Unions walk out of Wages Council demanding more

22nd September 1972, Page 90

22nd September 1972

Page 90

Page 90, 22nd September 1972 — Unions walk out of Wages Council demanding more

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from our industrial correspondent

• Trade union representatives on Tuesday walked out of a Road Haulage Wages Council meeting after the employers agreed that the minimum rate should be raised from £18 to £20 — the unions' original demand.

The unions had upped their demand to greater increases which would have raised the minimum by at least £7.85 a week, and the employers had then agreed to support the first proposal — for another £2.

When the union representatives left the meeting, which then could no longer be continued, the employers put in a notice of motion to increase the minimum to £20 and to grant a third week's holiday — part of the unions' demands — after two years' service from May 1 1973 and after one year from May 11974.

National TGWU officer Mr Ken Jackson said later that the wages claimed — a £25.85 minimum — were being paid by many companies. The unions were "no longer prepared to tolerate the further use of the RHWC whose only function is to hold down wage rates to less than social security minima".