Money for Pay Rues from Tax Relief?
Page 41
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
PAY claims made last week, and which were estimated to cost about £10m. in all, could easily be met if the Government abolished the fuel tax, said Mr. A. Townsend, national secretary of the road passenger group of the Transport and General Workers' Union.
He said that a claim for an increase of fl a week for 40,000 busmen had been lodged with the London Transport Executive. Claims for substantial rises, which in the course of negotiations were expected to amount to a similar advance, were made for 58,000 municipal transport workers and 100,000 employees of private companies in the provinces.
In addition to pay demands, a number of " fringe " benefits was being sought. The claim for the London men covered semi-skilled and unskilled maintenance workers as well as platform staff. The T.G.W.U. has also asked for an unspecified payment for men required to -do irregular shift work.
Demands made for company employees include an application, onbehalf of skilled maintenance men, to raise their basic rate from £9 10s. 9d. to. £10 12s. 8d.—the level of their colleagues in municipal undertakings.
It is significant that co-ordination of claims by the three sections of the industry has been achieved. For many months the Union have been trying to establish such a procedure.