Changes in industry

 

It was clear that privately owned firms were failing to meet the huge needs of Britain at war. Six million sandbags, for example, were needed every month. Industry would have to be told by the government what to produce and how much to charge. Heavy taxation would be used to make sure profits were not too high. This would help to make sure that the trade unions cooperated with the government. Workers would resent making sacrifices if they felt that the owners were making huge profits from the war.

 

The co-operation of the trades unions would not be easy to achieve. In 1913, the year before the war, 13 million days had been lost in strikes. (This statistic could mean that 13 million workers went on strike for one day or, for example, that 100,000 workers struck for 130 days.) It meant that relations between employers and their employees in 1913 had been very bitter. 1914 had looked as though it would be an even more difficult year for industrial relations with 10 million days lost before August. But the outbreak of war changed the scene dramatically. In 1915 there were just 3 million days lost in strikes.

 

Neil Demarco: Britain and the Great War; Oxford University Press, 1992/2000, page 35