A Picture of a Southern Town- Life in Wartime Reading, Berkshire, England, UK, 1945 D25240

The Ministry of Labour was a British government department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It later morphed into the

Department of Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions ...

.Jon Davis "Employment, Department of (1970–95)" in John Ramsden (ed) ''The Oxford Companion to British Politics'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.222 Most of its functions are now performed by the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

History

After the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916 the Ministry of Labour took over

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

responsibilities for conciliation, labour exchanges, labour and industrial relations and employment related statistics. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it supervised the

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

and resettlement of ex- British Expeditionary Force servicemen. In the 1920s it took over all

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

work relating to youth employment and responsibility for training and employment of the disabled from the

Ministry of Pensions Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. It also supervised trade union regulations. Under the Trade Boards Act 1918 the Ministry enforced the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, helped establish joint industrial councils, and set up the Industrial Court in 1919 for

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

of industrial disputes. It proposed multiple Unemployment Insurance Acts amendments, administered benefits through employment exchanges, employed the unemployed through special works schemes (through the Unemployment Grants Committee), and represented the UK at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

from 1919). From 1939, the department was renamed the

Ministry of Labour and National Service Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, reflecting new duties under the

National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 The National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 3 September 1939, the day the United Kingdom declared war on Germany at the start of the Second World War. It superseded the Military Training Act ...

. It allocated people to work between the armed forces, civil defence and industry, and to administer the Schedule of Reserved Occupations. The National Joint Advisory Council, comprising employers' and workers' representatives, was consulted. From 1941, one Deputy Secretary for the Ministry controlled peacetime work, and another coordinated work on manpower statistics, intelligence, armed forces recruitment, civilian war work and training and labour supply. The ministry vastly expanded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, particularly after Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

appointed Labour Party trade unionist

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–19 ...

as Minister of Labour in his war coalition in 1940. The Ministry was responsible for solving labor shortages caused by the war and maintaining high production outputs. The

Defence Regulations During the Second World War Defence Regulations were a fundamental aspect of everyday life in the United Kingdom. They were emergency regulations passed on the outbreak of war and during it to give the government emergency powers to prosecute the ...

gave the organ significant powers over the direction of labor and mandatory

industrial arbitration Industrial arbitration is a type of arbitration to prevent or settle labor disputes that may arise between an industrial employer and a union, union member, or union representative to prevent legal action taking place and finding less costly ways t ...

, although Bevin enforced them sparingly and favored conciliation through a national Joint Consultative Committee with equal representation from both

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and employers. Under Bevin the ministry also encouraged increased unionization, although strikes were discouraged during the war and news of ones that did occur were

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. In April 1945, functions relating to unemployment insurance and assistance were transferred to the

Ministry of National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

, but the Ministry of Labour retained responsibility for employment exchanges. In June 1945, the Board of Trade was handed responsibility for industrial policy, except that concerning labour power. At the end of the War, the National Service Department wing was wound up and its functions passed to the Military Recruitment Department. In 1947 the ministry introduced the

Control of Engagement Order, 1947 The Control of Engagement Order, 1947 (S.R. & O., 1947, No. 2021) was an order issued by the Ministry of Labour which disallowed people to leave various industries (notably coal mining) and required all those seeking work to find employment throug ...

, which limited the rights of workers to leave various industries, and gave

labour exchange An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

s the right to direct the unemployed to specific jobs. In 1959 the department became the Ministry of Labour once more. It was renamed the Department of Employment and Productivity in 1968, and became the Department for Employment in 1970.

Ministers

See

Secretary of State for Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions w ...

References

External links

Catalogue of the Ministry of Labour Staff Association archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

{{Authority control

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Ministries established in 1916 1916 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Ministers

See also

References

External links