Wages and Arbitration Department WA

The files contain papers dealing with the activities of the Wages and Arbitration Department WA. Awards are filed alphabetically under 'Arbitration' (see LAB 7/286), and there are some general memoranda such as one on the present tendency of wages in 1920. A few files on awards for local authority employees are given the coding WA (M).

See also LAB 10, Industrial Relations: General, 1917-1959: LAB 10

The original copy of the settlement which ended the coal dispute of 1893 is in LAB 2/634/WA5783: LAB 2/634/WA5783/1920

Later files are in Industrial Relations Department, IR LAB 7/181-196:

An account of the formation of this department is in LAB 2/1801/E.1/1154/1919: LAB 2/1801/EI1154/1919

For a later addition from this file series see LAB 2/2188: LAB 2/2188

Earlier files are in the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Department, IC LAB 7/119-172:

Post 1945 files coded WCA, WCP, and WI, belonging to the Wages Councils were by mistake placed in this series, and have been transferred to LAB 11, Industrial Relations: Trade Boards and Wages Councils. 1910-1968:

LAB 11

The Wages and Arbitration Department was formed in November 1918, taking over the Labour Regulation Department of the Ministry of Munitions and most of the powers of the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Department which ended early in 1919. In 1920 the Wages and Arbitration Department absorbed the Joint Industrial Councils division of the Industries Department and was renamed the Industrial Relations Department.

The department was responsible for the administration of the Conciliation Act, 1896, the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act, 1912, The Wages (Temporary Regulation) Acts, 1918-1919, the Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act, 1919, and the Industrial Courts Act, 1919. It was responsible for seeing that the Fair Wages Resolution of the House of Commons, passed in March, 1909, was carried out. It dealt with the Hours of Employment Bill. The Department took note of all trade disputes and sought ways of avoiding or settling them; it enquired into causes of unrest, appointed special courts of inquiry, or referred matters in dispute to arbitration or other forms of mediation between parties to a dispute.

The department was also responsible for all questions concerned with wages and hours of employment, except wages fixed by trade boards, compilation of statistics of wages and hours, regulation of hours of women and young people under the Factory Acts which came under the Home Office. It dealt with all matters concerning trade unionism and trade union rules and practices.