NEW CLAIM BY COMPANY BUSMEN?
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• or a National Bus Wages Plan?
From our Industrial Correspondent
ONLY a fortnight after receiving a 15s. a week pay rise, representatives of 110,000 provincial busmen in company undertakings decided to ask for more. Although the delegate conference of the men, held in London last week, had no power to formulate a new claim they expressed their view that the trade union side of the National Council for the Omnibus Industry "should be having regard to the submission of a wages claim in the immediate future".
The reason for the move is not far to seek. It is the London Transport settlement, just agreed, which gives London busmen between l8s. and El a week more. One of the main arguments of the company busmen, both in the direct negotiations with the employers and again before the committee of inquiry which awarded the 15s. pay rise, was that the differential between the London busmen and themselves had grown too big and that the rates between them should be linked. The new London rates will leave them more behind than ever. Having only just completed their last set of negotiations. union leaders are unlikely to take any immediate notice of their members demand. A more likely next step is a conference of busmen representing London, municipal and company men to try to work out a national wages policy for the bus industry. But if previous attempts are anything to go by, there is little hope of preventing leap-frogging claims in the future.
Last week's delegate conference accepted the committee of inquiry's report which formed the basis of the agreement reached by the National Council. But there was considerable criticism of the Chairman of the inquiry, Sir Roy Wilson, QC, because he did not see fit to recommend in the report retrospective payment in view of the time which had elapsed between the submission of the pay claim on Septernbet 9 last year and publication of the report last month.
On the other two major points which the committee left to the two sides to work out between them—the introduction of a 40-hour week by the beginning of next April and the introduction of a sick pay scheme-7-the delegates instructed their leader to ask for immediate meetings with the employers with a view to a full implementation of the two items.
Tyneside Co-ordination: The Tyneside Joint Public Transport COmmittee is to have discussions with the railway authorities and bus companies' on the possibility of co-ordinating road and rail services on Tyneside. It is thought that co-ordination would give a better service to the travelling public and prevent rail closures which might otherwke take place.