Miners’ 1919 control scheme gave workers half the governing council seats

Evidence

Each report gave a diff erent view of the managerial weight of the workers in the production process. Sankey’s scheme put the minister of mines (responsible to Parliament) in supreme control, with the obligation to consult the National Mining Council on “all questions connected with the operation and management of industry.” On the other hand, the miners’ scheme understood the National Mining Council itself— the minister of mines being a member— as the supreme authority. In this scheme, half of the Mining Council was composed of members elected in Parliament (including technicians, experts, and managerial workers), and the other half was elected by the workers. Th e Council would engage in all activities of production, distribution, and export of coal (Miners Bill, reprinted in Arnot 1919, 37– 47). — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1669

Categorization

• XREF: Shows the concrete depth of workers’ control proposals that austerity later foreclosed, building the reader’s foundational picture of viable alternatives. — connects to: Works councils failed to dominate as workers’ representatives by the late 1950s — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2072