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Provincial Busmen Seek Big Rises
Page 48
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From Our Industrial Correspondent
DELEGATES representing more than 180,000 provincial busmen, both company and municipal, decided at a special meeting in London on Tuesday to put in a new pay claim. It will be for a " substantial " increase, but it will be left to union officials to submit this "at an appropriate time ".
The reason for this rather ambiguous action is that negotiations are still going on for a 40-hour week and a bonus scheme. It was felt that these matters should be cleared out of the way before the new claim is submitted. In the circumstances it is unlikely that the new application will go in until the end of this year or early next year.
On the claims still outstanding from the settlements made earlier this year, which gave busmen up to 15s. a week more, greater progress is being made on the municipal front. There a meeting of the NJIC has been called for next Thursday, when there is a good chance that the 40-hour week will be agreed. There is less prospect of the settlement on the bonus issue. The employers have offered bonuses ranging from 10s. a week, after six months' service to 30s. a week after 20 years. But negotiations have so far broken down over what the unions call the " penal " clause, which the employers proposed should operate where unofficial action had taken place.
Their first suggestion was that a man who had taken part in such action should lose a year's bonus—which could amount to £78 for a long-service man—and also the benefit of length of service. He would, in fact, start again virtually as a new employee. The employers have since modified this clause. They have dropped. the proposal for lois of service and have reduced the loss of bonus to six months. This, the unions point out, could still cost a . man £39 and is quite unacceptable to Them. There is a chance that if on Thursday the employers insist on theclause, the whole bonus scheme may be referred to a third party for adjudication.
On the company side talks have concentrated on the introduction of a sick-pay scheme and another meeting is due to be held later this month. The 40-hourweek issue is being held over until agreement has been reached on the municipal side.