with baggage travelled by train and the remainder of the party cycled from Bristol to South Petherton. A master accompanied theHDoys to act as quartermaster, and undertook the organization of supplies ;
(i) statement issued by the Board of Trade {Jourtial of the Board of Agriculture,
May 1915)-
(2) Article entitled "The Pulling of Flax in Somersetshire", in the issue mentioned.
74 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
another master went as commandant of the camp, and the school sergeant acted as cook.
The boys rose at the sound of the bugle at 6.45 a. m. and put the camp in order before breakfast, which was served at 8 a. m. By 9 a. m. the whole company, with the exception of a small camp party, left on their bicycles for the flax fields, which were generally situated some three or four miles away. Wherever pulling was in progress one of the Society's Belgian experts was present to supervize the operation.
Pulling was continued until i p. m., when there was an interval of an hour for lunch, which was brought to the field. At 2 p. m. work was resumed and continued until 5.30 p. m. Camp was generally reached again at 6 p. m.
The catering was arranged at is. 6d. per day ; the transport of camp equipment together with incidental expenses brought the total up to £125. This cost worked out to about 15s. per boy. The cost per acre of flax pulled was found to be £2 los. Women were also employed on the flax-pulling, but it was found that the cost of women labour was about £3 5s. per acre of flax pulled.
More systematic efforts to organize the supply of boys and other seas- onal workers were made in the spring of 1917, when a Central Har\'^est Committee was formed by the National Service Department for the pur- pose of providing additional labour for the harvest and other work on the land (i). The Committee was representative of the public and secondar\' chools, civil serv^ants, the Clergy National Service Committee, the Free Church Council, the National Union of Teachers, Boy Scouts Associations, Church Lads Brigade, and Cadet Corps. The Cavendish Association (representing the public and secondary schools) was appointed to carry out the arrangements under the supervision of the Director of the Agri- cultural Section of the National Service Department.
In order to facilitate the arrangements delegates representing the public and secondary schools, the Church of England, the Free Churches, and the elementary school teachers were appointed for each county to confer with the National Service Commissioners and Sub-Commissioners and with the County War Agricultural Executive Committees. The four delegates, together with the National Service Commissioner (or Sub-Commissioner) in each county, and the Agricidtural Executive Com- mittee of the county, formed an Advisory Committee to consider questions relating to the demand for and supply of this .special class of labour.
It was one of the duties of the Advisor3' Committee to impress upon farmers the necessity of utilizing the labour provided by the National Service Department. The Advisory Committee also received from public and secondary schools in the district particulars of squads of boys avail- able for work in their own localities, either in term time or holidays, and
(i) Scheme drawn up by the Committee and communicated on 7 May 1917 by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, June 1917).
SOME OTHER SOURCES OF I,ABOUR 75
applications for work from ministers of religion, elementary school masters and civil servants residing in the covmty. In all these cases the names and addresses of squad managers weie also to be furnished to the Advisory Committee. When the demand for this kind of labour could not be met locally, the Advisory Committee notified the Central Committee, giving full particvilars of accommodation available, locality of farms, etc.
The Central Committee communicated the demands to the various organizations who were collaborating in carrying out the scheme. Offers of squads required to supply the demands which had not been met locally were sent by the Central Committee to the Advisory Committees.
It was further the duty of the Advisory Committees to arrange for the accommodation of squads. Large squads were accommodated in cen- tral places, to serve several neighbouring farms, going to and fro by bicycle or other means. They were billeted in schools, in institutes, in bams, under canvas, in village inns or in country houses (occupied or unoccupied). Small squads were accommodated with farmers and, where possible, with local residents. Squads were responsible for their own catering.
The wages of each squad were settled by the Advisory Committee with the employer, subject to the general condition that the pay of adults was to be at the current rate for the job on which they were employed, and that the pay of boys was to be threepence or fourpence per hour. Where the Advisory Committee and the emploj^er could not agree the case was decided by the National Service Commissioner or Sub-commissioner.
The employment of public school boys, in particular, was a great suc- cess ; indeed, not a single complaint was received at the Food Production Department concerning any of the numerous camps or gangs (i).
Arrangements for the 19 18 harvest were made well in advance. As early as Februar^^ the Food Production Department urged the War Agri- cultural Executive Committees to ascertain as soon as possible the demands of the farmers for school boy labour (2). Many Executive Committees appointed District Representatives for School-boy Labour, in order to obtain the necessary information. By arrangement with the Ministry of National Service camps were .formed where much harvest labour was required (3). In all about 15,000 boys from public and elementary schools, boy scout divisions, etc., were employed in the har\'est of 1918 (4)
Another source of additional labour for the igi8 har\^est was found in the temporary release of local authority employees and policemen (5). The Ministry of National Service issued a Circular Letter to all coimty
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1917.
(2) Memorandum, dated 27 February 191 8, addressed by the Food Production De- partment of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board of Agriculture, March 1918).
(3) Memorandum, dated 5 July 191 8, issued by the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Jourtval of the Board of Agriculture, August 1918).
(4) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, August 1918.
(5) Memorandum dted in note (3).
76 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
clerks, town clerks and chief constables, in wliich special facilities were granttd for the purpose, and the Food Production Department instructed the Agricultural Executive Committees to communicate with the local bodies in their area with a view to obtaining the assistance of as many employees and policemen as could possibly be spared.
Yet another source of labour for the 1918 harvest was found in the employment for part of their time of persons who had other occupations. In many districts Part-Time Committees had already been formed under the Ministry of National Service and these also assisted in finding part- time labourers for farm work. In districts where such committees did not exist, the Food Production Department suggested that the Agri- cultural Executive Committees should appoint local representatives to organize part-time labour and place it with the farmers. In some cotmties it was arranged that all the roadmen should be made available as part-time workers. Large numbers of men were also released for part-time work during the harv^est by quarr^^-owners and other employers of labour.
Towards the end of the War discharged sailors and soldiers also be- came available for work on the land. Thus, for example, in August 1918, the Fcod Production Department suggested that such men should be trained as tractor-drivers, by arrangement between the Agricultural Executive Committees and the Local War Pensions Committee (i). They were to be paid by the Ministry' of Pensions until such time as the^^ were taken over by the Executive Committees as competent tractor-drivers.
(i> Memorandum, daled 17 August 1018, issued bj'^ the Food Production Department to County War Agricultural Executive Committees {Journal of the Board cf A?r!CulUire , September 191 8).
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR TJ
CHAPTER VI. MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICUIyTURAL IvABOUR.
A different type of measure from any of the foregoing was the fixing of minimum wages for agricultural labour, one of the objects of which was to induce the agricultural labourer to stay on the land by ensuring to him wages commensurate with the rising cost of living.
This measure was introduced by the Com Production Act of 1917. The main purpose of this Act was to extend the cultivation of cereals in the United Kingdom, but provisions were inserted into it for the estab- lishment of an Agricultural Wages Board for each of the three Kingdoms. We are here concerned only with the Agricultural Wages Board of Eng- land and Wales and with the minimum wages fixed by it.
§ I. The AGRICULTURAL WAGES BOARD.
In Part II of the Com Production Act it was enacted that the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, in consultation with the Ministry of Labour, should appoint an Agricultural Wages Board for the fixing of minimum wages for workmen employed in agriculture in England and Wales. To the terms " workmen " and " employed in agriculture " wide interpret- ations were given, so that, in fact, the Wages Board was empowered to fix minimum wages for men, boys, women and girls, working not only on farms, but on osier land, woodland, orchards, market gardens and nursery grounds.
The Wages Board was to consist of members representing employers, members representing workers and members appointed by the Board of Agriculture who might be expected to form an impartial judgement as between employers' and workers' interests. It was left to the Board of Agriculture to make regulations fixing the numbers of each class of member, subject to the provision that the representatives of the employers and the representatives of the workers must be equal in number and that the appointed members must not exceed in number one quarter of the whole Board.
The Board of Agriculture decided that the Wages Board should consist of 39 persons, of whom seven were to be appointed members and the remainder representative members (i). Of the 16 members represeating the employers, eight were to be nominated by the Board of Agriculture, while each of the following bodies was to be asked to elect two members :
(i) Provisional Regulations with Respect to the Constitution and Proceedings OF THE Agricultural Wages Board (England and Wales) set up under the Corn Produc- tion Act, 191 7, issued by the Board of Agriculture on 28 September 191 7.
78 THE AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
The Council of the Royal Agricultural Society' of England ; the General Executive Committee of the National Farmers' Union ; the Council of the Central and Associated Chambers of Agriculture ; the Welsh Agri- cultural Council. Of the members representing workmen six were to be elected by the Executi\'e Committee of the National Agricultural Labourers' and Rural Workers' Union, and two by the General Execut- ive Committee of the Workers' Union, while the remainder were to be nominated by the Board of Agriculture.
If the result of the elections were such that in the opinion of the Board of Agriculture a fair representation of all classes of farming and of the various conditions of employment in agriculture in all parts of the countr>^ could not be secured, the Board of Agriculture reserved to itself the right to nominate a representative member in place of any person elected.
The normal term of office of an appointed member was fixed at two years and that of a representative member at three years, but it was laid down that at the end of one year five members representing employers and five members representing workers should retire by lot and at the end of two years other five representing employers and five representing workers.
To preserve the balance between employers' and workers' represent- atives it was provided that if at any meeting their numbers were unequal, the side which was in a majority could arrange that one or more of their members should refrain from voting. Failing such arrange- ment, the chairman might, if he thought desirable, adjourn the voting on any question to another meeting of the Board.
The Wages Board was formed in accordance with these regulations, and its first meeting was held on 6 December 1917 (i).
Revised Regulations governing the constitution of the Agricultural Wages Board were issued in September 1920 (2) . The principal change was that of the 16 seats allocated to representatives of the employers, 13 were to be filled by election by the National Farmers' Union (one of the members so elected to be representative of Welsh farmers), one seat by election by the Welsh Farmers' Union, the other two employers' repre- sentatives being nominated by the Board of Agriculture. Of the 16 seats for representatives of workers, nine were to be filled by election by the National Union of Agricultural Workers, five by election by the Workers' Union and the remaining two by nomination by the Minister.
§ 2. District wages committees.
The Corn Production Act provided also for the formation of District Wages Committees. The appointment of such Committees was left to the option of the Agricultural Wages Board, subject to the right of the
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, December 1917.
(2) Regulations made under the Corn Production Act 1917 with respect to the Constitution and Proceedings of the Agricultural Wages Board (England and Wales) issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on 23 September 1920.
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR 79
Board of Agriculture to insist on their formation. The areas for which they were to act was left to the Wages Board to determine, but their compos- ition was to be settled by regulations made by the Board of Agriculture. The Act merely laid down that there was to be equal representation on the District Committees of local employers and local workers and that at least one member of the Wages Board or other person nominated by the Board of Agriculture should act on each District Committee.
In determining the areas in which the District Wages Committtees were to act the Wages Board took as the basis the geograpliical counties, but in some cases counties were grouped to form a single area (i). In all 39 districts were formed of which 27 corresponded to geographical count- ies, while II contained two or more counties. One of the areas was less than a covmty, the Fumess District having been detached from the county of Lancashire and grouped with Cumberland and Westmorland.
The method adopted for the formation of District Wages Committees was for the members of the Wages Board representing the employers to recommend representatives of the local employers, while the members re- presenting the workers recommended representatives of the local workers. These recommendations were carefully considered by a Selection Commit- tee, consisting of four emplo3-ers' representatives, four workers' represent- atives and four appointed members. The Selection Committee in turn made recommendations to the Wages Board, who had the final decision in regard to the nomination of the representatives of the local employers and the local workers. To these were added the impartial members appointed for each Committee by the Board of Agriculture.
The earliest District Wages Committees to be formed were established at the end of January 1918, and by the middle of May the Agricultural Wages Board was able to issue a notice stating that Committees had been formed in each of the 39 areas into which England and Wales had been divided.
Under the revised Regulations issued in Septeml^r 1920, the Agri- cultural Wages Board, in appointing representative members had to make their selection from among persons nominated by organizations of em- ployers and workers respectively.
It was the function of the District Wages Committees, as laid down by the Com Production Act, to recommend to the Wages Board minimum rates of wages applicable to their districts. Only the Wages Board itself could fix, vary or cancel any such rate but it could not make any orders to this effect which should be applicable in any area where a District Wages Committee existed, unless the Committee had either recommended the rate or its variation or cancellation, or had had an opportunity -ef re- porting thereon to the Board.
The Act also empowered the Wages Board to delegate any of its powers and duties (other than the power and duty of fixing minimum rates) to the District Wages Committees. The principal power which was
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 191 8.
80 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
SO delegated was that of granting " permits ol exemption, " that is permits to workers on time-work who were affected by mental or ether infirmity or physical injury which rendered them incapable of performing the work ot a normally efficient workman to accept employment at rates less than the minimum wage.
§ 3. Procedure in fixing minimum rates.
In fixing any minimum rate of wages the Agricultural Wages Board was obliged, as we have seen, either to act upon the recommendation of a District Wages Committee or to give the Committee the opportunity to report upon the proposal. It had also to give public notice of the rate it proposed to fix and to consider anj^ objections which might be lodged with it within one month. When a rate was fixed it had further to give notice of such rate for the information of the employers and workers affected. The same procedure applied to the variation or cancellation of any Order fixing a minimum rate.
§ 4. The PRINCIPLES on which minimum wages were fixed.
The Com Production Act imposed upon the Agricultural Wages Board the duty of fixing minimum rates of wages for time-work and em- powered it, if it thought it necessary or expedient, also to fix minimum rates of wages for piece-work. Considerable latitude was allowed to the Board on fixing rates applicable universally, or different rates for dif- ferent districts, for different classes of workers or for different kinds and conditions of employment.
In the ca.se of able bodied men the Act itself fixed a rate for time- work below which the minimum rate to be fixed by the Wages Board was not to go. This rate was to be such that, when the customary allowances were taken into account, the total wages would be equivalent to payment for an ordinary day's work at a rate of 25s. a week. This provision did not apply to boys, women and girls.
The principle laid down by the Act for the guidance of the Wages Board in fixing minimum rates, whether for time-work or for piece-work, was that it should try to secure, so far as practicable, for able-bodied men such wages as -were, in its opinion, adequate to promote efficiency and to enable a man in an ordinary case to maintain himself and his family in accordance with such standard of comfort as might be reason- able in relation to the nature of his employment.
When a minimum rate had been fixed, the payment by an employer of a less rate was an offence punishable by a fine of not more than £20. If, after conviction, the employer persisted in paying less than the min- imum rate fixed, he rendered himself liable to a fine not exceeding £1 for every day on which the offence was continued. Pending the fixing of minimum wages by the Wages Board, the rate of 25s. a week for able- bodied men was made applicable all over the country, and if less wages
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICUI.TURAL LABOUR 8 1
were paid the worker was entitled to recover the difference from his employer as a cii-il debt. When proceedings to recover were taken, the value of the allowances, if it were disputed, was to be determined by the Court.
§ 5. Benefits and allowances as part payment of wages.
The Agricultural Wages Board foimd it necessary to take steps at once to decide upon the principles or method to be adopted in estimating the value of those benefits and allowances which were to be calculated as part payment of wages. At its second meeting, held on 20 December 1917, it appointed two committees, each consisting of four employers' represent- atives, four workers' representatives and four appointed members to consider respectively on what basis the rent of cottages should be assessed and other benefits and allowances should be valued (i).
It was not, however, until September 1918 that the Board issued an order on the subject. This order, which was entitled " Order as to Benefits and Advantages which may be Reckoned as Payment of Wages in lieu of Payment of Cash, " defined such benefits and advantages as including provision by an employer for a workman employed by him of : (i) Milk, including skimmed or separated milk.
(2) Potatoes.
(3) I/)dging, except in any case in which the District Wages Committee might determine that the lodging accommodation provided was so defective as to be injurious to health.
(4) Board, including any meals but not intoxicating drink (2).
(5) A cottage, including any garden hitherto given or let with the cottage, except where the cottage is one in regard to which the Medical Officer of Health has reported that it is in a state so dangerous or injurious to health as to be unfit for human habitation.
The values at which milk and potatoes were to be reckoned were the current producers' wholesale prices, which were to be ascertained and determined by the District Wages Committee. Lodging and board were to be reckoned at such weekly sums as the District Wages Committee should determine.
The value of new milk was originally determined, for all parts of the cormtry, as 6 ^(f. per quart or the wholesale price fixed for any parti- cular district by the Local Food Control Committee, whichever were the lesser. For skimmed or separated milk, the value was imiversally fixed at 8^/. per gallon.
Under a revised determination which came into force on 19 July j:920, the value of new milk was to be reckoned as 4 14<^- P^^ quart from i May to 30 September and as 6d. per quart from 10 October to 30 .April.
For potatoes of the second grade, the values originally determined
(i) Journal of the Board of Agriculture, January 1918.
(2) It is illegal under the Truck Acts to reckon intoxicating drinks as allowances in part payment of wages.
82 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
varied from £5 5s. per ton up to £7 los. In the majority of counties it was determined at £6 5s. or £6 ids. The vahie of potatoes of the first grade was determined as los. per ton above that of potatoes of the second grade.
A revised determination was made with effect from 13 December 1920, under which vahies varying from £10 to £6 were fixed for potatoes of any grade or variet)^
Great differences were apparent in the estimation of the value of board and lodging. For full board and lodging for a week of seven days, the estimated values in the various District Wages Committee areas as originally determined and as subsequently modified are shown in Table I (male workers) and Table II (female workers).
Values were also determined in all areas for partial board and lodging of various degrees as, for example, lodging only, all food and drink (ex- cluding intoxicants), dinner only, breakfast only. Similar variations were observable in the values determined in the different areas, as in the values of full board and lodging.
It will be noted from Table II that, as from 14 July 191Q, the values of full board and lodging were made uniform for female workers throughout England and Wales and the same is true of the values determined for par- tial board and lodging.
The method laid down for the assessment of the value of a cottage was less simple. If the cottage were held from the employer rent and rate free, the provision of the cottage might be reckoned at an amount not exceeding 3s. per week. In other words an amount not exceeding 3s. per week might be deducted from the minimum wage.
A District Wages Committee might, however, decide that the average value customarily attached to cottages in its area was less than 3s. a week and might fix a lower maximum amount at which the provision of a cot- tage should be reckoned. In a few parts of the country, this maximum value was fixed by District Wages Committees at less than ^s. per week. Thus in North Buckinghamshire it was fixed at2s. ; in Northamptonshire, Herefordshire, Mid-Buckinghamshire and parts of the county of Somerset at 2s. 6d. In by far the greater part of the country, however, the Dis- trict Wages Committees agreed to the general estimate of 3s. per week.
The District Wages Committees were also authorized to decide as to any particular cottage that it was defective in respect of accommodation, repairs or sanitation, and to fix an amount to be deducted from the max- imum value on the ground of such defects.
Where the cottage was held by the worker from the employer at a rental, which is often a " customary " or " nominal " rental, the provi- sion of the cottage might still be reckoned as a " benefit or advantage, " provided the amount of rent and rates paid by the occupier was less than the maximum value fixed for the district (generally, as we have seen, 3s. per week). The amount which might be deducted from the minimum wage in respect of the provision of such a cottage was the maximum value less the amount of rent and rates paid by the occupier. If the rent and
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
83
Table I. — Value of Full Board and Lodging as Determined
for Male Workers.
|
Full board and lodging at various ages |
||||||
|
District Wages Committee Areas |
Over 18 |
17-18 |
16-17 |
15-16 14-15 i |
Under 14 |
|
|
A. As originally detemiined : Berkshire ; Buckinghamshire ; Cam- bridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Bedford- shire ; Cheshire ; Derbyshire ; Essex ; Hampshire ; Hertfordshire and Middlesex ; Kent ; Lancashire (except Furness Dis- trict) ; Lincolnshire ; Norfolk ; Xorthum berUind and Durham ; Nottinghamshire ; Oxfordshire ; Somerset ; Suffolk ; Sus- sex ; Warwickshire ; Wiltshire ; York- shire Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Funiess District of Lancashire ; Dorset ; Leicestershire and Rutland ; Northamp- tonshire ; Shropshire ; Staffordshire .... Surrey (i) : Herefordshire Devonshire Cornwall ; Gloucestershire ; Worcester- shire ; Brecon and Radnor ; Denbigh and Flint ; Glamorgan and Monmouth {2) . . . Merioneth and Montgomery Pembroke, Carmarthen and Cardigan . . Anglesey and Carnarvon |
s. d. 18 0 17 6 17 0 16 0 15 0 14 0 12 6 12 0 |
s. d. 18 0 17 6 17 0 16 0 15 0 14 0 12 6 12 0 |
s. d 17 0 16 6 16 0 15 0 15 0 14 0 12 6 12 0 |
s. d. 15 0 15 0 13 0 13 0 13 0 II 0 II 0 |
s. d. 12 0 12 0 12 0 II 0 II 0 II 0 ID 0 ID 0 . |
s. a 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 |
|
B. As subsequently varied : Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Furness District of Ivancashirc ; Glamorgan and Monmouth ; Northumberland and Durh;im ; Staffordshire ; Yorkshire .... Anglesey and Carnarvon ; Berkshire ; Buckinghamshire ; Cambridgeshire, Hunt- ingdonshire and Bedfordshire ; Che- shire ; Denbigh and Flint ; Essex ; Hamp- shire ; Hertfordshire and Middlesex ; Kent ; Lancashire (except the Furness District) ; Lincolnshire ; Merioneth and Montgomery ; Norfolk ; Nottingliamshire ; Oxfordshire ; Pembroke ; Carmarthen and Cardigan ; Somerset ; Suffolk ; Sussex ; Warwick- shire ; Wiltshire |
20 0 18 0 18 0 18 0 18 0 17 6 17 0 16 0 |
18 0 18 0 18 0 i8 0 18 0 17 6 17 0 16 0 |
17 0 17 0 16 6 16 0 13 0 16 6 16 0 15 0 |
15 0 15 0 15 0 15 0 13 0 15 0 15 0 13 0 |
12 0 12 0 12 0 12 0 11 0 12 O 12 0 II 0 |
9 0 9 0 |
|
Northamptonshire ; Leicestershire and Rutland |
Q 0 |
|||||
|
Surrey Brecon and Radnor Dorset ; Shropshire ; Worcestershire . . Gloucestershire : Herefordshire .... Comw.ill : Devonshire |
9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 |
(i) Male workers over 21 years in Surrey, 17s. 6rf.
(2) Male workers over 19 years in Glamorgan and Monmouth, 15s. 6d.
84
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Table IT. — Value of Board and Lodging as Determined for Female Workers.
Pull board and lodging at various ages
District Wages Committee Areas
Over
17
16-17
15-16
14-15
Under 14
A. As originally determined :
Berkshire ; Buckinghamshire ; Cam- bridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Bedford- shire ; Cheshire ; Derbyshire ; Essex ; Hampshire ; Hertfordshire and Middle- sex ; Kent ; Lancashire (except Fumess District) ; Lincolnshire ; Norfolk ; Nort- humberland and Durham ; Notting- hamshire ; Oxfordshire ; Somerset ; Suf- folk ; Sussex ; Warwickshire ; Yorkshire.
Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lancashire ; Dorset ; Leicestershire and Rutland ; Northamp- tonshire ; Shropshire ; Staffordshire ; Sur- rey
Herefordshire
Devonshire
Anglesey and Carnarvon ; Brecon and Radnor ; Cornwall ; Denbigh and Flint ; Glamorgan and Monmouth ; Gloucester- shire ; Merioneth and Montgomery ; Pem- broke, Carmarthen and Cardigan ; Worces- tershire
s. d. s.
13 o 12
B. As varied with effect from 14 July 1919:
All District Wages Committee Areas in England and Wales.
12 6; II
12 o' II
II
II
13
II
II
12
II
II II II
II
II
oi 10
o 10
o 10
d.
o 10 o
o 10 o
1
o 10 o
9 o 9 o 9 o
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR 85
rates paid by the occupier of the cottage equalled or exceeded the max- imum value, no deduction in respect of it might be made from the payment in cash of the full minimum wage.
The Order made by the Wages Board did not, of course apply to cot- tages which were held under a contract of tenancy which was separate and distinct from the contract of service. It was accordingly open to em- ployer and worker to agree for the payment of the minimum wages in full and to make an independent agreement for the renting of the cottage
§ 6. Hours of employment : overtime and " walking time ".
In fixing minimum rates of wages for time-work, the Wages Board de- termined both the minimum wages for a week's work and also the min- imum rates per hour to be paid for overtime. To decide what should be considered overtime it was necessar\' to fix the number of hours' work which constituted the normal week's work. This varied somewhat from county to county and was different in "Summer" from what it was in " Winter. " " Summer " was with rare exceptions reckoned as the period from the first Monday in March to the last Sunday in October ; "Winter" was the remaining period of the year. The most usual number of hours per week originalh'' fixed for ordinary labourers was 54 in Summer and 48 in Winter, but in regard to special classes of workers there were great variations, not only as between counties, but as between different parts of the same cotmty. So difficult was it to determine the number of hours worked by special classes that at first the Wages Board was obliged often to content itself in its orders with stating that the number of hours per week was to be taken as the " customary' " number, but it after- wards endeavoured to fix a definite number of hours in all cases.
Even when the number of hours per normal week's work was fixed this was not sufficient to determine what work should be coimted as over- time work. The distribution of the hours had to be considered. In the case of ordinary workers, it was assumed in the earlier orders that no ordinary work was done on Sundays. All work done on Sunda5^s was, therefore, treated as overtime and a special minimum rate was fixed for vSimday overtime work. A minimum rate was also fixed for week- day overtime work and this was payable in respect of all employment in any week (excluding Sundays) in excess of the number of hours which formed the basis of the weekly wage.
A demand soon arose for the adoption in agriculture of the weekly half-holiday which is customary in England in almost all other kinds of labour. The Wages Board showed themselves sympathetic tewards this demand and by an Order which came into force on 3 March 1919 extended the definition of overtime employment to include " all employ- ment in excess of 6 14 hours on a Saturday- or on such other day (not being Sunday) in every week as may be agreed between the employer and the worker. "
The original definition, be it noted, was merely extended. The
86 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
hours in excess of 6 ^4 hours worked on the short day were reckoned in any case as overtime, but the}^ were not counted twice over. If, for example, the number of hours which formed the basis of the weekly wage were 48 and the worker did 51 hours' work in the week (exclusive of .Sunday) including 8 hours done on the short day, he would be paid overtime wages for 3 hours, the difference between 51 hours and 48. The I 14 hours' overtime work wliich he did on the short day would be included in the three hours' overtime which he had done during the week.
This is the simplest case. ]>t us take now the case in which the worker only did 48 hours during the week, but did 8 hours on the short day. Here it was necessary to inquire what agreement the employer had made with the worker.
Suppose first that the hours of work agreed between the emploj'-er and the worker were 48, to be spread equally over the six days. On the short day I y^. hours out of the 8 hours worked would be overtime. Hence the hours of work agreed exclusive of overtime employment are only 46 ^ hours per week. But according to clauses in the previous orders of the Wages Board, if the agreed number, of hours in the week, exclusive" of overtime employment, were less than the number of hours wliich forms the basis of the weekly wage (in the supposed case, 48 hours), the full minimum weekly wage w-as nevertheless to be paid. In this case, then, the worker was entitled to the minimum weekly wage plus overtime wages for i I/2 hours.
In the second place, let us suppose that the employer had agreed with the worker that the 48 hours' work should be so arranged that only 6 Y2 hours should be done on the short day and the remaining 41 14 hours spread over the other five days. In the supposed case the worker had, it is true, done 48 hours during the week, but he had only done 46 ^2 hours of normal work instead of 48 hours, as agreed. The employer, then, was entitled to deduct the wages, calculated at the normal rate, in respect of i % hours. (The normal rate per hour would in the .supposed case be a 48th part of the minimiim weekly wages). But, on the other hand, the worker was entitled to be paid overtime wages in respect of the I 14 hours of overtime which he worked on the .short day.
These examples sufficiently explain the method by which overtime was calculated in respect of the short day (i).
It should be noted that the Wages Board had no power to determine or to regulate the hours of work of agricultural workers or their arrange- ment. Empfoyer and worker might agree upon any number of hours arranged in any way they liked, but they did .so subject to the condition that if the total number of hours on week-days exceeded a certain number of hours determined by the Board, or if the bjurs worked on the short day exceeded 6 ^ hours, the excess hours were to be regarded as overtime.
The short day was originally intended to be of tmiversal application, but for certain counties Orders were issued making it inapplicable to workers who, under an agreement with their employers, were entitled to a week's
(i) Wages Board Gazette, 15 Januaiy and i February 191 y.
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR %J
holiday on full pay in each half-year, or a fortnij^htV" holiday on full pay in each year, or to payment of double pay for a week work's in each half-year or for a fortnight's work in each year.
The original Order relatirig to the short day laid it down that the week-day overtime rate should be payable for all employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on that da}- " except time spent on such day by stockmen of any class in connection with the feeding and cleaning of stock, " but three months later the Board issued an order to vary the definition of over- time by omitting this exception, so that for stockmen also any employ- ment in excess of 6 14 hours on the short day was to be treated as overtime.
In some comities, however, the exception was renewed by special Orders for certain classes of workers.
In one or two cases the employment to which the weekday overtime rates for male workers related was defined by reference to the number of hours of work on each day, and this niethod was universally adopted in the case of female workers, with the addition that all employment before 7 a. m. or after 5 p. m. was to be considered as overtime employment.
When a definite number of hours per week was fixed for the special classes it was almost invariably inclusive of Sunday, and overtime was reckoned accordingly-.
In connection with the hours of labour the question arose as to whether " walking time, " that is the time spent by the worker in walking from his cottage to his place of work and in returning to his cottage, should be reckoned in the hours worked. The position was stated as follows in the Wages Board (iazetie of i Februar}- 1919 : " In the absence of any special provision in the contract of service or of any well-established cus- tom of the farm, the time spent by the worker in proceeding from his cottage to his place of work, would not be reckoned as employment . . . By 'place of work' is here meant the actual place where the work is carried on, but if a man's duties require him to go and return to the farm- house before or after his work in the fields [e. g., for the fetching or taking back of horses or tools) the time occupied in walking between the two places would rank in his working hours. But if his duties are such that he can go straight from his home to the place of work in the fields and back in the same way, the walking time would not be so reckoned, unless his contract or the custom of the farm provide that he should be paid for that time. The burden of proving the custom would lie on the worker ; if it were proved, the cu.stom must be read into the contract of ser\'ice unless it is expressly excluded. "
§ 7. Minimum wages for ordinary male workers.
We now give a series of tables showing the minimum wages fixed at different times for ordinary male workers, that is, for all male workers except certain classes for which special wages were fixed.
Table III (pages 88-89) shows the minimum weekly wages and overtime rates per hour which had been fixed before i January- 1919 for ordinary male workers.
88
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Table III. — Minimum Weekly Wages and Overtime Rata
District Wages Committee Areas
itinimum weekly wages at various ages
Over
21
20-2I
19-20
18-19 ] i7-i8 16-17
15-16
14-15
s. d. 36 6
d.
Glamorgan and Monmouth .
Cheshire 36 o
Northumberland and Durham 36 o
Cumberland, Westmoreland and Fumess District of
I,ancashire 35 o
Yorkshire 35 o
Lancashire (except Furness
District) 35 o
Nottinghamshire 35 o
Staffordshire I 35 o
Middlesex 34 o
Lincolnshire 34 o
Kent 33 o
Surrey 33 o
Shropshire 33 o 1 31 o
Hertfordshire 320 310
Essex ; Sussex 32 o
Anglesey and Carnarvon . . 31 6
Cornwall 31 o
Derbyshire 310
Devonshire ; Hampshire ; Pem- broke, Carmarthen, Cardigan 31 o
Herefordshire 31 o
35 o
36 o 36 o
35 o 35 o
35 o
35 o
34 o 31 o
30 o
33 o
31 o
30 o
31 6 o o
I
31 31
31 o 30 o
Leicestershire and Rutland (i)
Oxfordshire
Berkshire ; Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Bed- fordshire; Denbigh and Flint; 1 Dorset ; Gloucestershire ; Norfolk; Northamptonshire; Oxfordshire ; Somerset ;
Suffolk ; Warwickshire ; Wiltshire ; Worcestershire .
Buckinghamshire 30 o
Merioneth and Montgomerj' .; 30 o
Brecon and Radnor I 30 o
31
! 31
30 o
30 o
30 o 30 o 30 o 30 o
35 36 36
d. s. d.
o 32 o
o 36 o
o 33 o
35 35
35 35 32 31 30 33 31 31 31 30 31 31 31
31 31 31 30
30 30 30 30
35 o 35 o
35 o 35 o
32 o 31 o
30 o
33 o
31 o 31 o 31 o
30 o
31 6 31 o 31 o
31 o 31 o 31 o 30 o
30 o 30 o 30 o 30 o
26 o 26 o 26 o 26 o
22 O
22 O
22 O
22 O
26 O 22 O
26 O 22 O
26 O 22 O
26 O 22 O
|
s. d. |
s. d. |
|
28 0 |
24 6 |
|
31 0 |
26 0 |
|
28 0 |
23 0 |
|
30 0 |
25 0 |
|
30 0 |
25 0 |
|
30 0 |
25 0 |
|
30 0 |
25 0 |
|
26 0 |
22 0 |
|
1 26 0 |
22 0 |
|
26 0 |
22 0 |
|
28 0 |
23 0 |
|
26 0 |
22 0 |
|
26 0 |
22 0 |
|
26 0 |
22 0 ! |
|
s. |
d. |
S. d. |
|
21 |
0 |
18 0 |
|
21 |
0 |
16 0 |
|
18 |
0 |
14 0 |
20 o 20 o
20 o 20 o 18 o 18 o
18 o 18 o 18 o 18 o 18 o 18 o 18 o 18 o 18 o
26 O 22 O 18 O 26 O 22 O I 18 O
25 o 20 o 18 o
15 o 15 o
15 o 15 o
14 o 14 o
14 o 14 o , 14 o 14 o
14 o I 14 o I 14 o .
14 o :
14 o
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
14 o 14 o
14 o
(i) The weekly overtime rates for workers oyer x8 years of age in l,eicestershire and Rutland were 8 Vii. ,p<
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICUI^TURAI. LABOUR
89
for Ordinary Male Workers in force on 1 January 19 19.
Overtime rates at various ages
|
Over 2Z |
20-2 1 |
19-20 |
18- |
19 |
17- |
■18 |
16-17 |
15- |
16 |
14-15 |
Under 14 |
||||
|
Sundays |
1 1 |
>» m •0 a |
(A |
m >> (d ■0 a 3 tfl |
2^ ■0 M |
a •5 |
> 3 |
tA >. n 3 |
n 3 tfl |
2. 0 s 1 |
1 ■0 a 3 |
2. . 1 |
I'll 1 1 1 |
||
|
,/. d. |
d. |
./. |
</. |
</. |
rf. |
d. |
,/. |
</. |
d. |
</. |
■/. |
d. |
d. |
d. rf. d. |
|
|
9V2 I1V2 |
9 |
II |
9 |
II |
8V2 |
10 |
7V2 |
9 |
67= |
77^ |
572 |
672 |
47a |
57a 27a 3 |
|
|
9 10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
8 |
5 |
672 |
4 |
5 3 37a |
|
|
10 12 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
12 |
9 |
II |
8 |
972 |
6x/2 |
77^ |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
10 12 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
12 |
xo |
12 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
57a |
67a |
4 |
5 3 37a |
|
|
9V2 1 1 'A |
9V2 |
I1V2 |
9V2 |
IIV2 |
9V2 |
1 1 72 |
872 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
57a |
672 |
4 |
5 37a 37a |
|
|
9V2 "V2 |
9V2 |
I1V2 |
9V2 |
I1V2 |
9\l2 |
I1V2 |
8 |
972 |
7 |
8 |
57a |
672 |
4 |
5 272 3 |
|
|
9 10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
77^ |
9 |
67. |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
II |
9 |
10V2 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
lO |
7 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
47a |
57a |
37a |
47a 27a 3 |
|
|
9 II |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
9V2 11V2 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77a |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
9 II |
9 |
II |
9 |
II |
9 |
II. |
8 |
9V^ |
672 |
773 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
9 II |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77a |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
9 lo |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
47a |
57a |
37a |
47a 27a 37a |
|
|
9 II |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
9 II |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
87a |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77a |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
8V2 10 |
8V3 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 4 |
|
|
9 10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77^ |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
9 9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77a |
5 |
6 |
4 |
4Va 3 37a |
|
|
8V2 10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77a |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
8V2 10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 2'/ a 3 |
|
|
8V2 9 |
8V2 |
9 |
8V2 |
9 |
8V2 |
9 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
77- |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47a 3 37a |
|
|
8V2 10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8V2 |
10 |
8>/2 |
10 |
772 |
9 |
672 |
7Va |
5 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
3 37a |
872 10
9 9
872 10 872 10
8^,2 10
9 9
872 10
872 10
7 872 6 772 564 47a 3 37a
7 872 6 7V2 564 4723 372
7 872 57a 672! 564 47a 3 37a
overtinie in any week and 9^. per hour for all overtime in excess of six hours.
90 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
The niininiuni rates for male workinen under i8 years of age were subject to a deduction of 20 per cent, during the first two months of the worker's employment in agriculture, except in Merioneth and Montgomery. This provision was subsequently applied also to Merioneth and Montgom- ery and remained applicable in all areas, whatever changes were made in the minimum rates fixed.
The number of hours per week in respect of which the minimum wage was payable in most districts was 54 in Summer and 48 in Winter, but in Anglesey it was 56 in Summer and 51 in Winter ; in Cheshire, 60 in both Summer and Winter ; in Glamorgan and Monmouth, 57 in Summer and 49 14 i^ Winter ; in Herefordshire, 56 in Summer and 48 in Winter ; in Lancashire (excluding the Fumess District), 55 ^ in both Summer and Winter; in Nottingham hire, 60 in Summer and 54 in Winter ; in Oxford- shire 52 in both Summer and Winter ; in Shropshire, 57 in Summer and 54 in Winter ; in Staffordshire, 57 in both Summer and Winter ; and in York- shire, 54 in Summer and 51 in Winter.
The Simday overtime rate was payable in respect of all employment on a Sunday and the week-day overtime rate (except in Buckinghamshire and Cheshire) in respect of all employment in any week (excluding Sunday) in excess of the number of hours in Summer and Winter respectively in respect of which the minimum wage was payable. In Buckinghamshire and in Cheshire overtim.e employment on weekdays was reckoned as all employment in excess of 0 specified number of hours per day.
No minimum wages for ordinary male workers under 18 years ot age had been fixed in Brecon and l^adnor before i January 1919, but by an Order which came into operation on 10 February 1919, they were fixed as follows : From 17 to 18 years, 25s. ; from 16 to 17 years, 20s. ; fiom 15 to 16 years, i8s. ; from 14 to 15 years, 14s. ; under 14 years, los. The corresponding overtime rates were : From 17 to 18 years, weekdays yd., Sundays 8 Yzd. ; from 16 to 17 years, 5 i^'^- ^ind 6 ^/^i ; from 15 to 16 years, ^d. and 6d. ; from 14 to 15 years, j[d. and 4 i^r^. ; under 14 years, 2d. and 3 14^.
By an Order which came into operation on 19 May 1919, an all-round addition was made to the minimum weekly wages previously fixed for ordinary labourers of 18 3'ears of age and over, except in Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Furress District of Lancashire. The increase was: Workers from 18 to 19 years of age, 3s. a week; from 19 to 20 years, 4s. a week; from 20 to 21 years, 5s.; of 21 years and over, 6s. 6d.
At the same time the number of hours per week in respect of which the minimum wage was payable for workers of 18 years and over was made 54 in Summer and 48 in Winter in all counties in England and Wales, with the same exceptions. In those counties where the number of hours per week had been in excess of this number the additions were made, not to the minimum wages previously in force, but to those wages re- duced to a basis of 52 hours per week all the year round.
The overtime rates per hour were also adjusted, being fixed on
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGKICULTURAL I.ABOT^R 9 1
the basis of time and a quarter on week-clays and time and a half on Sundays.
The minimum wages for ordinary male workers as they became when this Order came into force are shown in Table IV (pages 92-93). The minimum rates for workers mider 18 years of age are (except in the case of Brecon and Radnor) the same as in Table III and the observations apply to them, except in regard to overtime.
The Order relating to the short day having in the meantime come into force, the overtime rates shown in Table I\' were payable in respect of all employment on a Sunday, all employment in excess of 6^ hours on the short day (except time spent on such day by stockmen of any class in con- nection with the feeding and cleaning of stock) and of all employment in any week (excluding Sunday) in excess of the number of hours in Summer and Winter respectively in respect of which the minimum wage was payable.
On 6 October 1919 an Order came into force whereby without changing the figures of the minimum wages (except for Cumberland, Westmoreland, and the Fumess District of Lancashire) they were nxade applicable, in all counties except Cheshire, to a week of 50 hours in Summer and 48 hours in Winter, as well for ordinary male workers under 18 years of age as for those over that age. For Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lancashire, the following minimum wages were fixed at this time for ordinary male workers over 18 years of age : Over 21 years, 40s. ; between 20 and 21 yeais, 39s.; between 19 and 20 years, 38s. bd. ; between 18 and 19 years, 38s. The corresponding overtime rates were : Over 21 years, weekdays iir/., Sundaj'^s is. i ^2^- '< between 20 and 21 years, iid. and is. id. ; between 19 and ^0 years, 10 ^rf. and is. id. ; between 18 and 19 years, 10 %£^. and is. o ^r/.
This Order did not apply to Cheshire, for which a special Order was issued and came into operation on 27 October 19 19. Under this Order the following minimum wages were fixed for a week of 54 hours, Winter and Summer : Over 21 years, 42s. bd. ; from 20 to 21 years, 41s. ; from 19 to 20 years, 39s. ; from 18 to 19 years, 39s. ; from 17 to 18 years, 31s. ; from 16 to 17 years, 26s. ; from 15 to 16 years, 21s. ; from 14 to 15 years, i6s. ; under 14 years, iis. The corresponding overtime rates for weekdays and Sundays were : Over 21 years, is. and is. id. ; from 20 to 21 years, 11 14^. and is. i 14*^ ; from 19 to 20 3^ears, iid. and IS. I ^^. ; from 18 to 19 years, iid. and is. id. ; from 17 to 18 years, 8^^. and 9 ^4^. ; from 16 to 17 years, 6 14^. and M. ; from 15 to 16 years, ^d. and 6 14'^- '> from 14 to 15 years, ^d. and 5^. ; under 14 years, 3^. and 3 Vgi/.
By an Order which came into force on 19 April 1920, the minimum rates of wages for ordinary male workers over 21 years of age were modified, while those for ordinary male workers under that age (except in Cheshire) were modified by an Order which came into force on 31 May 1920. For Cheshire the minimum rates for all ordinary- male workers were modified by an Order which came into force on 12 July 1920. Table V (pages 94-95) shows the results of these successive modifications.
92
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Table IV. — Minimum Weekly Wages and Overtime Ra
Minimum weekly wages at various ages
District Wages Committee Areas
Over
21
ao-2i 19-20 18-19 17-18
16-17 , 15-16
14-15
Northumberland and Durliam
Glamorgan and Monmouth . .
Yorkshire
Middlesex
Lincolnshire
Lancashire (except Furness District)
Kent
Surrey
Hertfordshire
Staffordshire
Essex ; Sussex
Cheshire
Nottinghamshire
Cornwall ; Derbyshire ; Dev- onshire ; Hampshire ; I.eic- estershire and Rutland . .
Pembroke, Carmarthen and Cardigan
Shropshire
Anglesey and Carnarvon . . .
Oxfordshire
Berkshire ; Brecon and Radnor ; Buckinghamshire ; Cambridgeshire, Hunting- donshire and Bedfordshire ; Denbigh and Flint ; Dorset ; Gloucestershire ; Hereford- shire ; Norfolk ; Northamp- tonshire ; Somerset ; Suf- folk ; Warwickshire ; Wilt- shire ; Worcestershire . . .
Merioneth and Montgomery .
Cumberland, Westmorclandj and Furness District ofj Lancashire
s. d.
42 6
41 6
41 o
40 6
40 6
39 6
39 6
39 6
38 6
38 6
38 6
38 o
38 o
37 6
37 6
37 o
36 6
36 6
41 o
38 6
39 6 36 o
35 o
38 o 38 o
36 o 36 o 36 o
35 o
36 6 36 6
' 35 o 33 6
i 35 o 35 o
36 6 36 6
35 o
35 o 35 o
35 o
s. d. 40 o
37 6
38 6 35 o
34 o
37 o 37 o
35 o 35 o
33 o
34 o
35 6 35 6
s. d.
36 o
33 6
37 6
34 o
33 o
36 o 36 o
34 o 34 o
32 o
33 o
34 6 34 6
34 o 33 o
32 6 31 6
34 o 33 o
34 o 33 o
34 o 33 o 34 o 33 o
s. d.
28 o 28 6 30 o 26 o 26 o
30 o 28 o 26 o 26 o 26 o 26 o
31 o 30 o
36 o 35 o 34 o I 26 o
26 o 26 o 26 o 26 o
35 o
35 o
26 o 25 o
30 o
23 o
24 6
25 o 22 o
22 o
25 o
23 o
22 O 22 O 22 O 22 O
26 O 25 O
22 O
22 O 22 O 22 O 22 O
22 O
20 O 25 O
|
s. d. |
I s. d. 1 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
21 0 |
18 0 |
|
20 0 |
15 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
20 0 |
15 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
21 0 |
16 0 |
|
20 0 |
15 0 1 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
18 0 |
14 0 |
|
20 0 |
15 0 |
|
MINIMUM WAGES |
FOR |
AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR |
|||||||||||||
|
.?r Ordinary . |
Male Workers |
in / |
orce |
on 19 May 1919. |
|||||||||||
|
Overtime rates at various ages |
1 |
||||||||||||||
|
Ovei 21 1 |
20- |
] -21 19-20 |
18- |
19 |
17- |
■18 |
16-17 |
X5- |
1 j 16 14- |
15 |
Under 14 |
||||
|
Weekdays Sundays |
1 1 |
in 1 t 5 I ^ |
5, cd 1 |
3 |
a 5 |
3 to |
5. 1 |
a 3 CO |
1 |
<a •0 a 3 |
tn 1 1 |
1 U3 |
|||
|
J. d. |
d. |
i/. |
d. |
(/. |
d. |
(i. |
d. |
rf. |
<i. |
</. |
(/. |
d. |
rf. |
rf. |
rf. d. |
|
2 14 |
I1V2 |
137* |
II |
13 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
47* |
3 372 |
|
iVa 14 |
I0V2 |
13 |
1072 |
13 |
972 |
II |
772 |
9 |
672 |
772 |
572 |
672 |
472 |
572 |
2723 |
|
1V2 13V2 |
1 1 |
13 |
1072 |
13 |
1072 |
1272 |
872 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
572 |
672 |
4 |
5 |
372372 |
|
1V2 13V- |
10 |
12 |
972 |
1 172 |
972 |
1 172 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
IV* I3V^ |
9V2 |
1 172 |
972 |
1172 |
9 |
II |
7 |
8V2 |
6 |
7^/2 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
I 13 |
10V2 |
1272 1072 |
1272 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
972 |
7 |
8 |
5-A |
61/2 |
4 |
5 |
2723 |
|
|
I 13 |
10V2 |
1272 1072 |
1272 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
|
I 13 |
ID |
12 1 972 |
II72 |
972 |
1 172 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
|
I 13 |
I0V2 |
1272 |
1072 |
1272 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
0V2 13 |
10 |
12 |
9 |
II |
9 |
1072 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
572 |
372 |
472 |
2723 |
|
oV. 13 |
9V2 |
1172 97^ |
1 172 |
9 |
II |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
|
o'/a l2Va |
ID |
12 10 |
12 |
v72 |
1 1 72 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
8 |
5 |
672 |
4 |
5 |
3 372 |
|
|
0V2 12V2 |
10 |
12 ID |
12 |
972 |
1 172 |
772 |
9 |
672 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
|
■CV2 12V2 |
10 |
12 9V2 |
1 172 |
972 |
1 172 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
71/2 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 3^/2 |
|
|
;oV. 12V2 |
97* |
1 "72 97^ |
1 172 |
9 |
II |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
|
:oV2 12V2 |
97^ |
1172 |
9 |
II |
9 |
1072 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
572 |
372 |
472 |
272372 |
|
:o 12 |
97^ |
"72: 972 |
1 172 |
9 |
II |
7 |
872 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 4 |
|
|
0 12 |
97* |
1 172 |
972 |
1 172 |
9 |
II |
772 |
9 |
672 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
to 12 |
97^ |
1 172 |
972 |
Il72 |
9 |
II |
7 |
872 |
6 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
to 12 |
97a |
1 172 972 |
1 172 |
9 |
II |
7 |
8'.'2 |
572 |
672 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
472 |
3 372 |
|
|
to 12 |
10 |
12 10 |
12 |
ID |
12 |
87* |
10 |
7 |
872 |
572 |
672 |
4 |
5 |
3 372 |
|
93
94
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY , DURING THE WAR
Table V. — Minimum Weekly Wages and Overtime Ra
District Wages Committee Areas
Minimum weekly wages at variou? ages
Over
20-2I ' 19-20 I 18-19
17-18
16-17
15-16
14-15
Cheshire
Northumberland and Durham
Glamorgan and Monmouth . .
Yorkshire ■
Lincolnshire ; Middlesex . . . ]
Cxunberland, Westmoreland and Furness District of' I«incashire '
Kent ; Lancashire (except j Furness District) ; Surrey
Essex ; Hertfordshire ; Staf- fordshire ; Sussex
Anglesey and Carnarvon . . .
All other District Wages Committee Areas
48 46
45 45 44
44 o
|
43 |
6 |
|
42 |
6 |
|
42 |
0 |
|
42 |
0 |
46 o 44 o 44 o 43 o 43 o
44 o 41 6 41 6 40 6 40 6
42 o 40 o
42 o 40 o
40 o 38 o 40 o 38 o
40 o I 38 o
42 6 40 o 40 o 39 o 39 o
36 6
34 32 32 31 31
38 o ^ 30 6
38 o ; 30 6
36 6 29 o
36 6 29 o
29 o
|
s. d. |
s. d. |
s. d. |
|
28 0 |
22 6 |
17 0 |
|
26 6 |
21 6 |
16 6 |
|
26 6 |
21 6 |
16 6 |
|
25 6 |
21 0 |
16 0 |
|
25 6 |
21 0 |
16 0 |
|
25 0 |
20 6 |
156 |
|
25 0 |
20 6 |
15 6 |
|
24 0 |
19 6 |
15 0 |
|
24 0 |
19 6 |
15 0 |
|
24 0 |
19 6 |
15 0 |
10 10 10
12
10
The wages shown in Table V were in respect of a week of 50 hours in Summer and 48 hours in Winter, except in Cheshire, where they applied to a week of 54 hours. Summer and Winter.
In most counties the overtime rates applied to all emplo^^ment on a Stmday, all employment in excess of 6 y^ hours on the short day and all employment in any week (excluding Sunday) in excess of the hours in re- spect of which the mininmm weekly wages were payable. To this there were some exceptions. In Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Furness District of Lancashire, in Anglesey and Carnarvon, in Brecon and Radnor, in Denbigh and Flint, and in Merioneth and Montgomery the employ- ment in excess of 6 ^4 hours on the short day was not calculated as over- time in the case of any workman who, under an agreement with his employer was entitled in each half-year to one week's holiday on full pay or to pay- ment of double pay for one week's work. In Northumberland and Durham, in Yorkshire, and in Glamorgan and Monmouth, employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day was not calculated as overtime in the case of any worker who under an agreement with his employer was entitled to one week's holiday on full pay in each half-year, or to one fortnight's holiday on full pay in each year or to payment of double pay for one week's work in each half-year or for one fortnight's work in each year. In Pembroke, Carmarthen and Cardigan employment in excess of 6 ^^ hours
|
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR |
95 |
|
i' ior Ordinary Male Workers in force on 12, July 1920. |
|
|
Overtime rates at various ages |
|
|
Ovci 20-21 19-20 18-19 17-18 16-17 15-16 14-15 |
Under i '* |
d. 1
16
17 I6V2
WI2 16
a
13
I3V2 I3V2 13 13
■d
d.
I d.
•o
</.
d.
1 57^ 12
16 1272
16 12V2
15V2 1272 15 12
151/2 1272 15 12
CD
</.
1472 12 15 12 15 12
97
3 ■f.
d.
2 II
14
14 972 1 172 8
1472 9^2 1172 8
14 972 Ii7z 8
14 91/2 1 1 72 8
/•A
IC372 16 13
[3 16 13
[3 1572 12
![3 1572 12
1572 12 1472 T172 14 972 II 772 9
15V2 12 14V2 1172 14 972 II 772 9
1472 1 172 14 II 1372 ^ 1072 772 9
1472 1 172 14 II 1372 9 1072 772 9
[3 1572 12 1472 II V2 14 II 1372 9 1072 772 9
a
3
tr.
,/. ^i. J. 967 972 672 8 972 672 8 972 6V2 772
CD
472
CIS
t3
3 (A
d. d.
972 672 772 5
572
6
6
6
6
372 372 372 372 372
6 7 472 572 3 3V2
6 ■ 772 472 51/2 3 372
6 7 472 572 3 372
6 7 472 572 3 4
6 7 . 47* 572 3 372
on the short day was not calculated as overtime in the case of any work- man who under agreement with his emplo3^er was entitled in each yeai" either to one fortnight's holiday (or to holiday's amounting to 12 week- days) on full pay or to payment of dovible pay for a fortnight's work in each year. In Cheshire overtime eniplcyment was all employment on Sunday, all employment in excess of 6 34 hours on the short day ard all employment in excess of 9 14 hours on any other day.
By an Order which came into force on 23 August 1920, the min- imum rates oE wages for ordinary male workers over 21 years of age were further revised, and by an Order which came into force on i March 1921 the wages for ordinars' male w-orkers over 17 years of age in some counties and o\er 18 years in others were also re\nsed. In neither case was any change made in the number of hours to which the rate applied, nor to the methods of calculating overtime. The rates in force on 1 March 1921 are shown in Table VI (pages 96-07).
Hitherto in each successive change the minimum, rate of wage^. had been increased, but by an Order which came into operation on 5 September 1921 a general reduction was made in the rates for ordmar>' male workers. At the same time the opportunity was taken of making the rates more nearly uniform in the different areas. The reduced rates are sliown in Table VII (pages 96-97).
96
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Table VI. — Minimum Weekly Wages and Overtime Ra,
District Wages Committee Areas
Minimum weekly wages at various ages
Over
21
20-21 19-20
18-19
17-18 ! 1&-17
15-16
14-15
d. s
Cheshire
Northumberlanrl and Durham
Glamorgan and Monmouth . .
Yorkshire
Lincohishire ; Middlesex . . .
Ciunberland, Westmoreland and Furness District of Lancashire
Kent ; Lancashire (except Fur- ness District) ; Surrey . . .
Essex ; Hertfordshire ; Staf- fordshire ; Sussex
Anglesey and Carnarvon . . .
All other District Wages Com- mittee Areas
52 o 50 6 50 o 49 o 48 6
48 o 47 6
46 6 46 o
49 46 46 45 45
44 6
44 6
43 o 43 o
46 43 43 42
42
42 o
42 o
40 6 40 6
46 o 43 o 40 6
44 41
41 40 40
35 32 32 31 31
39 o
30 6
39 o j 30 6
38 6 38 6
38 6
30 6 30 6
30 6
28 26 26 25 25
25 o
25 o
24 o 24 o
24 o
22 21 21 21 21
20 6
20 6
19 6 19 6
19 6
17 16 16 16 16
15 o 13 o
15 o
Undi 14
s,
II < 10 10 ( 10 4 10 <
15 6 10 < 15 6 10 <
10 (
12 t
10 <
Tabi<e VII. — Minimum Weekly Wages and Overtime Ra.
District Wages Committee Areas
Minimum weekly wages at various ages
Over
21
19-20
|
18-19 1/-18 |
16-17 |
15-16 |
14-13 |
Undi 14
d.
d.
Cheshire 47 o 44 6
Cumtjerland and Durham . . 46 Glamorgan and Monmouth . . 44
Yorkshire j 43
Lincolnshire ; Middlesex . . . j 42 All other District Wages Com- mittee Areas i 42
6 41
0 41
1 o| 40
6 40
01 40
42 38 38 37 37
36 36 35 35
37 o, 35
40 o 32 o 26
o 28 o 28
28
28
23 23
22 22
22
21 19 19 18 18
18 6
15
d.
16 O II
14 6 10
14 6
15 o 14 o
10
10 10
ID
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
97
for Ordinary Male Workers in force on i March 1921.
|
Overtime rates at various ages |
||||||||||||||||
|
^0 |
wet I 1 |
20-21 |
19-20 |
18-19 |
17- |
-18 1 |
16-17 |
15- |
-16 |
14- |
13 1 |
Under 14 |
||||
|
1 |
in >> |
>. |
& |
1 |
a "0 |
! |
1 |
^ |
^ |
1 |
1 |
1 s |
||||
|
jji |
•3 |
1 |
1 |
T3 a |
^ % |
•a e |
Si |
s |
t |
t |
1 |
1 |
3 a |
|||
|
^ |
tn |
is |
S^ |
i^ |
^ |
3 |
^ |
tc |
^ |
3 |
^ |
5 |
^ |
3 |
> 3 |
|
|
<i. |
({. |
<2. |
</. |
d. |
d. |
d. |
d. |
d. |
d. |
rf. |
d. |
d. |
d. |
(i. |
4. (i. |
|
|
I4V» |
177^ |
1372 |
i6Va |
13 |
157^ |
12V2 |
15 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
972 |
6V2 |
77* |
5 |
572 |
3 37* |
|
15V* |
1&72 |
14 |
17 |
13 |
16 |
T2V2 |
15 |
972 |
I1V2 |
77^ |
9 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
572 |
3 37* |
|
15 |
18 |
14 |
17 |
13 |
16 |
1272 |
15 |
9V2 |
II\2 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
8 |
5 |
6 |
S 37* |
|
15 |
18 |
14 |
16V2 |
13 |
157^ |
12 |
1472 |
972 |
I 1 72 |
8 |
972 |
672 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
3 37* |
|
14V* |
17V- |
T4 |
16V2 |
13 |
1572 |
12 |
1472 |
9V2 |
II72 |
8 |
972 |
6^/2 |
772 |
5 |
6 |
3 37* |
|
14 V. |
177^ |
1372 |
16 |
13 |
157^ |
12 |
14 |
972 |
II |
7V2 |
9 |
6 |
77« |
47=^ |
572 |
3 372 |
|
14V2 |
177^ |
131/2 |
16 |
13 |
1572 |
12 |
14 |
972 |
II |
772 |
9 |
6 |
77* |
47* |
57* |
3 37* |
|
M |
17 |
^37^ |
157=^ |
1272 |
15 |
1 172 |
14 |
97* |
II |
772 |
9 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
57* |
3 37* |
|
14 |
17 |
13 |
15V2 |
12V2 |
^5 |
TI72 |
14 |
972 |
II |
772 |
9 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
57* |
3 4 |
|
14 |
17 |
13 |
157^ |
1272 |
15 |
1 1 1/2 |
14 |
972 |
II |
772 |
9 |
6 |
7 |
47* |
572 |
3 37* |
|
ior Ordinary Male |
Workers |
in force on 5 |
September |
192 |
I. |
|||||||||||
|
Overtime rates at various ages |
||||||||||||||||
|
Over |
Under |
|||||||||||||||
|
20 |
-21 |
19-20 |
18- |
-19 |
17 |
-18 |
16-17 |
13- |
16 |
14- |
15 |
|||||
|
21 |
14 |
|||||||||||||||
|
r |
tn |
2. 1 |
CD 11 |
tn 1 |
1 |
01 "2 |
•T3 |
•a s |
1 |
tn 1 |
tn 1 |
tfi s |
1 >■ |
|||
|
J |
3 |
W |
3 |
S |
3 |
cS |
3 |
CJ |
3 |
V |
u |
3 |
U 3 |
|||
|
■^ |
(0 |
^ |
CO |
^ |
X |
^ |
to |
^ |
•s. |
^ |
X |
^ |
to |
^ |
CO |
^ CO |
|
rf. |
<2. |
<f. |
rf. |
rf. |
</. |
<i. |
rf. |
d. |
d. |
</. |
<f. |
rf. |
i. |
(i. |
J. r/. |
|
|
13 |
1572 |
1272 |
15 |
1 172 |
14 |
II |
1372 |
9 |
1072 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
572 |
3 37^ |
|
I37a |
16 |
1272 |
15 |
1 172 |
14 |
II |
13 |
872 |
10 |
7 |
872 |
6 |
7 |
472 |
5 |
3 372 |
|
1 37* |
16 |
1272 |
15 |
1 172 |
14 |
II |
13 |
872 |
10 |
672 |
8 |
572 |
672 |
472 |
5 |
3 372 |
|
13 |
157* |
12 |
147* |
1 1 72 |
13 |
1072 |
13 |
872 |
10 |
7 |
8 |
572 |
7 |
472 |
572 |
3 372 |
|
13 |
1572 |
12 |
t472 |
II |
137* |
1072 |
13 |
872 |
10 |
672 |
8 |
57* |
672 |
472 |
5 |
3 37* |
|
I13 |
157* |
12 |
'' 1 |
II |
137* |
1072 |
13 |
872 |
10 |
672 |
8 |
57* |
672 |
472 |
5 |
3 37* |
|
t |
7 |
98 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
§ 8. Minimum wages for special classes of j^la-le workers.
Besides the minimum wages for ordinary male workers, minimum wages were fixed in various areas for certain special classes of male workers. There were considerable variations at different periods in the wages fixed for special classes of workers, and with the increase in the wages of ordin- ary male workers many of the spec'al classes were afterwards assimilated to them.
Another important change was the determination of the number of hours for which the minimum wages were payable. In most of the earlier Orders no definite number of hours per week was assigned, the number being taken as the " customary " number of hours per week worked by the special classes of labourers. The customary number is very variable and differs in different districts in the same county. This method of determining wages was not considered satisfactory and the later Orders defined the number of hours per week. This did not mean that any change was made in the number of hours actually worked ; it only made a change in the hours which were to be considered overtime. In some count- ies, where the customary hours were longer than the hours fixed, the minimum weekly wage was diminished ; the worker did not, however, earn less as he was paid overtime for the hours actually worked.
The minimum wages and overtime rates which had been fixed up to I January 1919 for special classes and the hours to which the minimum wages were applicable are shown in Table VIII (pages 100- loi).
The number of hours per week in respect of which the minimum wages were payable, whether the "customary" hours or a determined number, included work on Sunday, and the overtime rates were payable for all employment during the week in excess of that number of hours, on weekdays and on Simdays respectively.
In addition to the rates shown in Table VIII, minimum wages had been fixed in Northumberland and Durham for horsemen, cattlemen, and stockmen between 16 and 18 years. These were : From 17 to 18 years, 30s. ; from 16 to 17 years, 25s. The corresponding overtime rates were : From 17 to 18 years, weekdays, 8d., Sundays, 9 14^. ; from 16 to 17 years, weekdays, 6 ^(^., Sundays, 7 14^.
The Order which came into force on 19 May 19 19 varying the min- imum wages of workers over 18 years of age affected the special classes of workers as well as the ordinary male workers. The resulting min- imum wages and overtime rates for the special classes in force on 19 May 1919 are shown in Table IX (pages 102-103).
Overtime was calculated in the same way as for ordinary male workers at the same date.
By the Order which came into force on 6 October 1919, the special classes of workers were in some counties assimilated to the ordinary male workers ; in others the number of hours per week for which the minimum wage was payable was definitively fixed and the minimum wage was var-
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR 99
ied accordingly. For Cheshire a special order was issued which came into operation on 27 October 19 19. The rates in force on the latter date are shown in Table X (page 104).
The methods of calculating overtime varied considerably. In Cam- bridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire, overtime was reckoned as all employment in excess of the specified hours in any week (including Sunday) and any employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day, except employment in connection with the feeding and cleaning of stock.
In Cheshire the method of reckoning overtime was the same for the special classes as for the ordinary male workers in that county.
In Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lancashire overtime was all employment in excess of 63 hours in any week (including Sunday) and any employment in excess of 6 % hours on the short day except employment in connection with the feeding and cleaning of stock. The provision relating to the short day was not, however, to apply in the case of a workman who, under an agreement with his employer, was entitled after having been employed for a full term (expiring at Whitsuntide or Martinmas) to a further sum equal to the amount of his weekly minimum wage.
In Denbigh and Flint and in Merioneth and Montgomery overtime was reckoned as all employment in excess of 6 14 hours on the short day, and all employment in excess of the specified hours in any week (including Simday) . The provision relating to the short day was not to apply in the case of any workman who under an agreement with his employer was en- titled in each half-year either to one week's holiday on full pay or to pay- ment of double pay for one week's work.
For market garden workers in Essex, the number of hours per week was exclusive of Sunday and overtime was calculated as all employment on a Sunday, all employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day, and all employment in excess of the specified hours in anj' week (excluding Sunday).
In Gloucestershire overtime was reckoned as all employment in excess of the specified number of hours in any week (including Sunday) and all employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day, except employ- ment in connection with the feeding and cleaning of stock.
In Norfolk overtime was reckoned as all employment on Sunday, all employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day except employ- ment in connection with the immediate care of animals, and all employment in any week (excluding Sunday) in excess of the specified hours. Teamsmen, cowmen and shepherds were, however, entitled to an additional weekly sum of 7s., and sheep-tenders and bullock-tenders to an additional weekly sum of 6s. in respect of the employment which was precluded from rank- ing as overtime employment on the short day. -
In Suffolk overtime was reckoned in the same manner as in Norfolk, and horsemen, stockmen and shepherds were entitled to an additional weekly sum a of 7s. in respect of employment which was precluded from ranking as overtime employment on the short day.
In Warwickshire, overtime was calculated as all emplo^'ment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day except employment in connection with
I
100
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
M M
CO ^
I- o
^
^ V!
CO
<^ CO CO «
M
to
<0
ft;
1
60
c
01
5
r«
s.
I
I
S .2
B
s
.9
U CI
I ^ o **^
6C 3
o
sXbp -nns
sXbp
sXep -nns
bXbp
-nns sXbp
-3133AV "^
>
o
s&ep -nns
s^Bp
a s
3
to
J
o o
M 1^
ON O
ON
o o
ON On
O O
ON On
M
o
On
ON
N
M
o
N «
O «
M ON
CX>
00
On
00
ON
00
O w
M M
W M~^ ON
00
00
M O
w ON 00
00
ON
00
O H-
M 0\
On on
ON
a
o
cd
a
o
10
s o
o o
00
■<i-
On CO
to
NO CO
ON
CO
o
00 CO
o c
00 CO CO Tj-
N ■*
ON
to
to
NO
to
ON CO
CO
o o
00
CO
o o
00 to
CO Tj-
o
o
ON
CO
On CO
ON
o>
ON
ON
M M M O >
M M M M •■
ON ON
CO
CO
|
■«' |
O |
O |
o o |
o |
O |
o |
o |
0 |
O |
o < |
|
(o |
O |
00 CO |
00 CO CO ■<^ |
N •^ |
CO |
CO |
NO CO |
ON CO |
CO |
CO 1 |
CO
Ck
IS.
o u
- ta
n « S 1
less
o >< o S 2 P cfi cr. H
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
lOI
00
00
ON
00
o o o o
l-l W M M W M M N M M M >-(
00 00 00 00
00
00 00
00 00
o o
N N « M
00 00
00 00
00
o o
M M
00 00
00
o
IH M
00
<7i
00
o o o o
HH W M M « N ft N M H* M M
00 00 00 00
00
00
00
00
00
o o
M l-t
H HI
00 00
o
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
o o o o
M M M M M M « N M M M M
00 00 00 00
00
00
00
00
00
o o
M M
00 00
00 00
00
00
00
00
00
o o o o
M M M HI M « W « M *-• M M
00 00 00 00
_00_
00
00 00
o
M M
00
o o
t-l M
« «
M M
00 00
00
O M o
M (H M
W 0\ IH
_00 00_
m
o
a
a
o
u
fi A » A
» e » fi
00
vO
T
a
o
•l-t
3
o
5
o
00
CO
fO
o o o o
f^ U1 1- PO CO CO CO ^
CO
CO
CO
fO
co
o o
CO CO
CO
CO
VO CO
CO
CO
CO
VO CO
VO CO
CO
o o o o
t^ lO ■^ CO CO CO CO CO
vO CO
CO
VO CO
CO
fO
o o
vO >0 CO CO
VO
vO CO
VO
CO
CO
IT)
fO
vO
CO
o
CO
VO CO-
CO
o o o o
r^ lO "i- CO
CO CO CO CO
vO CO
CO
vO
CO
CO
o o
VO in
CO CO
vO
CO
vO CO
vO CO
CO
CO
00
CO
vO CO
VO CO
CO
o o o o
t^ ir> ■^ CO CO CO CO CO
VO CO
CO
vO CO
CO
CO
o o
>0 lO CO CO
vO CO
VO
CO
00
CO
CO
CO
— a
ill
o
IS s
o a
K § •• '^ ..
« H K vT a
S -M £ 5 OS
tn o S t- B
>< .1-1 'J^ ^ !/l
« S a:
Q S 2;
3
II
C Q
o
•7 ^
1, -Q
o
" tH !-•
il 1; S S
ffi s ^-^ 1-^
K 5
« -r
C tn
p .2
Ul HH
c
O H
o z
M
z
<
fl o
!C
V
a ^^■
V U
11 o b O ih
... p
& o
- n
C .. C c3
a ^
•/; c
H t a
-X o ' ■
as o Q
i5 rt "O
o
ii fi r-^
1; 1-1
■s. ~
5^
a 3
■Si T,
2
o
S-3
ft r" "-^ A o
Is
o ^
60 ^
o
- B
hS OK
•^ Si
o s
il a
I/)
•a
3
5 X!
ft
■r.
= K C
tc
ft
in
«5
OS
102
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
2 .o
CO
■4X, to
CO
H
ON
H
O ON H
1
g
I
I
|
S^Bp |
« |
w |
<M W |
f« |
||||||||||
|
M |
M |
M M |
M |
|||||||||||
|
o> |
•nng |
13 |
N |
N |
W |
M |
• |
tH M |
M |
|||||
|
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
• |
M M |
M |
|||||||
|
M |
(4 |
N .« |
^ |
|||||||||||
|
1 C8 |
sXbp |
■^' |
o |
M o |
O |
ON |
||||||||
|
sXbp |
« |
« |
||||||||||||
|
! |
-ung |
"^ |
CO M |
CO M |
M M M |
• |
M M |
|||||||
|
> C9 1 |
M |
sXbp |
•^ |
M M M |
M M |
M o |
"^ |
o o M M |
•^ |
|||||
|
S^Bp |
«« |
N |
^ |
^ |
||||||||||
|
M |
-OTIS |
■«■ |
CO |
CO |
• |
0. "c. |
C4 |
|||||||
|
S |
1 |
M |
M |
M |
h-( |
■ |
M M |
M |
||||||
|
1 |
sXcp |
■«" |
M |
M |
1-4 IH |
M |
o O |
o |
||||||
|
SABp |
« |
« |
« « |
« |
||||||||||
|
u |
-OTlg |
•rs |
'*• |
■<1- |
*?! |
"co « 7-, "„ |
||||||||
|
V ** |
M |
M |
w |
M |
l-i |
■-I M |
HI |
|||||||
|
> M |
N |
N |
M |
W |
N |
|||||||||
|
o |
sXbp |
•«" |
M |
M w M |
M M M |
M IH H |
M O M |
2 ^ |
||||||
|
s |
• ^ -« |
|||||||||||||
|
2ii iJ |
S3 |
s |
S o.= |
|||||||||||
|
f houi or wh um payab |
■S |
5 |
A |
» |
A |
00 00 00 |
o a -3 „ <2 a g |
|||||||
|
Number o per week fi minim wage was |
c |
|||||||||||||
|
& |
a |
a^l |
||||||||||||
|
S a |
o |
S |
S |
» |
"^^ -^ -^ d Cr3 - |
|||||||||
|
M |
5 |
5sg |
||||||||||||
|
? |
■^ |
O |
o |
VO |
0 |
vO VO |
o |
|||||||
|
<i& |
00 |
«o |
M |
c |
• |
00 vO |
Ov |
|||||||
|
V |
■5 |
to |
CO |
■^ |
■^ |
CO |
CO CO CO |
|||||||
|
So |
||||||||||||||
|
c I |
•«■ |
o |
o |
o |
o |
o |
o o |
o |
||||||
|
weekl; 'ions a |
t^ N |
o |
c< |
o |
Oi t- |
o |
||||||||
|
H |
<n |
■<1- •>!• |
■«t- |
-J- |
"I- |
CO CO ^ |
||||||||
|
Minimum at vai |
M |
■«' |
O 00 |
o CO |
o |
CO |
o M |
• |
O 00 |
o |
||||
|
" |
<c |
"<r ■* |
■^ |
■>J- |
'tf- |
'J- CO |
•* |
|||||||
|
6h |
•^i |
vO |
vO |
<> |
o |
o |
<£) |
o o |
VO |
f |
||||
|
s« |
o> -^ |
00 |
t^ |
<o |
N |
« o |
N 1 |
|||||||
|
c^ |
•<»• ■<^ |
•<<■ |
•<*• |
■<^ 'I- ■*• ■♦ |
■* |
|||||||||
|
en |
, |
-a -o |
||||||||||||
|
ir! o |
||||||||||||||
|
Q |
12 |
|||||||||||||
|
'■0 |
V f. |
|||||||||||||
|
S |
Si tr. |
|||||||||||||
|
is |
||||||||||||||
|
« |
« 1 ^ IT; |
|||||||||||||
|
§ |
||||||||||||||
|
< |
c |
C |
0/ |
f— |
c |
__ |
||||||||
|
Committ of Work |
< |
o |
< Q |
•a |
I •5 |
X c c |
tin 11 |
•a a; |
||||||
|
ffi ffi |
C c |
5 rt |
c S s |
i c |
c |
|||||||||
|
trict Wag and Cla |
O |
1^. |
B ■*- |
c H 5 ^ |
E |
|||||||||
|
5 |
11 n :. 1% |
3 i o |
5 |
h-i j3 o s |
.. ca |
h4 |
0 1^ .. "S -O T- ill! |
w 5 « c/: |
||||||
|
OS |
s |
u |
u •=■ |
P; |
||||||||||
|
c |
^' |
o |
en |
a "^ |
Ctl |
|||||||||
|
% |
u |
>< |
i-T |
w |
a |
Q |
1 |
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAI, LABOUR
103
a
c>
o
o> o» o* o*
9>
o>
a o«
o>
0^
o<
«
ON
Cv
On
O* Oi
01
On
On
PO
On
On 0> On On
On
ON
ON 0^
M
o>
M M M M
o 000
M
o
O
o o
o
ON
|
M M ON |
3n |
|
|
0< |
N |
N |
|
M |
M |
•M |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
I-
o
o
3
5 C « « «
SS cs
o
NO
o
NO
000
O 00 t^vO
00
CO
On
O
O
O O
000 00 CO
On
to
ON
00
CO
s
vo
00
CO
000
M ON 00 r-~
■<1- CO a~, ro
O
On CO
o
o
w 00 •<1- CO
o o
O 0^ ■>*• CO
o
o
o
NO
ON
CO
o
000
o ONOO Tt- (o fo
o
M
o 'J-
o
ON CO
O O
o
o
nO no no nO
CO i-i
O ON
■<^ CO
>o
>o
CO
NO
O
NO O
nO
o
■a
5
8
CI
i-T
X
as u P3
^ S 15
M 8 3
"" I- i-
V s a
K D t2
Q
U as ►-<
en Z
O Q
O Z
H Z
D
en
il
o
a 3 « S
B 'J
O
*~* Ti
►J U
c 5
z ;.-
< S
a 5
Z !C
a
u
CI •X
C3
H
a tn
O
C
11
■■ jfl CS
t; o n
3 •= -^
2 - o
»-i 3 C
tn 2 ^
3; 2 •■«
a S V.
^ c-i -r
CJ ■*-* ►C ti
5 CO ^ u
ti o
•J
■^ ft
„ .. Si o ,4' -a
CS
o
o ft
tn
u o
c3
P
n o en >-■ O
ft
V
iJ 3 O E fe.
«!
ON CO
o o
NO
ft
J! in
|
"■ |
u |
|
>< |
u |
|
OS |
r |
|
a |
rt |
|
S |
0 |
|
0 |
t-T CI |
|
^ |
tn |
|
0 |
11 |
|
p |
■^ |
|
< |
S C8 |
|
a |
H |
|
H |
j^ |
|
a |
u |
|
z |
0 |
|
0 |
s |
a
It)4 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
to
to to
|
(S |
|
|
•»» |
|
|
(J |
|
|
<b |
|
|
•^ |
|
|
'v^ |
|
|
K |
|
|
o |
|
|
•fci^ |
|
|
y> |
|
|
^ ■*-• |
a> |
|
w |
H |
|
fti |
|
|
'^j |
|
|
g |
t |
|
1 |
|
|
ir^ |
|
|
r^ |
|
|
K |
|
|
« |
K |
|
o |
|
|
:o |
|
|
5t) |
<v^ |
|
CU) |
VJ |
|
?n |
)>> |
|
o |
i
<
Ml
V
5
W .MM
Ok O^OtOtOtO\OiOtO\Ol
sXBpnns ■«
o
•MM N M
:« ;ff;R;«5R^;f;;^;#!;S ::«
M M M M
M MM
^ ;«:S;:S::?;;«:^:R^;R
M M M M M M
:^t:tr :«
> O
r*% fTi tn yt
ooooooooo
2| i!
^J4 M "
5^
•4-*
S
a
3
ta
3 O
fooo •*"* rx oo<»^poooooooooo oo
^C ^ «n »rj lo «n\0 VO O VO ■^ ^ ^^ »/:;
2
c o
coo-*-* On MMcnrNOOOOoO M ^ m v^ ^n io voovo lO'O »o m m »o o
at GO
CIS ft m
!>. S* V 3
S .2
i >
o
> M
I
5 -a
bfi c:
u 3
^C^OO^^OOOO
»o OO o ooooooooo
^s 00 'tf-n w MC^fOO^M^■^'^!^o O
oo o ooooooooo vO
0\*»r>c«^ w MfO^Owmu-iiriM m
•^ *^ ■* ^ ^ •♦ ^ ^ CO CO CO ■* *
'O O "O O 'O \0 0'A*A^OO^'0 ^o
O N *0 -*
^ <o »nvo M fovo «o VO ^
o "V ■«-' *-
■ 3 oJ »" n ■• e "S <j f^ "O X W 3 n
o .. c Oi -a i-,r: A " " ^ -
'U i- O.^ — M
o
Z
£ 5 « M !> ^
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
105
the feeding and cleaning of stock and all employment in excess of the specified hours in any week (including Sunday).
Special minimum rates of wages for horsemen, cowmen, shepherds and hwsmyn (bailiffs) in Anglesey and Camar\^on were again fixed by an Order which came into operation on i March 1920. The Order which came into force on 19 April 1920 varying the minimum rates of wages of male workers of 21 years and over affected the special classes of workers as well as the ordinary male workers.
On 3 May 1920 an Order came into force var\'ing the minimum rates of wages for horsemen, stockmen and shepherds in Suffolk. The minimum rates for male workers (including the special classes) under 21 years of age were modified by the Order which came into force on 31 May 1920. On 14 June 1970 an Order came into force whereb^^ stockmen, shepherds and horsemen in Warwickshire were assimilated to the ordinary male workers. The minimum rates for male workers (including the spe- cial classes) of all ages in Cheshire were varied by an Order which came into force on 12 July 1920. The minimum wages and overtime rates for special classes of workers which, as a result of these various orders, were in force on 12 July 1920, are shown in Table XI (page 106).
In Anglesey and Carnarvon overtime was reckoned as all emplo>Tnent in excess of the specified number of hours in any week (including Sunday) and all employment in excess of 6 34 hours on the short day except em- ployment in connection with the feeding and cleaning of stock, but the provision relating to the short day was not to apply in the case of any work- man who, tmder an agreement with his employer, was entitled in each half-year either to one week's holiday on full pay, or to payment of double pay for one week's work.
The minimum rates of wages of the special classes of workers above 21 years were modified (like those of ordinary' male workers) b}' the Order which came into operation on 23 August 1920 and those for workers imder 21 years of age belonging to the special classes by the Order which came into force on i March 1921. The resulting minimum wages and overtime rates in force on i March 1921 are shown in Table XII (page 107).
Finally the minimum wages of the special classes were reduced by the Order which came into operation on 5 September 1921. The rates for special workers in force on that date are shown in Table XIII (page T08).
In Merioneth and Montgomery minimum wages and overtime rates were also fixed (and from time to time varied) for boys under 18 years of age who were wholly or partially boarded by their employers and whose duties included attending to horses and other stock. In Brecon and Radnor minimum wages and overtime rates were fixed for the same class, but did not remain long in force, this class of boys being assimilated to other male workers of the same ages. The minimum wages in force at different dates for this special class are giv^en in Table Xr\'^ (page 109). The number of hours per week to which the rates applied included Sunday,
io6
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
$
O
<tt
o> I sXBpnns
SABpims s/CBp:p3^
sXcpuns
6
sXBpuns SiSBpsp^AV
IT) tn
f) pO 'O rO (O fO <0
*o C*^ CO *o
;R
*0 m
■* ■*-<*• '^^ -* •
M M M M
;« iS ^;^;^^;:« :S;;S;:«;:S
as
;#! ;f! ;R 5S;«;«:S;«
M W « N « r* fl
■"J" ■* "•• '^J-
t-t (H M M N M N «
^ ^ ^ ^^^"*^2::??
POfO fO CO fOPOCOCOtO
m lO >n w->
CO fO fO c^
^ COOO CO IN, 00 O O 'N N.
|
■* |
•♦ |
0 |
>> |
to o |
|
m |
<o |
s |
lO m |
|
|
.c |
-o |
vO |
||
|
<o |
^ |
• |
M • |
O VO OOOOO OvOOvO
fx in f^mtxM'*** C4VOOIO
■♦ '«■ ■♦♦tj-'*'* *m«o«o
O O O VO
so vO '4- ■*
■* •* m ir>
OvOOvOO oooo
fv Ov «>. 0» eOvO -^oo 00 00
O O O VO
O 00 vO IX *
m •* in in
vOvDvOOvO OOOO
M Ov MC\wvoao VOOOO in ■>»• m•♦lnT^* ««««
^a-o
go"'* ■* a*.
O O O O vO
vO OvOOvOO vOOOO
1
w
•^ M ^00 W 00 N « N
|
-* |
< |
|
« |
|
|
"VJ |
j5 t |
|
i^ |
1^ |
|
•4 |
5 > |
|
» |
S ^ |
|
s |
1 -9 — |
|
,1Ut |
1 O o |
|
S |
a ^ |
|
•»» |
« o |
|
:^ |
|
|
1 |
O CJ |
OS
iJ
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
107
CO
to
CO
to
to
M
0^
"Si i^
i
j5
> N
o
<
|
it |
ai |
|
M-t |
M |
|
u |
|
|
s s |
1 |
|
0 |
«M |
|
0 |
c |
|
OJ |
|
|
V |
|
|
te |
^ |
|
CS |
0 |
|
1 |
:^ |
:J!! |
::« |
i?'::S;S:S::S |
:s |
|||||
|
j |
M |
sXBpims |
"= |
vO «^ |
u-i |
-»• |
^ |
^ *■♦•*• ■♦ |
<«■•*-(* |
|
|
ious nges |
sXBp:p»AV |
•«■ |
;s |
;#; |
:«:«;« |
|||||
|
B1 ft |
d |
« |
« |
ei ?« M r4 M |
n M M M |
|||||
|
|
M M |
M |
M |
M |
M M M l-« M |
M M M M 1 |
||||
|
:« |
:« |
:i!J;S;:S:^:^ |
||||||||
|
0 |
sXBpung |
■^ |
. |
0 |
«n M |
•n |
u^ u^ u^ w^ u^ |
m m « Ml >-l .-* M M |
||
|
> |
M |
sXBpJiM^tt, |
^5 |
:^ |
* |
;^' ' |
^?* |
;S:S;:«:S |
||
|
•«■ to |
r^ |
CO |
CI |
rO fO CO CO eo |
W « W f* |
|||||
|
HI M |
M |
« |
•^ |
IH M M M M |
M W M M |
|||||
|
::S |
:R |
;R |
:R:R:« |
|||||||
|
1 Si |
Situpims |
•^ |
tN r» |
. |
»^ |
>o |
0 0 <0 lO 0 M (H M M M |
^o *n tn m M M M M |
||
|
E |
i |
SiSBp^paAV |
•« |
:« |
• |
;:?: ' |
;;ff |
:« |
:f!^^^:^ |
iR ; |
|
•♦ •*■ |
■* |
CO |
ro |
i^i ^t r^i ^^ v^ |
m CO CO CO j |
|||||
|
Overt |
M tH |
M |
M |
M M M M IH |
M •-« M M 1 |
|||||
|
:?. |
:;S^ |
:^ |
;S |
^ff::?:::^ :S |
||||||
|
i5„ |
sX'Bpims |
t3 |
00 00 |
: |
00 00 l-t 1- |
M |
tS |
rvrs.fxrs.fN |
tv IX tN fN H M M M |
|
|
0 |
sXepjpaAV |
^. |
a? |
;^ |
;^ |
VN |
^S:^:^::?!:^ |
;^ |
||
|
m »r> |
<f> <n |
^ |
•* |
•«• -"I- ■♦ ■* ■• |
-«»• -^ ^ ^ |
|||||
|
M M |
M f* |
M |
M |
M It M M |
||||||
|
(0 (3 0) |
It |
t |
||||||||
|
' 3 JS M |
■s |
c |
rOOO |
DO |
1^ |
03 0 0 rv fN |
COQO OO oo |
|||
|
r of ho k for w nimum as paya |
a |
Ul U-1 |
0 |
0 •* |
w-j |
10 |
tn\o \c >n v^ |
w". ■* ■* -*■ |
||
|
^ |
en 3 0 |
1 |
||||||||
|
>• |
||||||||||
|
MUt^ |
V |
a |
||||||||
|
C S = 0 |
^ |
■^ "tf |
fO 0 |
IH |
o> |
HI 00 0 *«■ r^ |
0000 |
|||
|
3 S" |
1 |
Ul U-1 |
0 'X. 3 |
0 m |
0 |
m |
>0 «-nO vri « |
M-> m m «^ |
||
|
t |
"5* |
0 vO |
, |
>o |
0 |
0 |
0 >o 0 0 0 |
0 .0 0 0 * |
||
|
1' ,n |
ci |
00 0 |
N |
e> |
rx |
c^ r^ c\ ■.»• ■>© |
-♦■00 00 00 |
|||
|
H 0 |
OS |
-* -T |
to |
■<*• |
•V |
•^ ■*■.*■•* ■* |
TT <n «o «o |
|||
|
'^' |
\0 \0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
VO |
vO 0 vO 0 0 |
0 >0 0 vO |
|||
|
>. CIt 3 u) |
I |
0 00 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
M 0 H vO 00 |
vO 0 0 0 |
|||
|
M |
tn ^ |
in |
m |
« |
•*■ |
■*■■«••«•••• |
||||
|
M |
||||||||||
|
•^' |
0 0 |
vO |
0 |
vO |
\o |
0 vO 0 0 0 |
0000 |
|||
|
t |
||||||||||
|
S |
0 |
0 |
•<»- |
n |
Tf M •«• 0. M |
o\ en m CO |
||||
|
a rt ■3 |
n |
<fl |
»rt trt |
lO |
vo |
m |
m |
lo lo m ^ m |
■«••♦«••<•■ |
|
|
0 0 |
0 |
0 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 VO 0 vO 0 |
0000 |
||||
|
<. |
M -^O 00 O OOvOOOf^iA M.OOO
•O >
ti'E-
03 ::
a
a
O -
a a a i .a a
•32
D J3
. a
•« 3
a5« Sot)
& i c
c
o-g
Vi
•* o c 91 a — •a •*->
- a a
- g ■5.'=' E
«.§!. 11 §
S|.tJ
- = s.
a r. «i
a !< "* a --1.3
ii 03
a • "
a 00 t>
S- ^
° d
£"■§
io8
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
'a
ry 0^ I ^
i i
|
Sf |
|
|
i/5 |
o |
|
ar |
|
|
■3 |
>4J |
|
h-^ |
«? |
|
^ |
«? |
|
"Or |
•5 |
|
<a |
|
|
<« |
|
|
s |
s
"A
Hi
« <
I 00
cd
>
o
J3
(A ^O Oi
^^ s a
■♦-»
a
a a
3
CO
|
4; |
|
|
&A |
|
|
fl |
|
|
ts |
|
|
>. |
|
|
1! |
(A 3 |
|
^ |
o |
|
a 3 |
I |
|
a |
•4-t |
|
a |
H
;^
sXBpnns
2!?
CI M
;:R :« iS :«:^ ::^
« « o o o
s^Bpnns
I I
3 o
u
o
Ml
49
a
sXBpims
vo»ri in lo »o M-m^irj ^^
sXHpims SABpjpa^
VO VO VO fsO \0 >OVO m m IT) "O
3 'J
00 rs oooooor^iN. fooo co oo U-) in <o -^^o vo lO «n in ■<*■ ^ •*
ClJ
3 CJ
vo \0 'O voooo oooo
|
o o >o |
o |
o |
o |
>o 0 o o |
(OOOO |
|
in |
IN |
" in IX M ^ |
M fN fN IX •* to CO CO |
||
|
VO vo vo |
o |
o |
o |
oooo |
oooo |
|
OO VO i-l |
o |
oo |
o |
■oo o mrs |
^ 0\ Oi c» |
m '^m-^^ •♦focnco
\o 00*0000 oooo
CO M (n\0 M tOOO O oo N M «
•a*
i? a
is
o-a
OJ «*H
A O
O « -w ^
s s si
«a
^ I o
"O jO O "O « fl C8 H
? o g "> .
■oi a
|a"s
Sis |3.2 |oS>
ill
I
a-'3
.9 f^"
sal
O " 1/
^3 o
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
109
|
<» |
|
|
^ |
to |
|
0 |
|
|
« |
|
|
1 |
^ |
|
« |
|
|
s |
S •^ |
|
tun |
|
|
« |
00 |
|
^ |
|
|
?s |
|
|
->* |
— 1 1 |
|
0 |
|
|
I |
|
|
■»^ |
|
|
§ |
U |
|
8 |
i*^ |
|
S |
|
|
•t» |
P |
|
s» |
<u |
|
•«» |
-«^ |
|
:^ |
^x |
|
1 |
« |
|
1 |
K |
|
0 |
|
|
^ |
|
|
X |
|
|
tt |
|
|
►4 |
|
|
W |
|
|
•< |
|
|
H |
em CO
u
9 O
o
2I
;3 Q.
Iljl
0 .3 J3 art
1 ^ .2 &
Is s
9
a
a-
3
to
a
ao c«
>. 3
a 3 a
'5
|
« |
M « « « |
w |
||
|
sXepnns |
•«" |
M |
M M M M CO 0^ to CI |
CO |
|
sXepspsAV |
■« |
t |
||
|
CO |
CO CO CO CO |
« |
||
|
« |
M M « CI |
^ ' |
S/tBpnns ■«
CO H I
o
a
a
o u
an
•a
a es
a
o
^ i -o
5 o 'J ^
Is
3 ■
■<}- 10
IT) ir>
Tj- Tf ■>!■ Tf
vO O t^ t-O
vr» 10^0 vO "O
vO
>o
« « ^ 10 t^ c^ t^
00
r^ t^ o\ o* 00
3
o
00 CO CO f^. lO >0 >0 "A
O >. w O U3 (O ■*j ■ ' ■ * ._.— .-.
s
(J
O vO O vO
ir^ M i-i M M
o o \o »o o
IH M IH t-t M
O O vO ^O VO
CO w N N O M M C< N N
000*0
lo -^oo 00 in N N N c* e«
O VO O O
O O r^. >n N 00 fO CO CO CO
a a^ o o
H
z o
1^
s
CI
Q o
fO
t; 3
OS
0\ CI
f^ M
J1 o.
o c S
|
M "> |
a |
|
^■^ .. |
|
|
S J4 |
z |
|
and atte stoc |
0 »-• OS |
|
S |
S 3
.£ .S ^ '♦^ «« v^
P.5
vO
«o
VO
>o
00
3
o
«o
o»
N
in
o
CO
M O
Q |0
K >i3
So
Q
<
S »5
no THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE W.AR
§ 9. Minimum wages for female workers.
As an almost invariable rule minimum and overtime rates per hour were fixed for female workers. The only exception to this was in Nort- humberland, where at first minimum weekly wages were fixed for female workers employed by the week or longer period. These wages, which came into force on 21 October 1918 were as follows : Over 18 years, 22s. 6d. ; 17 to 18 years, 20s. 3^. ; 16 to 17 years, i8s. ; 15 to 16 years 15s. <^.. ; 14 to 15 years, 13s. ()d. ; under 14 years, lis. 3^. The number of hours per week to which these wages applied was 54 (excluding Sunday) in Sum- mer and 48 (excluding Sunday) in Winter. The corresponding overtime rates were : Over 18 years, weekdays, 6d., Sunday, 7 14^. ; 17 to 18 years, 5 14^. and yd. ; 16 to 17 years, ^d. and 6d. ; 15 to 16 years, 4 14^. to $d. ; 14 to 15 years, 4^?. and 4 ^i. ; under 14, 3^. and ^d. Overtime was reckoned as all employment on Sunday and all employment in excess of the specified number of hours in any week (excluding Sunday). When the short day was introduced, any employment on the short day in excess of 6 ^ hours was also reckoned as overtime.
These minimum wages were, however, subsequently cancelled and the minimum rates of wages per hour which had been fixed were made appli- cable to all female workers in Northumberland.
In Table XV (page in ) we give the minimum rates per hour and overtime rates for female workers at different dates. It will be seen that the wages fixed were at all times very nearl}^ uniform throughout England and Wales. In the first and second Orders, which came into operation on 21 October 1918 and 14 July 1919. only Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lancashire, and Yorkshire, had higher rates than the general rate. By the Order which came into force on 31 May 1920 the rates in Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lancashire were assimilated to the general rate, but special rates were fixed for Somerset and for Yorkshire. In the Orders which came into force on i March 192 1 and 5 September 1921 special rates were fixed only for Yorkshire. As in the case of male workers, the Order which came into force on 5 September 192 1 reduced the rates previously fixed.
In the earliest Order relating to female workers overtime was defined as all employment on a Sunday, all employment on any weekday before 7 a. m. or after 5 p. m. and all employment on any weekday in excess of a specified number of hours. The number was 8 hours all the year round in most parts of England and Wales but in Cambridgeshire, Hunting- donshire and Bedfordshire, in Cumberland and Westmoreland, in Derbyshire, in Devonshire, in Dorset, in Hertfordshire and Middlesex, in Kent, in Northamptonshire, in Nottinghamshire and in Wiltshire, the number was 8 ^2 hours in Summer and 8 hours in Winter, while in Cheshire, in Lancashire, in Shropshire, in Glamorgan and Monmouth and in Merioneth and Montgomery, the number was 8 ^^ hours all the year round.
The Order which came into operation on 14 July 1919 only changed the minimum and overtime rates for female workers over 18 years of age.
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
III
O
1^
I
o
t/5 to
0:;
>
w
pa <;
|
1 |
1 |
:«;« |
:i!:R |
:R |
||||||||
|
•o •♦ |
sXBpung |
■5S |
m ■«■ |
m •♦ |
fs -♦ ■* |
■*■ ♦ |
•«■ ♦ |
|||||
|
s >^ |
||||||||||||
|
f, |
D |
SABP3133AV |
■^• |
as |
« ♦«_ |
«« |
'«•» |
|||||
|
sXBpnng |
•« |
io *o »n |
<o <o |
O ID |
||||||||
|
^ |
HI |
|||||||||||
|
I |
Si£Bp3p3;V\. |
•>3 |
lO il- 1 |
«* |
lO « |
|||||||
|
•n |
1 |
- |
___^_— _^-- |
|||||||||
|
t |
s^Bpnns |
•«■ |
«^ m |
fs, m |
||||||||
|
*; |
M |
" |
||||||||||
|
o |
SXbP3133AV |
•^ |
00 >0 <n |
<o <o |
||||||||
|
A |
I |
|||||||||||
|
I |
IH |
SiCBpimg |
•«■ |
O 00 cs |
OOO |
OO !>. |
||||||
|
1 U5 1 ^ |
« |
1 |
;^ |
|||||||||
|
2 |
SiiBpjiaaiVV |
•« |
\o <n |
\0 lO |
OttslO |
1^ tN |
r«io |
|||||
|
1 |
sXBpung |
•«' |
00 f* |
00 1^ |
N WOO |
o a> M |
9.00 |
|||||
|
' k, |
H |
|||||||||||
|
> o |
M |
:S |
:« |
;K |
::« |
:S |
||||||
|
SXbP3133^ |
•xs |
1^ m |
I^ <r, |
o.»% |
ls»s |
|||||||
|
;^ |
;« |
;R |
||||||||||
|
Ih |
SiCBpims |
^s |
o w |
ir> M O |
22 |
|||||||
|
^r, |
||||||||||||
|
° |
S/lBp3lJ»AV |
•« |
1 22°^ |
« o M M |
o o M |
|||||||
|
a M |
;SiS |
;S:« |
;« |
a? |
||||||||
|
•«■ |
CO w |
CO W |
U-l CO N |
|||||||||
|
1 $ |
P |
|||||||||||
|
a |
||||||||||||
|
irt |
:fi ::S |
^ |
||||||||||
|
.2 |
1 |
•<s |
T CO |
■«■ fO |
m -r (O |
■«■ ■* |
•* en |
|||||
|
1 >-* |
||||||||||||
|
t |
- |
1 |
||||||||||
|
■*J |
||||||||||||
|
OJ |
M |
;S^ |
;s^ |
;S ;« |
;^ |
|||||||
|
1 in M |
■a |
TT CO |
■«• to |
o m ■«■ |
I |
|||||||
|
S. |
1% |
:S |
;:« |
;R |
||||||||
|
' (A |
H |
•^ |
m ■* |
»r» ■* |
tx U-. « |
i |
o « |
|||||
|
(4 |
||||||||||||
|
1 ^ 5 |
00 w 1 IH |
•« |
00 vO <o |
t>.vO |
\0 >n |
|||||||
|
.9 |
||||||||||||
|
s^?, |
•« |
^c >n |
r^vo |
OoOf^ |
2<o |
00 r^ |
||||||
|
o |
i |
|||||||||||
|
3 1 |
•2§ |
■OS |
S 1 c |
•■a n |
||||||||
|
1 1 |
S5 1 1 |
00 o O CI S |
CC -J i^ |
R « O 1- |
o CI ?■. « CO |
*■ |
a c a |
c» o M s |
•S C ■w o |
|||
|
■4-1 1 5 |
o 8 |
SSI |
HI! s 5 !?^ |
5 '-saa -2. s £- 8 >tn< |
1 |
II ><< |
||||||
|
■** |
V |
>«< o |
*^ |
|||||||||
|
< |
I PQ |
u |
Q |
w |
112
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
By this time the short day had been introduced and all employment in excess of 6 ^4 hours on the short day was reckoned as overtime. The subsequent Orders did not introduce any change into the system of cal- culating overtime.
Under all the Orders, the minimum and overtime rates were subject to a deduction of ^^. per hour during the first three months of a worker's employment in agriculture.
§ 10. Corn and hay harvest wages.
Corn Harvest of 1919. — In several District Wages Committee areas minimum rates of wages and special overtime rates were fixed for workers employed on the com har\'^est in 1919.
In Cambridgeshire minimum weekly wages were fixed for a week of 60 hours (excluding Sunda3's). These were for male workers over 21 years of age, 73s. ; 20 to 21 years, 70s. ; 19 to 20 years, 68s. ; 18 to 19 years, 66s. ; 17 to 18 years, 52s. ; 16 to 17 years, 44s. ; 15 to 16 years, 36s. ; 14 to 15 years, 28s. ; under 14 years,' 20s. For female workers the rates were : Over 18 j^ears, 55s. ; 17 to 18 years, 41s. ^. ; 16 to 17 years, 37s. ; 15 to 16 years, 32s. 6d. ; 14 to 15 years, 28s. ; under 14 years, 23s.
Workers in regular employment on the farm who were employed on harvest work were to be paid at least 24 days at the special rates ; for workers engaged for the harvest period, the special rates only applied in respect of hours actually worked on the harvest.
In Yorkshire minimum weekly wages were also fixed for employ- ment during the com harvest. For male workers over 18 years the min- imum weekly harvest wage was £4 ; for male workers under 18 years and for all female workers, it was 50 per cent, higher than the normal min- imum weekly wage. Where the worker was employed for the whole of the harvest on a farm comprising more than 10 acres of com, the special rates were to be paid for a period of four weeks from the day on which he was first employed on harc^est work, even if he were not employed
Table XVI. — Corn Harvest <
District Wages Comnuttee Area
Over
19-20
18-19
Mai
17-18
Nottinghiiiiishire 17
Lincolnshire ^3 V*
Oxfordshire 12
Dorset 10
|
</. |
d. |
d. |
i. |
|
16 |
16 |
15 Va |
13 V» |
|
II V2 |
II v^ |
II |
8Va |
|
12 |
12 |
12 |
7V« |
|
ID |
10 |
10 |
7 |
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
113
for tht whole of this period in harvest work, and after the period had expired he was to be paid at the special rate in respect of each day upon which he was employed on such work. Where the worker was employed on a farm not comprising 10 acres of corn, or was employed for less than the whole period, the special rates were payable only in respect of the days on which he was actually employed on harvest work.
In Dorset, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Oxfordshire, minimum rates per hour were fixed for harvest work. These are set out in Table XV I.
vSpecial overtime rates for harvest work were fixed in thirteen areas. These are sho^^^l in Table XVII (page 114). In all the areas except Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire, overtime employment included all employ- ment on Sunday, all employment in excess of 6 ^ hours on Saturday and all employment in excess of 9 ^ hours on any other da3\
In Dorset there was a special definition of overtime for stockmen, horsemen and shepherds employed on harvest work ; it was all employ- ment in excess of 6 ^ hours on the short day except time spent on that day in connection with the feeding and cleaning of stock and all employ- ment on any day in excess of the hours of employment customary in the area for workers of this class.
In Cambridgeshire overtime did not begin on days other than Sunday and the short day until 10 hours had been worked.
In Yorkshire special overtime rates were fixed for male workers over 18 years of age. To other workers the normal overtime rates ap- plied. For all workers, however, overtime employment during the harv^est period was defined as being all employment on Sundays and all employ- ment on weekdays before 6.45 a. m. and after 8 p. m. or (when only cut ting or stooking work was in progress) after 7 p. m.
In Suftolk another system was adopted. It was laid down that dur- ing the period of com harvest no employment on harvest work on a week- day was to be treated as overtime employment, and every worker was to be paid ordinary wages, but was to be entitled to a bonus on the completion
TO 19 : Minimum Rates per Hour.
|
workers |
Female |
workers |
||||||||
|
Under |
Over |
Under |
||||||||
|
16-17 |
15-16 |
14-15 |
1 |
17-18 |
16-17 |
15-16 |
14-15 |
|||
|
d. |
14 |
18 |
' |
14 |
||||||
|
d. |
d. |
d. |
1 d. |
d. |
d. |
</. |
d. |
d. |
||
|
1 |
-- |
|||||||||
|
II |
9 |
6V. |
5 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
|
|
7V2 |
6 |
4 'A |
^ ' |
9 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 7^ |
4 |
|
|
6V2 |
5 |
4 |
3 i |
9 |
6 |
5 'A |
4 7^ |
4 |
3 |
|
|
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 ; 1 |
7 'A |
5V2 |
5 |
4 7^ |
4 |
3 |
|
|
8 |
114
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
I
I
00
HI I
1^
!■
|
1- |
|
|
<u |
|
|
• |
•V •*■ |
|
a " |
|
|
is |
|
|
m |
|
|
M |
|
|
'<^ |
|
|
M |
|
|
« |
|
|
M |
|
|
.o |
|
|
H |
|
|
<s. |
|
|
H |
|
|
12 |
«S |
|
V |
M |
|
u |
|
|
00 |
|
|
> |
•^ |
|
In |
|
|
V |
HI |
|
o» |
|
|
" |
M |
|
OO |
|
|
M |
|
|
o |
|
|
N |
|
|
Ov |
|
|
M |
|
|
M |
|
|
M |
|
|
6 |
|
|
« |
|
|
1^ |
|
|
OJ M |
|
|
> M |
|
|
O |
g
hi
<!
o a
lo (O w in «o IT) «o
O 00 C^ O C vC lO
t^ 0\ o t^ t^ t^ c^
00 o M CO 00 00 00
a\ M Tj- o c^ o o
C< iriOO N W N N
IT) O t^ u*l lO lO lO
lO 00 O^ VO vO O vO
00 o N 00 00 CO CO
O N lO O O O O
^N « W C-I W
M M M H M
»- T}- t^ M M M M
■* ^
tH HI
^ ^ ^
■^ IT) o >o >o*o T»-
lO O r>. <o
*o <o t^ c^ vb I*, o
t^ t^ 00 00 t^oo
0^ O I-" Ci
-^ •<^
'J- -^ Tf
to m vo «n
«n"0 "V
o lO
O t^ »o
00 00 On 00
ON Ol
M JH
O ON
ON O 00
roc^M 0-<t-000>OvO
NNNNNMMMM
«n ■<i- "^ -^ ■*
w «n N
>,
Ji
^ 5
O >
|
■>*-• |
|
|
^ |
|
|
o |
|
|
o |
|
|
o |
|
|
.c |
|
|
rr |
|
|
'^ |
<LI |
|
rt |
s |
|
o |
tr. |
|
o |
|
|
s |
|
|
«. |
, . |
|
E |
<-• |
|
c |
;*; |
|
o |
O |
y J2
1=^
•/,
•3
Q o
|
v< |
J5 |
■^-i |
||
|
IS |
tr. |
V |
||
|
u |
n y |
|||
|
s |
a |
sy |
.c |
Kr>^ |
|
? |
a |
5 |
?i |
|
|
o |
3i |
n |
||
|
0 |
K |
c |
U |
^ IS
■7, 5
1/
s
o G
o
C
O
o
.Si a
Sf £
•3 tfl
in ^
O
Q
2 tr.
|
« |
« |
« |
M |
N |
|
||||||||||||
|
, |
M |
M |
^^*^ |
^^■^ |
|||||||||||||
|
ts |
•H in |
M |
00 |
(M |
■^ |
m |
o |
m |
■<^ |
0-, OO |
N |
■<^ |
N |
N |
m |
HI |
|
|
N N |
N |
M |
W |
M |
M |
M |
HH |
t^ |
W M |
M |
M |
HI |
M |
h^ |
M |
||
|
« |
C4 |
« |
« |
N |
|||||||||||||
|
M^ |
H* |
M |
|||||||||||||||
|
•« |
H VO |
M |
ON |
f^ |
in |
m |
VO |
<n |
■<<- |
•<i- m |
fn |
■^ |
N |
N |
m |
W |
|
|
N N |
N |
W |
w |
M |
H |
M |
M |
w |
M H |
M |
HI |
M |
M |
Hrt |
W |
||
|
« |
W |
« C* |
N |
ft |
« |
||||||||||||
|
H M |
M |
M* |
|||||||||||||||
|
"«■ |
N vO |
IH |
On |
f^, |
m |
^ |
M |
•n |
in |
'I- tn |
CO |
■^ |
CO |
N |
m |
HI |
|
|
N N |
N |
M |
M |
M |
M |
»H |
M |
HH M |
1-1 |
HI |
w |
M |
IH |
M |
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR II5
of the harvest. This bonus in the case of male workers, according to age, was : Over 21 years, £7 ids. ; 20 to 21 years, £7 4s. ; 19 to 20 years, £7 ; 18 to 19 years, £6 i6s. ; 17 to 18 years. £5 7s. ; 16 to 17 years, £4 los. ; 15 to 16 years £3 14s. ; 14 to 15 years, £2 17s. 6d. ; under 14 years, £2. For female workers the bonus was : Over 18 years, £5 los. ; 17 to 18 years, £4 3s. ; 16 to 17 years, £3 15s. ; 15 to 16 years, £3 5s. ; 14 to 15 years, £2 15s. ; tmder 14 years, £2. A worker who had only worked a part of the harvest period was only entitled to a corresponding pro- portion of the bonus.
The hours to be worked during the harvest in Suffolk were to be, if required, not less than 12 hours on any weekday while the crops were being carted and not less than 11 hours on any weekday while other har- vest work was in progress. All employment on harvest work on Sunday was paid for at the rates for Sunday work normall}' applicable to the worker.
Corn and Hay Harvest of 1920. — For the com har\^est of 1920, minimum weekly wages were fixed for male workers in Glamorgan and Mon- mouth, as follows : Over 21 years, 50s. ; 20 to 21 years, 48s. 6d. ; 19 to to 20 years, 45s. 6d. ; 18 to 19 years, 44s. ; 17 to 18 years, 35s. ; 16 to 17 years, 29s ; 15 to 16 years, 23s. 6d. ; 14 to 15 years, i8s. ; under 14 years, iSs. These rates applied in respect of each week in which a worker was employed for at least two days or parts of two days on harvest work.
In Yorkshire the same minimum rates were in force as for the com harvest of 19 19.
In Derbyshire and in Nottinghamshire minimum rates per hour were fixed for harv-est work for both male and female workers and in Gla- morgan and Monmouth for female workers. These rates are shown in Table XVIII (pages 116-117).
Special overtime rates for harvest work were fixed in 14 District Wages Committee areas. These rates are shown in Table XIX (page 118).
It will be seen that, except in Derbyshire, the same overtime rates were fijced for Svmdays as for weekdays. In most areas overtime employ- ment was defined as all emplo^'ment on a Sunday, all employment in excess of 6 14 hours or a Saturday, all employment in excess of 8 ^/., hours on any other day and all employment in excess of 50 hours in any week (excluding Sunday). In Cheshire, in Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lancashire, in Derbyshire, in Glamorgan and Monmouth and in Shropsliire the ordinary definition of overtime employment was applicable. In Nottinghamshire no differential overtime rates were fixed for employment on harvest work.
In Suffolk the provisions which had been made in 1920 remained in force. The same provisions were applied in Essex to workers on farms containing more than 50 acres of com ; on a farm containing not more than 50 acres of com, it was provided that during a period of four weeks from the commencement of the com harvest on the farm no employment on a weekday (whether on harvest work or not) should be treated as overtime employment and that every worker (whether employed on
Il6 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
Table XVIII. — Corn Harvest
District Wages Osmmittee Area
Over 21
19-20
18-19
17-18
Xottiughamshire ....
Derbyshire
Glamorgan and Monmouth
|
d. |
d. |
d. |
d. |
|
18 |
17 |
16 V2 |
15 V* |
|
15 V^ |
14 v^ |
14 |
13 V2 |
|
• • • |
• • • |
• • • |
• • • |
harvest work or tiot) should be paid ordinary wages and be entitled to the same bonus, provided that he or she worked, if required, on every weekday 12 hours while the crops were being carted, and 11 hours while other work was in progress.
In Warwickshire and Shropshire special bonuses were fixed in respect of each day on which the worker was wholly or mainly employed on harvest work.
In Warwickshire, in the case of workers employed on a farm contain- ing less than 100 acres of com, for the fir^".t six days of the workers' em- ployment on harvest and in the case of workers emploj'ed on a farm con- taining more than 100 acres for the first twelve days of the worker's employment on harvest, the bonuses were : Over 21 years, 2s. 6d. ; 20 to 21 years, 2s. 6d. ; 19 to 20 years, 2s. 3d. ; 18 to 19 years, 2s. 3d. ; 17 to 18 years, is. gd. ; 16 to 17 years, is. 6d. ; 15 to 16 years, is. 3d. ; 14 to 15 years, is. ; under 14 years, 6d. For female workers the bonuses were : Over 18 years, is. gd. ; 17 to 18 years, is. 6d. ; 16 to 17 years, is. 3^. ; 15 to 16 years, is. 3d. ; 14 to 15 years, is. ; under 14 years, 6d. The same bonuses were payable on all farms in Shropshire to male and fe- male workers in respect of each day on which they were employed on harvest work for five hours or more (exclusive of overtime employment) but only half the amoimt was payable in respect of each day on which they were employed on harvest work for less than five hours. On farms in Warwickshire containing less than 100 acres of com for the seventh and subsequent days of the workers' employment on harvest, and on farms containing more than 100 acres of com for the thirteenth and subsequent days, the bonuses for male workers were : Over 21 years, IS. 6d. ; 20 to 21 years, is. 6d. ; 19 to 20 years, is. 3d. ; 18 to 19 years, IS. 3d. ; 17 to 18 years, is. ; 16 to 17 years, gd. ; 15 to 16 years, gd. ; 14 to 15 years, 6d. ; under 14, years, 3d. For female workers the bonuses were : Over 18 years, is. ; 17 to 18 years, gd. ; 16 to 17 years, gd. ; 15 to 16 years, gd. ; 14 to 15 years, 6d. ; imder 14 years, 3d.
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AORICUr^TURAL LABOUR
117
|
- |
— |
• |
|||||||
|
1920 : Minimum Rates per Hour. |
|||||||||
|
workers |
Female workers |
||||||||
|
i6-i7 |
15-16 |
14-15 |
under 14 |
over 18 |
17-18 |
16-17 |
17-18 |
1 14-15 |
undet 14 |
|
d. |
./. |
d. |
d. |
</. |
(/. |
</. <i. |
(/. |
</. |
|
|
1072 |
872 |
672 |
4'h |
1272 |
10 |
9 8 |
6 72 |
472 |
|
|
9 |
7 |
5 7^ |
372 |
1072 |
8 |
7 7* |
7 |
5 |
4 |
|
••• |
... |
• . a |
773 |
6 |
5 7^ |
5 |
4 |
3 |
In Anglesey and Carnarvon, in Cheshire, in Cornwall, in Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fnmess District of Lancashire, in Denbigh and Flint, in Derb3'sliire, in Gloucestershire, in Herefordshire, in Shropshire, in Somerset, in Surrey, in Warwickshire and in Wiltshire the same pro- visions applied to the hay harvest as to the com harvest.
C. Corn and Hay Harvest of 1921. — For the com harvest of 1921 the provisions made for the com har\'est of the previous year in Cornwall, in Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fnmess District of Lancashire, in Denbigh and Flint, in Devonshire, in Glamorgan and Monmouth, in Herefordshire, in Somerset, in Suffolk, and in Surrey remained tmchanged.
Including areas in which the provisions remained unchanged, special overtime rates were fixed in 15 areas. These are shown in Table XX (page 119).
In Glamorgan and Monmouth the ordinary definition of overtime was applicable to these rates. In all the other areas the definition of overtime was the same as that generally adopted for the com harvest of 1920.
The minimum weekly wages which had been fixed for Glamorgan and Monmouth for male workers were the only minimum weekly wages which remained in force, those fixed for Yorkshire having been cancelled. The minimum rates per hour for female workers in Glamorgan and Mon- mouth also remained in force, and minimum rates per hour were fixed for both male and female workers in Essex in the case of farms contain- ing not more than 40 acres of com. These latter rates were : For male workers over 21 years, is. 4^. ; 20 to 21 years, is. ^d. ; 19 to 20 years, IS. 2d. ; 18 to 19 years, is. i Y>,d. ; 17 to 18 years, 10 ^2^. ; 16- to 17 years, 8 Yod. ; 15 to 16 years, yd. ; 14 to 15 years, 5^. ; imder 14 years, 3 14^. For'female workers over 18 years, ii ^4'^. ; 17 to 18 years, 8 ^4^. 16 to 17 years, 8d. ; 15 to 16 years, yd. ; 14 to 15 years, 5 ^c/. ; under 14 years, /\d.
The sums payable in Suffolk on completion of har\'est remained
ii8
THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
|
u |
M |
M |
N |
N |
w |
M |
N |
|||||||||||
|
5" |
•« |
00 |
vO |
M M |
MM M |
M I-I |
•* |
■* |
_C3 |
|||||||||
|
W |
« |
W |
^ |
<M |
^ |
N |
||||||||||||
|
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
3 |
|||||||||||
|
•« |
o |
a |
t^ |
O |
VO |
o |
VO |
t> |
vO |
VO |
>ri |
«o |
9 |
|||||
|
s |
H |
M |
O |
|||||||||||||||
|
a |
M |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Ji |
VO |
|||||||||||||||||
|
M |
M |
|||||||||||||||||
|
o |
•^ |
Tf M |
a |
t-~. r^ |
00 |
00 |
r^ |
00 |
00 |
r^ r- |
s |
|||||||
|
W |
IH |
- 1 |
||||||||||||||||
|
^ |
^ |
w |
M |
« |
^ |
|||||||||||||
|
i |
*< |
' M |
M |
|||||||||||||||
|
■«• |
*n w |
o |
00 |
00 |
o> |
a |
Ov |
OV |
O |
00 |
^s |
5 |
||||||
|
£ |
M |
M |
M |
H |
&i |
^ |
||||||||||||
|
. |
00 |
^ |
« |
o a cd |
||||||||||||||
|
8 o |
^ |
■« |
O |
'^^ •1 |
o |
o\ |
c |
o |
o |
o |
o |
00 |
00 |
•4H |
||||
|
H |
h^ |
M |
W |
M |
IH |
M |
M |
4> |
_ o i2 |
|||||||||
|
tt: |
<3m |
;? |
||||||||||||||||
|
±" |
■rs |
H |
OC |
•* ro H |
f^ W |
CI |
ro PO |
H |
0 |
-fc- |
||||||||
|
?!^ |
O |
c* |
M |
M |
M |
H^ |
M |
H |
H |
H |
H4 |
M |
M |
CIt |
P4 |
|||
|
■^ |
^^ |
M |
M |
M |
M |
W M |
T |
|||||||||||
|
S ■»■* |
5" |
"« |
r^ o |
>0'<<-'i-'<l-'^ ■^■^■'J- |
■<*• It |
■ o |
a — 41 |
|||||||||||
|
^ <» |
« |
C4 * M |
CI |
H |
* M |
H |
*-- |
|||||||||||
|
•« |
H |
CT> C^ O |
O |
VO |
o |
CT |
vO |
VO |
CO |
O a - a |
||||||||
|
S |
« |
M |
VI |
N |
« |
« |
M |
C4 |
V |
|||||||||
|
*«•» |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
|||||||||||
|
i |
M |
•« |
■<1- N |
0\ 00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
Ov 00 |
00 |
•iH ■■-' |
I — 3 > |
|||||||
|
O |
r% |
M |
* M |
H |
M |
M |
5 |
|||||||||||
|
?. |
i. |
•^ |
oc |
in HI |
O |
c |
c |
C |
N |
Cv O |
o |
V o\ b |
||||||
|
M |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
M |
M |
IH |
|||||||||
|
« |
M |
i> |
> — a 5 |
|||||||||||||||
|
•** |
1 |
OO M |
C1 M |
M |
* H |
M |
- % |
|||||||||||
|
■« |
H |
OC |
T- ^ |
^ |
^ |
e) |
C^ |
H |
CO |
t^ |
C |
c |
||||||
|
1 |
W |
ts |
I-I |
H |
M |
H |
w |
M |
M |
H |
M |
H |
M |
.g |
- 11 |
|||
|
n |
N |
^M |
||||||||||||||||
|
• • |
M |
- |
M |
^ M |
^. |
o<a |
||||||||||||
|
O |
-^^ |
r- c^ |
OC |
to >o |
M\ \r% \0 |
lO VO |
■^ ro |
-± o |
||||||||||
|
ON |
<s |
^ |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
M |
IH |
rt |
w |
M |
- i^ |
|||||
|
M |
C |
M CS |
C4 |
n |
||||||||||||||
|
H |
CI |
M |
^ |
H |
* H |
"* M |
M |
» |
H |
|||||||||
|
*o" |
•^ |
00 M |
po 00 C< 1- |
H |
VO H |
M IH |
M »H |
1.1 |
||||||||||
|
« |
||||||||||||||||||
|
•♦» |
||||||||||||||||||
|
CO |
H |
IH |
■* M |
M |
||||||||||||||
|
Si |
8 |
TS |
CTi'^o>r^r--t>.r-» \0 |
VO H |
vO IH |
»0 'l- M M |
<a "8 |
|||||||||||
|
)< |
^ |
|||||||||||||||||
|
~: |
M O 00 |
00 IH |
00 |
00 IH |
00 M |
t~» vO IH IH |
VO M |
M »H |
||||||||||
|
*-• If) |
• |
|||||||||||||||||
|
O |
. |
Si |
||||||||||||||||
|
1 |
Q |
, |
•*§• |
|||||||||||||||
|
c |
3£ |
|||||||||||||||||
|
i |
a 3 |
■a c cS |
OOT |
|||||||||||||||
|
•a s |
8^ 21 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
< |
B |
c |
n ■a |
d Q |
"S-o |
|||||||||||||
|
H |
9 O J |
<i |
X, |
|||||||||||||||
|
a ;: 1 |
■i |
'a t |
2 1 |
X |
> |
1 1 |
S > iH ca a s |
■5 |
a m |
|||||||||
|
) > |
0. 1 |
> |
g V- 1 C |
1 |
r I B |
1 |
0, |
1 |
o i a |
|||||||||
|
Q |
^ 1 |
« |
5 |
K |
a |
3 |
c |
^ |
i |
?: |
X |
a |
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
119
0:5
O
CO
H
X
01
n
|
m |
|
|
M |
|
|
•♦ |
|
|
M |
|
|
?! |
|
|
0 |
|
|
M |
M |
|
0 |
lO |
|
»>. |
|
|
M |
|
|
0 |
« |
|
£ |
H |
|
M |
|
|
IX |
|
|
M |
|
|
fct |
|
|
0/00 |
|
|
> HI |
|
|
0 |
|
|
Wl |
|
|
u |
|
|
•0 ■«■ |
|
|
a « |
|
|
t> |
|
|
lO |
|
|
•I |
|
|
«*■ |
|
|
•^ |
|
|
^O |
|
|
ir> |
|
|
M |
|
|
1^ |
|
|
M |
|
|
m |
^ |
|
M |
|
|
00 |
|
|
0 |
HI |
|
S |
fN |
|
V |
M |
|
OS |
|
|
S |
>-• |
|
00 |
|
|
0 |
|
|
N |
|
|
o\ |
|
|
M |
|
|
M |
|
|
« |
|
|
6 |
|
|
M |
|
|
U |
|
|
V M |
|
|
> « |
|
|
0 |
a a
o o
^
.a
Q
•«
o
00
o
<o
00
10
o
o
IH
o
M
>o
VO
«
yO
VO
«o
O
M
00
00
CO
00
00
o»
o^
M
00
00
0\
o\
to
N
(^
«
o
CO
vO
0
yD
vO
■o
o
|
N |
M |
« |
,« |
« |
« |
|
|
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
t^ |
00 |
|
M |
M |
« |
c* |
w |
M |
0^
O
C>
N
M
VO
VO
lO
tn
M
VO
VO
vO
10
10
00
vO
VO
«o
o
00
00
00
00
V.
n
s
I
u
to
3 O
a
&
o
c
B£
u O
O
s o
., >
It
s
8
3 o
u A
o
CO
>.
u
CI
Q
00
H
VO
00
Ov
VO
OS I
CO N
VO «o
VO lO
VO «o
o «o
c o
c _o
Xl
-<3
3
I <3
•a
3 cd
Q
3
o
. -a
I V
a
3
3
a •3
•3
3
a o
a
a o
"O
a eg
a (« Be
o S
a
O
** i
120 THE AGRICULTURAL LABOUR SUPPLY DURING THE WAR
unchanged but in Essex a new scale of payments was fixed which was niade applicable onlj' to farms containing more than 40 acres of com. The scale of payments was as follows : For male workers, over 21 years, £6 15s. ; 20 to 21 years, £6 5s. ; 19 to 20 years, £6 ; 18 to 19 years, £5 ids. ; 17 to 18 years, £4 los. ; 16 to 17 years, £3 ids. ; 15 to 16 years, £2 15s. ; 14 to 15 years, £2 5s. ; under 14 years, £1 los. For female workers over 18 years, £4 15s. ; 17 to 18 years, £3 los. ; 16 to 17 years, £3 5s. ; 15 to 16 years, £2 15s. ; 14 to 15 years, £2 5s. ; under 14 years, £1 los. The conditions were also varied slightly, it being provided that the employer should be entitled to require the worker to work not more than 24 weekdays of not more than 11 working hours each. On these days no employment up to 11 hours was to be reckoned as overtime employment, but all employment in excess of 11 hours per day was to be paid at the ordinary overtime rate. The full bonus was to be payable if the worker was employed on harv^est work for 24 weekdays, but if he or she was employed for less than 24 days, the bonus was to be proportionately reduced.
The special overtime rates fixed for the com harvest applied also to the hay harvest in the following areas : Anglesey and Carnarvon ; Cornwall ; Cumberland, Westmoreland and the Fumess District of Lan- cashire ; Denbigh and Flint ; Devonshire ; Derbyshire ; Gloucestershire ; Herefordshire ; Merioneth and Montgomery; Somerset ; Surrey ; Wiltshire ; Yorkshire.
§ II. The ABOLITION OF THE AGRICULTURAL WAGES BOARD.
By an Act which received the Royal Assent on 19 August 192 1 (i), the Com Production Acts were repealed and the Agricultural Wages Board and District Wages Committees were thus abolished. A new system of fixing minimum wages was, however, introduced. It was proposed to set up local Joint Conciliation Committees representing the employers and workmen, and the Minister of Agriculture was empow- ered to take such steps as he thought best calculated to secure the voluntary formation and continuance of such committees. It was provided that for two years from the passing of the Act, or until a Joint Conciliation Committee was formed, the representatives of the em- ployers and of the workers on any District Wages Committee should act as a Joint Conciliation Committee for any part of the area for which such a Committee did not exist.
When a Joint Conciliation Committee has agreed upon a rate of wages for any class of workers in the district (or any part of the district) for which it has been formed, it can submit the agreement to the Min- ister of Agriculture, who can confirm it and advertize it. If a rate of wages has been so agreed, confirmed and advertized, it becomes an implied
(i) The Com Production Acts (Repeal) Act, 1921.
MINIMUM WAGES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOUR 121
term of every contract for the employment of a workman of any class to which the agreement applies that the employer shall pay the work- man wages at not less than the rate agreed upon.
The representatives of the employers and workmen on a Joint Con- ciliation Committee have, respectively, one collective vote on any ques- tion, and the chairman is not to have the power to vote, except on any particular matter in respect of which the Committee agrees that he shall have such power. Generally speaking, therefore, no resolution will be regarded as carried unless it has been approved by a majority both of the employers' representatives and of the workers' representatives.
r
i
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
Form L9 — 15ni-10,'48(B1039)444
UNlViJ-KMiy of CAUFORNIA
AT
LOS ANGELES
LIBRARY
1534 M76m
A A 000 208 474