THE LOCOMOTIVE JOURNAL.
FEBRUARY 1911
page 55
RAILWAYS (EIGHT HOURS) BILL.
FELLOW MEMBERS,
We feel that the Eight Hours Bill, as submitted to the House of Commons, by Mr. W.
Hudson, M.P., is so far-reaching and damaging in its effects on locomotivemen as a
whole, that we print here, for your perusal, the Bill as it is, and give you the amendments
drawn up by your General Secretary, by which you will see the difference between them;
but even now it is not possible, in an Act of Parliament, to state how much per day you
are to have. We cannot understand how the parties responsible ever took upon
themselves to introduce such a measure, without first consulting the members of the
whole of the railway unions. To introduce such a Bill at all without first having a
mandate to do so, is folly, and to introduce it in its present form is to wipe away at one
sweep all the improvements that have been won in a lifetime. Those who are careless
enough to say that the trade unions must fight all their battles over again in order to
reclaim what this Bill sweeps away, certainly have not given any consideration to the
Bill, or the effects it is likely to produce. If the arguments that are used, that the unions
must fight for the pay, then why interfere in Parliament at all ? Why not the unions
arrange the hours as well as the money? We have to regret the waste of energy and
funds caused by the mismanagement, on different occasions, by those who should be
improving the matters which concern rail way men. Conciliation scheme is bad enough,
for Heaven knows the poor railwaymen have got the worst of it, inasmuch as they have
got retaliation and not redress, and now the originators »of the previous patent are
again anxious. Our whole energies are required to save the locomotive-men from the
indiscretion of their so-called friends; prevention is always better than cure, and we
record here our warning so that it may not afterwards be said that we did not warn the
men. We are in favour of an eight hours day ; it is in our National Programme. We
welcome the shortening of hours wherever possible, but we want workable conditions for
our men; we want a living wage — we must have it ; we want some home comforts for
our men—and we must have them. We cannot have regular hours like other classes of
men, but we can better improve our hours by arrangement than by any cast-iron law. We
draw attention to Section 2 of the Bill. Imagine men working trains—signing off and on
—but "where? Surely no railwayman drew up that clause. Compare it with our
amendment. The sooner the locomotive-men wake up the better. It is only fair to give our
members credit for the resolutions sent to the Executive Council, calling upon them to
either amend or oppose the Bill, but we have preferred to give those in charge an
opportunity of accepting our amendments to the Bill, and we have already submitted
those amendments for consideration to the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades
Union Congress.
[COPY.]
RAILWAYS (EIGHT HOURS) BILL.
To provide for the establishment of a Working Day of Eight Hours for certain grades
employed on Railways.
Presented by Mr. Hudson, supported by Mr. Wardle, Mr. James Thomas, Mr. John Taylor, Mr. Nannetti,
Mr. George Roberts, Mr. Joyce, Mr. William Thorne, Mr. Pointer,
Mr. Ramsay Macdonald, and Mr. Alden.
MEMORANDUM.
The object of this Bill is to make provision for an Eight Hours Day for railway engine-
drivers, firemen, electric motormen, guards and brakesmen, shunters, pointsmen, signalmen,
examiners and greasers, platelayers, and goods workers.
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent
of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :—Limit of period of
employment.
1.—(i) A person shall not during any period of twenty-four consecutive hours, be employed at or allowed to be, for the purpose of employment, on any railway or siding for a greater length of time than eight hours, in the following occupations, namely :— Engine-drivers, firemen, guards, brakesmen, electric motormen, shunters, pointsmen, examiners and greasers, signalmen, platelayers, and goods workers.
(2) For the purpose of this section employment shall be deemed to begin at the time of
signing on duty and to end at the time of signing off duty.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any employment which becomes necessary by reason of any accident causing the entire or partial stoppage of the working of any such railway or siding, or during exceptional climatic conditions due to fog and snowstorms, in which cases it shall be obligatory upon such railway company to report to the Board of Trade every such instance, setting forth the actual hours of duty and the causes to which such exceptions are due.
(4) In no case shall men who have been on duty under exceptional circumstances be
called upon to resume duty until they have been nine consecutive hours off duty.
(5) The Board of Trade shall have power to enforce a fine of twenty pounds for a first
offence against any railway company which fails to comply with the provisions of sub-
section
(1) of this section, and for every subsequent offence fifty pounds.
Report on working of Act.
2.—A report of the working of of this Act shall be made yearly and laid before both Houses of Parliament.
Short title, construction and commencement of the Act.
3.—This Act may be cited as the Railways (Eight Hours) Act, 1910, and shall be read In conjunction with the Railway of January one thousand nine hundred and eleven.
[DRAFT.]
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO
EIGHT HOURS BILL.
A. FOX, General Secretary,
Associated Society of Locomotive
Engineers and Firemen,
8, Park Square, Leeds.
RAILWAYS (EIGHT HOURS) BILL
To provide for the establishment of a Working Day of Eight Hours for certain grades
employed on Railways.