Passenger Transport
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Company Busmen Get 88. 9d.
FROM OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT
PAY increases for 100,000 company busmen were agreed when the National Council for the Omnibus Industry met in London last week. As forecast in last week's The Commercial Motor the sum was 8s. 9d. a week—the same as recently awarded to 70,000 municipal busmen.
The Council recommended to all companies in membership to pay the increased rates from the first full pay period after May 9, which meant that it came into force at once. The rise goes to drivers, conductors and maintenance grades and represents an increase of about 41 per cent. The new agreement still had to be ,endorsed at a delegate conference of men from the six unions involved, which was due to meet in London this week. Endorsement was, however, considered only a formality. Now that the last of the current series of busmen's claims is out of the way the industry is beginning to tot up the cost. The Midland Red company reckons that the new agreement will add more than £270,000 to its annual wages bill.
A spokesman for the company said last week that though the board had not yet had time to consider the higher costs, it was likely that it would have to seek permission to raise its fares. Maidstone and District Motor Services Ltd. announced on Friday that it is applying for higher fares to meet the cost of the pay award, and other companies are likely to follow suit.
The increases bring a driver's basic rate of pay to £10 17s. 3d., and that of a conductor to i10 13s. 3d. A skilled maintenance man will now get a basic .weekly wage of 112 7s. I Id. and a labourer 10 9s.