THE First World War did much to develop the pre-war system of collective bargaining. Hitherto employers’ organisations had played a major role in developing the system, but the initiative now passed to the state [20:127]. In 1915 the government introduced compulsory arbitration as a means of resolving disputes during wartime. We have seen how the weaker unions had long believed that such a system would work to their advantage, and so it now proved. Their ability to achieve results, and therefore attract members, was greatly enhanced. The arbitration system, and government control of certain industries, also encouraged the development of industry-wide pay settlements. National settlements for the railway industry began in 1915, coal followed in 1916, and engineering in 1917. ‘By the end of the war the practice of industry-wide pay adjustments had spread to other munitions industries, most sections of transport, and a number of other manufacturing and service industries’ [20: 204].