LONDON PAY SETTLEMENT MEANS ANOTHER FARES RISE
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From our Industrial Correspondent gURPRISE, surprise l In what must be Is-) the shortest set of negotiations in recent years the London busmen's pay claim has been settled. Exactly a week after receiving the London Transport Board's offer a delegate conference of the 32.000 drivers and conductors overwhelmingly voted to accept it. There were only .four hands raised against the proposals and one abstention out of a total of just over a hundred delegates. Mr. Alan Thomson. national passenger group officer of the TGWU, silenced what opposition there was by , pointing out that with this agreement a Central London bits driver's average earnings. excluding overtime, will have been raised by £4 14s. a week--a rise of around 40 per cent—since March. 1963. He further revealed that there would be another meeting with London Transport on June 21 to discuss four further issues not covered in the agreement. These concern differentials in pay between drivers and conductors—the union wants these to be narrowed—higher pay and shorter hours over the Christmas period, higher overtime rates and a better sick pay scheme. The new pay scales, which will give increases ranging from 18s. to 11 a week, will come into force on June 23. They will cost London Transport £2,000.000 in a full year and will force the Board to impose the 13th fares rise in 11 years, No decision on the timing or the way in which the extra money is to be raised has yet been taken, but another swingeing increase in fares is in store for the travelling public. With relations between the Board and their busmen probably better now than they have been for a number of years, another step is to be taken to improve them This is the setting up of a joint management-union consultative committee for the Board's road services. This is to be a top-level body, consisting of top officials of the unions, including the general -secretary, and members of the Board arid probably meeting under its chairman. Announcing his executive' acceptance oco the proposal, Mr. Harry Nicholas, acting general secretary of the union, stressed that the new body would not in any way interfere with normal negotiations, but would exchange ideas on the general operation of London's bus services.