Eire jobs and pay future is grim

AT LEAST 4,500 people in the manufacturing industry in the Irish Republic will lose their jobs this year.

And Michael Killeen, director of the Irish Industrial Development Authority. forecasts 1972 will be as difficult for industry as was 1971—one of the worst years since the 1950s.

The recent realignment in international currencies and the removal of the US import surcharge will be helpful, he thinks, but he does not see the level of international industrial investment showing any appreciable growth, while international competition will increase.

Continued restraint in salaries and wages, says Killeen, must be continued in 1972 and 1973 if we are to avoid a serious setback in our industrial programme'.

In 1971 average industrial earnings-less than the 1970 level-rose by 12 to 13 per cent, which he regards as excessive when compared with productivity improvements.

Frustrate

He warned that continuation of wage-cost trends in hrst two years the would creation would result in a rapid rise in unemployment - now 70.000 and still rising.

Given wage restraint, he was confident that the Industrial Development Authority could create 11,500 new jobs annually.

Yet unemployment in industry and services increased year about 9,000. Redundancies in the manufacturing industry - at twice the 1970 rate-accounted for nearly 5.000 jobs.

addition. a number of industries suffered loss in profits. This impaired confidence and ability to finance future development in these Continued recession in Britain and the troubles in the N reduced the volume of industrial development inquiries especially from the main source-the UK.

The confused international monetary situation and the economic slow-down in W Europe and Japan, combined with uncertainty for most of the vear about Ireland's industrial incentives system in an enlarged Common Market, were also important factors.

Killeen said that in spite of all these factors, the IDA continued to grant approvals for new industrial projects. An overall growth of 3,000 new jobs had been created in the manufacturing industry, he said.

Save

Eire's Minister for Finance George Colley on the other hand, hopes to encourage more people to save regularly during 1972.

Saving, he says, is one of the "ways in which funds become available for new investment.

So while Colley is asking people to save their earnings in national interest, Killeen is telling workers they must be prepared to accept that their wages and living standards must be kept down, if they don't want to be thrown on the dole.

Despite the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement, the Irish government has introduced direct measures to protect its textile industry. From Saturday duty on most imported garments will go up by about 50 per cent in an effort to stem competition from foreign-made clothes. A spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Dublin said there had been a number of closures and many jobs lost in the industry in the past year.

LONDON bus and tubes fares went up by an average of 8 per cent yesterday. And all children travelling in the rush hours must now pay full fares. The 24p fare on the buses goes up to 3p and tube fares will now rise in • minimum blocks of 5p. London Transport is not in the red this year but is making the increases 'to meet a future deficit'.

NEWS DESK 01-720 2000 CIRCULATION 01-622 7029 BASQUE and Spanish exiles protested in london yesterday against the continued imprisonment and ill-treatment of the Burgos 6 and other political prisoners.

One of the Burgos 6, Xavier Izko, printer, is now reported to be held in solitary confinement.

new campaign against the government.

Registered as a newspaper at the Post Ofice. Published by Workers Press, 186a Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4.

Printed by Plough Press Ltd. (TU), 180b Clapham High Street, London, will go back to their nine weeks on strike.

Their return brings to a close a five-month struggle to win a cost-of-living pay rise from the Tory-appointed board of Rolls-Royce (1971) Ltd.

A second and perhaps more difficult battle is just opening up, however.

For a sizeable minority of the 110 shop stewards at Rolls' Patchway factory, on the outskirts of Bristol, the settlement accepted by a mass meeting last Thursday was a sell-out.

Bitter men grouped near the platform of the meeting demanded 'Give them the figures!' as national union officials announced endorsement of. the terms by 'a majority' of stewards (the majority in favour was in fact only eight).

And while the strike forced at least one concession from Rolls, the terms are a very mixed bag.

In a total of eight-and-ahalf hours' hush-hush talking with union chiefs in London, the company made no advance on its offer of a £1.50 cost-of-living rise.

The workers' original claim was for £5. mand that 50p of the award Rolls has bent on is offset against any nationally-agreed increase in engineering.

The company stresses, however, that this issue is still not resolved and that further talks must take place.

Bill John, engineers'-executive councilman, •was forced to pledge last Thursday that no one would lose a single penny as a result of offsetting. But it is the context in which the poststrike talks will take place which worries most workers harda' Gardner opposed to a return.

Clause three of. the. agreement states that the £1.50 is 'payable within the terms of the interim holding agreement'.

Signed in August last year, this 18-month agreement gave the Bristol workers a phased £3—with an option on cost-of-living talks—in exchange for consideration of productivity concessions.

The stewards themselves STRIKE ACTION by his DAVID MAUDE Bristol aero-engine workers jobs this morning after warned recently against implementation of these concessions.

Union officials now appear to have encouraged most of them in the belief that like Rolls' quibble on the offsetting issue, these strings can be rendered toothless.

'We can deal with this after we get back into the factory, shop stewards' chairman Ray Gardner told me last Thursday.

Other workers are by no means so sure.

"The offsetting clause was never really the issue, ', said Les Hulcoop, a Transport and General Workers' Union steward working on major components for aircraft engines--including the Concorde's RB211.

'As far as I'm concerned, the crux of the matter was that the company-having agreed to talk about a cost-of-living rise—tried to impose conditions.

"That we couldn't accept; strings are no part of a cost-of-living claim.' Many workers I spoke to voiced a fear that the company will now try to interfere with the existing piecework and bonus systems to establish something close to flat-rate pay. deal on Measured-Day Work lines.

The first stage of this would be demands for the -Royce