State

bosses back .speed-up COST CUTTING and productivity dealing on a vastlyincreased scale is to be the order of the Tory day for the 2,077,000 workers in the nationalized and public-service industries following a top-level meeting at the Department of Employment and Productivity yesterday.

This must inevitably be the practical interpretation of the agreed 'main conclusion' of the 90-minute meeting between top government brass and nationalized - industry chiefs: 'that the responsibility for negotiating pay settlements which take account national interest must rest on individual employers'.

And a similar message will be hammered home for private employers at a DEP brief1ng for the Confederation of British Industry this morning.

While a Department spokesman carefully stressed that there had been no discussion of any individual claimssuch as those of the miners, steel craftsmen or railwaymen —at yesterday's meeting, it was admitted that pay was the main topic of discussion for virtually the whole session.

Claims were made that there was no mention of any statutory intervention to stop wages rising or of a target figure, percentage rate or norm for a voluntary curb.

Firm push

But it is known that all parties favoured a firm push for the conclusion of productivity agreements as a means of bringing 'the present inflationary trend in pay settlements •.. under control'.

Present at the meeting-besides Employment and Productivity Minister Robert Carr and his Minister of State Paul Bryan—were representatives of the technology, transport, post and trade ministries; Scottish Office and chairmen of the steel, power, air, freight and bus corporations.

Main reliance for putting across their cost and speedup policies is clearly going to be placed heavily by all