at agriculture, in hospitals or in the work of securing food sup- plies for the nation. In order to settle disputes arising from this compulsory labour as, for instance, whether an industry fell under the head of war-work, whether the worker was capable of complying with the regulations, or whether he might change his place of work conciliation boards were established, composed half of employers and half of employees, under official guidance. They had the right of giving arbitral decisions. With the object also of cultivating good relations between employers, workers and salaried employees, workers' boards were compulsorily estab- lished in the various industries. The execution of the law rested with the Minister of War, with whom a committee of the Reichs- tag was associated for this purpose. The last act of social legis- lation during the war was the establishment of a Ministry of Labour for the Empire, with a leading trade unionist as Minister (Oct. 4 1918). This dealt with matters of social policy which had previously appertained to the Department of the Secretary of State for the Interior, or the Department of National Economy.
III. After the Revolution. After the Armistice supreme author- ity passed into the hands of the Commissaries of the People. One of their first edicts (Nov. 12 1918) contained important acts of industrial legislation; the right of forming associations and hold- ing meetings was freed from all restriction; the law concerning war-work was suspended, except that the conciliation boards remained; the regulations concerning domestic servants were repealed, as were also the special laws which bore hardly upon agricultural labourers. The provisions for the protection of workers, which had been suspended at the outbreak of the war, were again put into force. Apart from these ordinances, which had the effect of laws, it was announced that the 8-hour day for workers would come into force by Jan. i 1919, at the latest.
On Nov. 18 1918, the Commissaries of the People, by official decree, gave the status of law to an agreement which had been concluded by the great employers' unions and the trade unions. This agreement covered the following points: Recognition of the trade unions as the elected representatives of the workers; free right of association; no support to " yellow " unions; reemploy- ment of ex-service workers; supply of raw materials and placing of orders; equal distribution of work; regulation of terms of labour by collective agreements (wages contracts) ; establishment of workers' boards, conciliation boards and boards of arbitration; introduction of an 8-hour day; and the establishment of a central committee to carry out these measures.
On this basis the ordinance for the regulation of hours of work for industrial workers (Nov. 23 1918) was framed, which fixed the length of the working day in all industrial concerns. The same was done for the transport services by the ordinances for railways and the post (Nov. 24 1918), and for salaried employees (March 18 1919), as well as for bakeries (Nov. 23 1918), in the case of which night-work between the hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. was forbidden. Finally a provisional ordinance of Jan. 24 1919 fixed the hours of work for agricultural labourers at 8, 10 and n hours during 3 periods of 4 months respectively, overtime being per- missible. In April 1919 the miners in the Ruhr district were granted a 7-hour day, including the time spent in descent and ascent. The hours of Sunday rest in commercial establishments, shops and offices were extended (Feb. 5 1919). All these regu- lations, as was expressly stated, were only intended as provisional measures, especially for the period of demobilization.
Demobilization in its social, political and economic aspects, and the regulation of the labour market, demanded a special organization, in view of the vastness of the task of finding work for the millions who were returning from 'the fronts, and the change from the economics of war to those of peace-time. As early as Nov. 12 1918 a Government office for demobilization was established. Among its numerous ordinances and measures the following were of particular importance for the legal rights of labour: Regulation for the engagement and dismissal of work- ers and salaried employees (Feb. 12 1920) ; for making places free for workers (April 25 1920); for remedying the scarcity of labour in agriculture (March 16 1919); for the enforced employment of seriously injured ex-service men (April 4 1920); for the stricter
regulation of distribution of work (Dec. 9 1918); for the carrying- out of measures of relief for the unemployed, partly by means of monetary support, partly by finding work through the collective efforts of the Reich, the state and the commune. The Government office for demobilization was abolished on April 26 1919. Its duties were taken up by the respective ministries of the Reich; and the demobilization commissioners and committees were, for the most part, abolished in April 1921.
The legal position of labour underwent an important develop- ment in three directions during the period of transition, by means of the ordinance of Dec. 23 1919, which was subsequently en- dowed with the force of law. The wages contract was declared to be universally binding. All concerns with 50 or more employees must institute workers' committees for the safeguarding of workers' rights. The war-time conciliation boards were regular- ized and firmly established. The committees for the different occupations, which had been contemplated in the Home Employ- ments Law of 1911, but had not yet been put in force, were called into being on Jan. 13 1919 and given extended powers. In the beginning of May 1919 an expert committee was formed in the Ministry of Labour in order to frame a uniform system of labour law. The decisive turn in labour legislation, however, was taken by the Factory Councils Law (Betriebsrategeselz) of Feb. 4 1920, which entrusted the representatives of the employees, who now replaced the former workers' committees, with the task of up- holding the common economic interests of workers and salaried employees in their relations with the employers. This law is described fully in the separate section below.
IV. International Labour Laws. Germany, which for 30 years had striven both officially and by the efforts of independent organizations after an international coordination of legislation in the matters of social policy, declared in the constitution of the Reich of Aug. n 1919:
" The Reich advocates a regulation by agreement between differ- ent states of the legal position of workers, so as to win, for working classes of mankind, a universal minimum of social rights."
Without being a member of the League of Nations, Germany was admitted to the International Labour Organization by decis- ion of the General Conference of Washington (Oct. 31 1919) ; she had two seats in the Administrative Council of the International Labour Office, and took part in the annual conferences.
The main principles for the development of German labour legislation are laid down in the constitution of the Reich. The economic life of the nation must be ordered in accordance with social justice and must aim at securing for all an existence worthy of human beings. Within these limits the economic liberty of the individual is to be assured (Art. 151). Labour is under the special protection of the State; the Reich will frame a uniform body of labour laws (Art. 157). The right of association for the purpose of guarding and improving the economic and industrial conditions of work is guaranteed to everyone and to all occupations. All agreements and measures which aim at re- stricting or diminishing these liberties are illegal (Art. 159). For the maintenance of health and ability to work, for the pro- tection of motherhood and for securing provision for the eco- nomic consequences of old age, ill- health and the accidents of life, the Reich has created a comprehensive system of insurance, in which the insured persons play a decisive part (Art. 161). Without any infringement of his personal liberty, it is the moral duty of every German to employ his intellectual and physical powers in such a manner as is demanded by the wel- fare of the whole community. Every German shall be given the opportunity of earning his living by economically produc- tive work (Art. 163). Workers and salaried employees have the right to cooperate on equal terms with the employers in regu- lating the conditions of wages and work, as well as in the entire economic development of the means of production. The organizations of both parties and the agreements effected by them are recognized (Art. 161, i).
Besides the industrial councils, an Economic Council of the Reich was established in June 1920 as an advisory body; regional economic councils were in preparation in 1921, and a thorough-
