Those noble slogans (1949)

From the August 1949 issue of the Socialist Standard

For four solid years the British working-class has been urged, entreated, and cajoled to work harder and produce more. Hardly a day has passed without an appeal or exhortation from someone or another for increased output, until one would have thought that the very weight of words would have proved too much even for workers, and they would have thrown up the sponge in sheer weariness and disgust. The fact remains that they did not do this—rather did they put their noses to the grindstone and increase production to record heights

With what result? With one result at any rate—that the production programme of Messrs. Marshall, Sons and Co. Ltd., one of the largest groups of agricultural engineers in the country, is now being halved and more than 400 men have been dismissed. The statement made by the firm about the dismissals sums up the economics of capitalism so well that it is worth quoting in full. This is what it says:

“There is no sense in making machines that cannot be sold. Something has to be done and the first thing is to cut the programme for the time being in half and thereby at least halve our worries, liabilities, and costs.

“The cut leaves us with a number of people for whom there is no employment, and it is just not possible, at a time when costs must be cut to an absolute minimum, for those people to be given alternative employment unless that employment is going to contribute to the general economy. The first step, obviously, is to cut down on non­-productive labour, the next step is to cut down on certain productive elements. Length of service, age, past record (absenteeism, lateness, general behaviour, and performance) all have to be taken into account.

“Most of us are working hard and working properly, but there are those who are not, and we can’t afford it any longer. The war is over and the post-war boom is finished, money is tight and getting tighter. We’ve got to earn our living now and we can’t afford passengers.” (Manchester Guardian, 5/7/49.)

We wonder how those noble slogans “Work or Want” and “More from each is more for all” are sounding in the ears of those who got the sack, and in the ears of the rest of the firm’s workers who are wondering whether it will be their turn next.

Stan Hampson