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LONDON BUSMEN MAY GET INTERIM RISE

6th December 1963
Page 42
Page 42, 6th December 1963 — LONDON BUSMEN MAY GET INTERIM RISE
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FROM OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT

AN early interim pay rise is expected to be announced shortly for London Transport's 37,000 bus drivers and conductors. That is likely to be the first result of the five-man committee of inquiry, set up jointly by the Ministers of Labour and Transport, into the men's pay and conditions. The committee, under the chairmanship of Professor Phelps Brown, was due to start its hearings in public yesterday (Thursday) with evidence from the two main interested parties, the London Transport Board and the Transport and General Workers' Union, to which the men belong.

The decision to hold the hearines in public represents a sudden change of mind by the committee, which last week initially announced they would conduct the inquiry in private. This, it was believed, was in an effort to speed up the committee's work. The committee also issued a number of invitations to organizations and individuals to submit evidence and let it be known that anyone else wishing to give evidence should write to Mr. W. R. B. Robinson, one of the joint secretaries to the committee. at the Ministry of Labour.

Meanwhile, Mr. Frank Cousins, general secretary of the T.G.W.U., in informal talks with Mr. A. B. B. Valentine. chairman of the London Transport Board. put forward the request of the busmen's delegate conference for an interim pay rise pending the report of the committee of inquiry.

But he was told that it would be " entirely improper" for London Transport to do anything on those lines now that the committee had been set up specifically to probe the pay and conditions of the busmen. On the other hand. Mr. Cousins was given a strong hint that if the committee should recommend such an interim pay rise. London Transport would be quite willing to grant one.

The reason is that London Transport has been badly hit by the ban on overtime, now in its second month, and fears that the threatened work-to-rule campaign would make both the transport and the staffing position even worse.

Mr. Cousins also let it be known that he did not like the idea of the inquiry being held in private. He wanted it in public—a view shared by London Transport.

Whether there was any connection between these events or not, the fact remains that the committee met again last Friday and at the end of its meeting announced that in view of the number of issues which would take time to consider, it had decided to produce an interim report.

It is expected that the hearing of the Board and the union this Thursday and Friday will quickly be followed by the interim report and that this will contain proposals for raising the busmen's pay.

The first effect of the latest sequence of events is that the busmen have put off consideration of the work-to-rule campaign and even Dalston garage, which was due to put it into effect, on its own last Monday, decided to postpone action. There is a good chance now that the overtime ban will also be lifted in time for the heaviest of the Christmas traffic.


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