New deal call by Law
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A 14-POINT wage claim, including a 20 per cent pay rise, has been put forward by Transport and General Works Union representatives in the West Midlands.
The claim calls for the consolidation of all pay increments made under phases one and two of the pay policy and a guaranteed 40-hour week with double time for all weekend overtime after noon on Saturday.
TGWU officials, led by Alan Law, are also asking for four weeks' holiday after 12 months' service and May Day as a holiday plus holiday pay based on average earnings.
£1 -a-day
Subsistence would go up to £7 from £5.50 with an extra 50p for working in London — or in seaside resorts during the holiday season — plus a daily £1 non-taxable meal allowance.
Among other demands are new sick pay and insurance arrangements and a TGWU closed shop in companies that sign the proposed agreement. Mr Law also wants union contributions deducted at source.
The new claim flies in the face of the Government's counter-inflation policy under which Chancellor Denis Healey appealed for claims of less than ten per cent.
But Mr Law has allowed one concession to the policy: he is prepared to let the new agreement stand for 12 months to abide by the I2-month rule which Mr Healey appealed to the unions to do.