Company Busmen Reject Pay Offer
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FROM OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT
•EMPLOYERS this week offered 100,000 company busmen a pay rise of 6s. a week in reply to their claim for a "substantial" increase. But their claim for a 40-hour week was turned down.
The offer was made to leaders of Six unions at a meeting of the National Council for the Omnibus Industry in London on Monday. It was rejected as " quite inadequate" by the unions---who had hoped for something like 6 per cent, say 10s. to 12s. a week—and the matter was referred to a special sub-committee for further examination. They will report back to the full council later.
The employers' offer must be seen in the context of the other bus talks. The municipal employers had offered their men 7s. per week. Since the unions• insisted on an offer on which they could negotiate and not a final take-it-or-leaveit the company employers had to leave themselves room for mameuvre without having eventually to outbid their municipal colleagues. This they did by offeripg Is. per week less. As for the municipal talks, these have been hanging fire while the London busmen's claim was still unsettled. The special wages committee which met while the London Transport ,offer was still under consideration made no progress and they are to report to the full' council
again next Thursday (April 18). But since their meeting the London men have reached agreement on a pay rise of 10s. week and further progress can now be expected in the provinces—first for the 70,000 municipal men and women and then for the company busmen.
In London meanwhile, 5,000 bus maintenance men at London Transport garages decided this week to accept an offer of 9s. 7d. per week for unit adjusters and 9s. ld. for general men. They had been given the alternative of accepting the 10s. a week offered to drivers and conductors or to be treated at workshop grades and have their increases backdated to last November to fall into line with the railway workers. As a result of accepting the second alternative and of a. complicated agreement equalizing their rates since a date in 1960, the unit adjusters will also get a lump sum of £19 in back pay and the general men about £18 10s.
Part of the agreement is that in future the maintenance men will have their own negotiating committee and will no longer take part in pay claims jointly with drivers and conductors.
New Rally Class THE organizers of the British Coach Rally have created a supplementary class in this year's event enabling chassis, body and accessory manufacturers to enter demonstration vehicles. Coaches so entered will form Class 6 and will be eligible only for the special award presented by the organizers. They will not be eligible to win any of the principal Rally awards nor will they be able to take part in the Concours d'Eleganee.