Britain’s leaving certificates capped wages by blocking worker mobility.

Evidence

On the other hand, limits were also imposed on the mobility of labor. In Britain, section 7 of the Ministry of Munitions Act prevented workers from transferring freely from one job to another by requiring workmen to obtain a leaving certifi cate before engaging in alternative employment. Th is harsh provision had a twofold motive. First, the depletion of the reserve army of labor gave workers enhanced bargaining power, which forced employers to bid up wages in order to attract available labor, especially skilled labor. By imposing a political limit on such mobility, the government could ensure a cap on wages. Second, these certifi cates also prevented the constant turnover of labor, which hampered the production process. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 176

Categorization

• XREF: A concrete interwar instance of state power used to cap wages—relevant to the reader’s austerity-as-class-weapon framework comparing Britain and Italy. — connects to: Labor shortage forced Britain to abandon free-market wage distribution — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 153; Workers’ revolt repealed Britain’s one-sided leaving certificate system. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 177; Gulf employers routinely withhold migrant wages to manage liquidity or defraud workers — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims: Race and Labor in…, 710 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Wartime labor-mobility restrictions functioned as wage caps against workers’ enhanced bargaining power. #corroborates (0.95) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 176
• Workers’ revolt repealed Britain’s one-sided leaving certificate system. #corroborates (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 177
• Labor shortage forced Britain to abandon free-market wage distribution #expands (0.78) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 153
• Gulf employers routinely withhold migrant wages to manage liquidity or defraud workers #exemplifies (0.75) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 710