NEWS of the WEEK
Page 30
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The wheels of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport, at whatever points arising, on a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs. '—John Beattie Crozier.
North-West Wages Settled
WAGES for the bulk of Lancashire VV and Cheshire were settled at a meeting in Manchester, last Thursday, and the possibility of a strike of roadtransport workers taking place last
Monday was averted. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. H. Howard Robinson (for the employers) and Mr. H. Ashcroft (for the employees) issued the following statement :—
" This meeting agrees to accept the decision of the National Joint Conciliation Board and agrees that the NorthWestern Area Board should proceed with the gra,ding of the districts within the area (other than Merseyside and Manchester, as defined in the appeals committee's decision), provided that additions to the clauses in the interim agreement are included in the final agreement of the area board."
This means that, as awarded by the appeals committee, Grade 1 wages will be paid in Manchester, Merseyside, Salford, and the Trafford Park Docks area, and the " higher-rating " clause will be operated. Agreed wages were already being paid in Liverpool, and a fortnight ago Manchester Area C.M.U.A. accepted the award.
At the meeting last Thursday, the Lancashire and Cheshire Group of Road Transport Employers also agreed to accept these conditions. The constituent associations of the group, in the majority of cases, operate in lowergraded districts (mostly in the interim Grade 2), and, with their acceptance of the position, including the "higher rating clause," settlement over a wide area is effected. , The matter is one on which the Area Joint Conciliation Board has held many meetings, but has failed to reach agreement. The present position follows the unions' policy of making sectional settlements with employers' associations. Ratification by the district organizations is now necessary, and a further joint meeting was called for yesterday (Wednesday). Amongst the interim-agreement clauses to be included in the final agreement of the Area Board are those relating to the principles to be observed in connection with casual labour, and to an option whereby an employer may pay is. per day extra for men running into higher-rated areas, instead of needing to calculate on a time basis the extra amount payable in respect of every individual journey.