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BUS STRIKE THREAT FOLLOWS PIB REPORT

5th January 1968, Page 22
5th January 1968
Page 22
Page 22, 5th January 1968 — BUS STRIKE THREAT FOLLOWS PIB REPORT
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

AL THE SIGNS point to serious labour troubles in the bus industry following the Prices and Incomes Board's rejection of the "Busmen's Charter" (CM, December 29).

A committee of Ministers was this week considering what action should be taken in the light of the PIB's detailed recommendations for bonus schemes to encourage one-man-operation as opposed to the £1 a week increase—without any productivity strings, jointly agreed between the municipal employers and the bus unions in December (writes John Darker).

Mr. Ray Gunter, Minister of Labour, is believed to be considering a further reference of the bus wages issue to the PIS. I put this point to Mr. Larry Smith, national organizer of the bus workers in the Transport and General Workers' Union. He replied that he thought the Government would make itself look ridiculous if the PIB was asked to look again at a matter on which it had already adjudicated.

"If the Government decides to do this", said Mr. Smith, "it can only be as a tactic to hold up the implementation of the £1 a week increase from mid-December. We have told the Minister of Labour that we will discourage our members from taking any precipitate action until the proposals of the committee of Ministers are made known to us. But we have made it clear that if the jointly agreed settlement is held up for long the members will insist on strong action."

Mr. Smith continued: "We take the view that there is nothing to stop the municipal employers from paying the £1 increase immediately. Some of the municipalities have, it seems, told the Government that they only agreed to the increase because we put a pistol at their heads.

"Whatever the employers say now— and some will accuse us of using handgrenades or pocket battleships to get our men a justifiable increase in pay— the agreement was jointly made and must be jointly honoured. If it is not, there will be trouble, that's certain".

Mr. Smith's views this week were in tune with the emergency resolution passed by TGWU busmen in Glasgow last week. This called for a national municipal bus strike if the Minister of Labour did not agree to the £1 a week increase.

Mr. Smith told the Glasgow delegates that the resolution would be passed to Mr. Frank Cousins and considered by the union's finance and general purposes committee (due to meet yesterday).

Earlier at the Glasgow conference Mr. Alan Thomson, national secretary of the union's passenger group, said the Minister of Labour had been told that industrial action by busmen was unavoidable if the £1 a week increase was rejected.

Mr. Thomson said the union was prepared to discuss productivity proposals, particularly single manning, if the Government justified the increase. Scottish settlements with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen Corporations were in line with the national claim, said Mr. Thomson; if the national claim was conceded all other settlements would be adjusted to it.

Mr. Thomson said the union would press for an early meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland to discuss questions arising from the new Transport Bill. It wanted clarification on the matter of Scotland's municipal transport being integrated with the proposed Scottish Transport Authority and the possible merger of private bus companies.

As another demonstration of militancy the conference passed a resolution calling for a national strike to obtain a £15-a-week basic minimum wage; three weeks holiday a year, to be paid on average earnings rather than on basic pay; time-and-half payment all day on Saturdays and double time for Sunday working, and extra payment for single manning.


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