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Ratepayers to foot busmen's rise?
Page 29
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• Ratepayers in Birmingham and the West Midlands may have to foot the bill for an immediate wage rise now being demanded by busmen's union leaders. Local councils have been warned by the WMPTA that a rates precept and a further bus fares rise may be necessary next year.
Although the PTE has said that there are not sufficient funds available to meet a pay claim before next January, union negotiators have told the Executive that it is not the PTE's duty to build up a reserve or run at a profit. "Buses", runs the argument, "provide a community service that should be subsidized from local funds."
A report prepared by Ald Sir Francis Griffin, WMPTA chairman, reveals that bus crews have been told they cannot expect another wage rise until 1972, and that a strike would almost certainly involve a precept on the rates.