Page 215 - Neutrons for Sciences and Society

to make measurements. J.W.: - And the French?
B.J.: - We believe it is necessary to do the calculations, but we rarely do it.
John White who reminded me of this dialogue concluded that research needs to be multinational as at the ILL. I completely agree with this conclusion.
The British were not used to the management of the ILL. Apparently there are no works committees in the UK as are foreseen by the law in Germany (Betriebsrat) and in France (Comité d’entreprise). In the case of the ILL it was taken very seriously. From 1973 the principal of staff representation on the Steering Committee had been discussed, and finally accepted
in December the same year. This was applied from the meeting
in May 1974. At the time of the reconstruction of the reactor
and the consequent reductions in staff the presence of the staff representatives enabled a consensual decision to be made. This has always amazed the British partners. In Great Britain the unions have many members, but they do not play a large or other role in the life of a company. This was the cause of misunderstandings. The unilateral decision to reduce the financial contribution did
not help. There remained the notion of unreliability of British institutions. None of this affected the relations between colleagues in the Institut; these always remained good regardless of political storms. Many publications have been co-authored by contributors from the three founding countries, and others.
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Conclusion - An appraisal