Striking busmen 'out on a limb'
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• The 1,400 busmen employed by Newcastle Upon Tyne Corporation decided on Friday to continue their unofficial strike over the Government's refusal to allow an immediate wage rise of £1 a week.
The men had been told that Newcastle Corporation were prepared to pay the rise back-dated to last November, as from July 26, and also to improve overtime rates, but a union official stated after a meeting of the strikers that the employees had a feeling that the Government would again interfere and postpone this offer. Mr. A. Thompson, national bus officer with the Transport and General Workers' Union, suggested that legally there was nothing to stop Newcastle Corporation paying the increase immediately, but Councillor N. Trotter, Transport Committee chairman, said they could not do this as they had been told by their legal advisers that they would be breaking the law.
Mr. Thompson, referring to an impending national delegate meeting of busmen, said that so far as he could judge, they were not in a mood for a national strike, and Newcastle and Liverpool busmen were out on a limb.
Employees of the Tynemouth and District Transport Co., have maintained their strike in support of Newcastle men.
TRTA national council
H. Whitaker, C. J. Saunders and R. Lea have been elected as East Midland representatives on the TRTA national council. Other divisonal representatives elected, London and Home counties: L. A. Castleton, W. E. Messenger, D. H. F. Joyce, G. F. Page, N. S. Hunter, R. V. Pohlman, F. R. L. Wentworth: Northem: F. Keir, P. Kemp: North Western, Merseyside anc North Wales: H. Lowe, F. Charles, F. Potts, S. R. Ashton; Scottish: J. P. Grierson, W. T. Fairbairn, R. G. Torrance, J. W. Phillips; South Western and South Wales: J. R. Elliott, Maj. J. W. E. Godfrey, S. A. Ellingford, J. Graves; West Midland: J. Harrison, J. Martin, G. A. Morgan, G. C. W. Nabb: Yorkshire: A. Utley, H. W. Stark, G. L. Hutchinson, N. Mower. J. Delicate, as immediate past-president, K. C. Turner and S. C. Bond. as past-presidents, are also eligible to sit on the national council.