4. Trade Union Sacrifices
"During the past twelve months economic and social conditions in this country have become increasingly serious. The working people have been called upon to make enormous sacrifices during the period of depressed trade, and have been unable to withstand all the encroachments of the employers upon Trade Union standards of wages and working conditions. The extent of working-class sacrifice since the economic slump began at the end of 1920 is not, I believe, generally realised by the country at large. Wage cuts totalling in the aggregate many hundreds of millions of purchasing power have been imposed upon the workers. In addition the Trade Unions have borne a dead-weight burden in the form of abnormal unemployment, which has depleted their financial reserves, and with a falling membership the yearly income of the unions has been substantially reduced. It is a wonderful tribute to the strength and solidarity of the Industrial Movement that it has sustained these burdens so well. Nothing but wisdom and prudence in the leaders and loyalty and devotion in the rank and file could enable the Trade Union Movement to come through a period of such unparalleled crisis with its essential unity unimpaired, its organisation fundamentally sound, and its future uncompromised. Fellow delegates, I make bold to say that the organised workers we represent have given in the last four years an impressive demonstration to the whole world of their unity of purpose, their capacity to make sacrifices for the cause in which they believe, and of their determination to maintain the industrial organisation they have built up. We are proud of our movement, and I believe we are entitled to take pride in its achievements, not the least remarkable of which has been its ability to weather the storm of the last few years and to confront with unbroken spirit and resolute will the powerfully organised forces of capitalism. Let the employers who think the organised working class can be driven still further back take warning from this, This movement of ours has learned many lessons during these years of reaction engineered by the employers, and one of the lessons is that a militant and progressive policy, consistently and steadily pursued, is the only policy that will unify, consolidate, and inspire our rank and file. When economic conditions forced the unions to assume a defensive attitude, the employers did not hesitate to take advantage of their stronger position, and they are still plotting and planning to undermine Trade Union standards. But there is a limit to the concessions the unions can be forced to make. That limit has been reached. Union policy henceforth will be to recover lost ground, to re-establish and improve our standards of wages, hours, and working conditions, and to co-ordinate and intensify Trade Union action for the winning of a larger measure of control in industry for the workers. And this policy renders necessary a greater degree of Trade Union unity.