PLENARY SESSION OF TRIPARTITE LABOUR CONFERENCE 193
taken by Government in selecting items for the Agenda. Under the revised procedure Government will be ready to receive suggestions for the Agenda whenever Government, and Employers and Workers Associations may desire to send them in. In case they fail, Government will invite suggestions from delegates at each meeting.
“The other change which Government are prepared to make is that while the final decision will be that of the Government, all suggestions received for the framing of the Agenda will be placed for discussion at each meeting. This will give Government the opportunity to consult the wishes of the members and the members will have the opportunity to express their preference. I am sure you will agree that this is a great improvement on the present position.
“On the question of the composition of the Conference I admit that there is much force in the suggestions which have been made. If the two employers’ organisations are fully representative, as they claim to be, obviously there is no justification for nominating employers. In the same way, it is necessary to see that the working classes should have not only their problems of employment and welfare considered but that they should be trained to do their things for themselves. This can be done by allowing working men and working women to participate in all Labour Conferences. You must have been aware of the fact that recently when the Coalmines Welfare Committee was organised Government took the step of appointing one working man and one working woman in the coalmines to represent the working classes on the Committee.
Constitution : Some Suggestions
“Government are therefore not averse to making appropriate changes in the composition of the Conference. At the same time, Government feel that matters relating to changes in the composition of the Conference are not very urgent and we could well afford to postpone their consideration for a while. As I said in the course of the first Tripartite Conference, we must not keep on pulling out the plant every now and then to see whether it has taken any roots. This is a way to kill the plant.
“I will now turn to the weaknesses in the constitution of the Conference. This is a weakness which Government admit is a serious