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'Every offer met by a new union demand'
Page 49
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A"SUMMIT" meeting between all parties concerned with the "busmen's charter" dispute, held in London last week, achieved no solution to the present situation of overtime bans and strikes.
Mr. H. Marsh, Ministry of Labour chief conciliator, met TGWU and Federation of Municipal Passenger Transport Employers officials in another attempt to negotiate the reinstatement of the National Agreement, terminated a month ago (COMMERCIAL MOTOR, October 20).
Mr. Alan Thomson, national bus secretary of the TGWU, told CM this week: "We have no intention of meeting Mr. Harris or Mr. Hyslop again". At last week's meeting the FMPTE and the TGWU representatives never met face to face. Mr. H. Marsh acted as a go-between.
Bans on overtime and other measures would not be called off in areas that had already taken this action, said Mr. Thomson. He stressed that his team had insisted that pay talks should be related to minimum rates so there would be a freedom to negotiate better rates locally.
The employers' offer of £1 a week was totally unacceptable; the union sought a 23s a week rise to achieve a 14 basic wage. They were told the Federation had turned this down.
Misleading
Aid. Norman Harris, chairman of the employers' Federation, said that statements in the Press attributed to the TGWU were utterly misleading. They made it appear that while the unions were asking for 23s a week increase in basic pay, the employers would not move beyond 20s, thereby creating a breakdown in the talks. "This is a monstrous and cynical lie and typical of the obvious insincerity and hypocrisy of the union", he said.
The simple fact, said Aid. Harris, was that throughout the talks the union's demands amounted to well over £2 a week increase at the barest minimum, and in practice would result in far greater increases. Every offer by the employers had been met with a demand for something more, until at the end of many hours of fruitless discussion it was evident to the Federation that by the very exorbitant and unrealistic nature of their demands the unions had neither the desire nor the intention of reaching an agreement, he asserted.
Meanwhile bus crews in Edinburgh have been on strike since midnight on Tuesday, following a breakdown in local negotiations and Newcastle-on-Tyne busmen are expected to strike from midnight tonight (Friday). Edinburgh's establishment and transport committees have refused to offer a wage adjustment although they offered to open negotiations with the local union branch.
In the case of Newcastle an offer of rise in basic pay approved by the transport committee was rejected by the busmen, who made an ultimatum that if the "busmen's charter" (incorporating a 40-hour week and minimum wage of £15 a week) was not approved by the council by Thursday, a strike would take place.
Busmen at Southend-on-Sea were still on strike this week, although Accrington busmen returned to work on Saturday; a joint statement said the dispute was settled in so far as the local position was concerned.
• ACCRINGTON CORPORATION transport committee is to accept a Leyland Motors Ltd. quotation for three Atlantean rear-engined double-deck bus chassis at £3,300 each, and a quotation from Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd. for two single-deck bus chassis at £3,158 each. The general manager has been authorized to invite quotations for bodywork for the above chassis.