1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
ssenge Transport
Page 42
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Oh, no ! Not again
IAA MOVE to call a new ban on overtime on London's buses was only narrowly defeated when a delegate conference of central busmen met last week. They decided, however, to repudiate the pay-and-hours agreement between the London Transport Board and the union, reached less than two months ago, writes our Industrial Correspondent.
As reported in The Commercial Motor on February 5, the trouble is over two clauses in the agreement. The first pledges the union to "use its best endeavour" to secure the same level of voluntary overtime and rest-day working this year as last, and the second makes it a condition of the agreement that there shall be no ban on such overtime, either generally or at a particular garage.
There was such strong feeling about these two clauses at the meeting that a resolution was proposed banning overtime from March 10 unless union officials• called a joint conference of central and country busmen on this issue by Wednesday (March 3). This proposal was only defeated by 36 votes to 34.
After the conference art official of the Transport and General Workers' Union said that London Transport had agreed to withdraw the disputed, two clauses, although they had not put this undertaking into writing. But the L.T.B. later denied that they had agreed to do so. "These clauses concern the working of voluntary overtime by bus crews and the Board's right to take action if any ban on such overtime is imposed.. and they are an integral part of the agreement it was stated.
Under the agreement bus crews are due to receive a little more than an extra £1 a week from March 17 to compensate for the postponement of the reduction in the working week. 'London Transport has said that it will go ahead with that even if the union refuses to sign the agreement. The Board regards it already as binding. The imminence of this implementation is also --one reason why feeling is running so high. The militants fear that once the busmen accept the extra money in their pay packets-they will in effect be accepting the settlement.
Just to add to London Transport's troubles, 4,300 bus maintenance workers are getting very restive about delays in settling their pay claim. They complain that they are the only major group of L.T.B. employees not to have had a pay rise recently. in fact, they claim not to have received a rise since 1963. A delegate conference of the men decided to ask their union's general executive for "plenary" powers to call an official strike or other industrial action unless there was an early settlement.
aS