The Working Party Report published in 1948 became a key reference point in post-war discussions of the jute industry, and the need for its ‘modernization’. The establishment of this Working Party was one important sign of a major new national emphasis on industrial efficiency which began during the war and was strongly pursued by the Attlee government after 1945. In many respects this shift was a straightforward consequence of wartime Britain moving from a labour surplus economy, suffering mass unemployment, to one in which labour was in short supply, and therefore had to be used more efficiently. While the emphasis on efficiency led to national initiatives on everything from Research and Development to investment to training, at the centre of much of the argument was labour; ‘higher labour productivity’ became a key aim, and in many analyst's and policy-maker's views this was to be achieved by direct action on labour usage and labour effort.

Working parties were set up by the Labour government for a range of industries with a similar remit, which in the case of jute was to: