Wages Councibs were establisted in 1904-supposediy to improve the wages of workers in the sweated trades.
Today there are 53 such Councis covering some 3% million worker.
When Labour got the opportunity to do something for the low paid after the Second World War it soon made its attitude clear. Post-war austerily measures were continued with Labour's attempt to introduce an incomes policy in 1948 with the publication of the White Paper. Personai Incontes, Costr and Pricer This was followed by a letter from the Minister of Labour to Wages Councils suggesting that any proposals conflicting with Government policy would be referted back. Trade union pressure forced the GovernThe 1964-70 Labour Government further developed the tactic of referring back and delaying the signing of Wages Council recommendations on pay, adequate as they were. As Frank Field and Steve Winyard have pointed out in a recent report*: On a number of occations orders were held up fot signing on the grounds that, if implemented, they would be outside the guidelines of the Government's incomes policy. In this way the Government postponed wage increases for the low paid."
The Prices and Incomes Board played a leading role in this policy. When the Retail Drapery Wages Council proposed in 1967 to increase the minimum, wage paid to male counter assistants in dragers shops from E11.15 to £11.90 a week, the PIB decided E11.75 was cnough. And when agricultural workers decided to better their 1967 wage of E10,50 for a 44-hour week, the PIB granted precisely 30p extra a week!
Not surprisingly many of these wage settlements were not even keoping pace with intlation. In cheir One group of workers whe are usually een wotae off than the low paid, and ignored just as much by the unions and the Labour Government aike, are thuse dependent on supplomentary benefits.
On 7 April Family Allowances went up, but as the regulations stand the incronse will automatically he deducted from supplementary hencfit payments.
To draw attention to this the National Caimants Union picketed social security offices throughout Britsin on Tuesday 8 April They ate also demanding that Labour Governments have always been keen to dress wage restraint in the clothing of 'egalitarianism" and "help for the lower paid". The social contract itself is based on the fraud that in return for wage restraint by the more powerful sections of the trade union movement, the living standards of the worst off will be defended and the social services improved. Labour's record on low pay, and especially its attitude towards industries covered by Wages Councils- which should have been abolished in any case, as they are a poverty trap for the low paid-points to a very different conclusion.
September 1970 report, Incomes Data Services Ltd. looked at the increase in minimum rates for male workers in the 53 Wages Council industries, and compared these increases with the rise in prices in the previous tive years. IDS reported:
In the last five yoars retail prices have nsen by 24.7 per cent. During this period in 25 out of 53 Wapes Councils the lowest minimum rates for men have risen less than 24,7 per cent.
The comparison was even worse for the 1968-70 period, waen prices had risen 12.1 per cent. Even these figures underestimate the true drop in real living standards by not taking into account increased insurance, pension and tax contributions, and the lact that most wage increases followed after the effect of price nses on incomes had alteady been felt.
THRESHOLDS In its most recent period of office the Labour Government has succeeded in ending the one thing that gave the lower paid some protection, however inadequate, against inflation: threshold agreements. Instead of fighting to extend these by introducing automatic cost of living increases, giving automatie compensa ton aminst ans increase in tac cost of living, the Labour Government got tid of them as soon as they could.
Michael Foot, the Secrelary of State for Employment, laid the blame (!) For the relatively high level of wage settlements last year on the Tory Government. Labour Weekly reported him as saying: "The present rate (of wage settlements) can be attributed in large purt... to the ill-conceived thresbold agreements that Mr. Heath started in his Stage Ill package." So much for the social contrick!
James Drake *Frank Field and Steve Winyard: Wager Councis- Spolesman Pampiler No. 49 sup protur lary benchts should be related to the cost of intug The sliding scale of wages and benelits, with automatic compensation for every one per cont rise in the cost of living, il of particular importance to tose in weakty organised sectors: usualy the luw pakl, and those dependent on state or Old Age Pensions. The fight for automatic compensation against inflation would not only defend oorkons living standards, bur heip win over tiese other groups solidly to the aide of the workers in the class struggle, point of collapse: Only the massive the Ryder inquiry will keep it alive.
workers are on short-time. At the Longbridge plant the management of 1,200.
Fords have thrown 14,000 of time. They are now threatening redundancies by claiming that the lay-off pay fund is running out of money. Vauxhall are putting 2,000 back on short-Lime next week in spite of cartier promises that they would only be laid off for a brief penaa Short-time working has been accom panied by a new productivity offensive. At Ford's Dagenham, management are aiming to introduce weeks when the lay-off agreementwhich gives 80 per cent pay for the first 15 days laid off-runs ouc. A 1292 per cent increase in the track speed is also planned, incuding squadr. In one department the labour-pool is going to be 137 out of a total of 500 workers.
Meanwhile the crisis facing the industry is infensifyine British Leycatastrophically from pearly 45 per cent in February to 25.8 per cent in for four years Wednesday poses the possibility of a united fight around a common proout the car industry. This requires the rejection of any idea that jobs can be defended by going along with company plans to make their concerns more visble on the capitalist markel.
draft document submitted to Ryder by the unions attached to the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, they wote: A public enterprise, whist beine free to challenge competition both at home and abroad, must be fully industry and ultimately the Gover
"Still waters nin deep" was an apt description of the National Union of Studencs conlerence at Ilandudno last week, wltch national leadership. foed the important task of electing a new
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