Weak pay plea to engineer bosses

Workers Press no. 726, 29 March 1972 · scan page 12

Topics: Engineering, Shipbuilding and UCS

Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: headlines and words can be misread, and a caption or advert can run into the text. For anything you quote, read the scan.

BY OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE KENNETH BAKER, national industrial officer of Workers' Union, wants the engineering employers to turn down the unions' national pay claim.

He also thinks the Tory government should put all four yards the former Upper Clyde Shipbuilders consortium "back on their feet.

Both pieces of earth-shattering advice are contained in the latest issue of the 'G&MWU Journal', always a source of great wisdom. And both will be equally contemptuously ignored.

Baker's article on the engineering claim is headlined 'After Breakdown with EEF, or a liscussion of 'what happens atter he unions' rejection of a derisory offer from employers'.

However, what stands out most startlingly from the piece is that in common with most other union leaders the writer has absolutely no idea what happens.

When the executives of all unions affiliated to the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions met to discuss the breakdown on February 7, Baker writes, the i G&MWU stated:

'We would naturally prefer a negotiated national minimum time rate, but would insist that was realistic; the derisory [£1.50] offer made by the employers added to the present minimum time rate is unacceptable.' He goes on to say that plant bargaining will perhaps. be a Subscribe £20.28 for 12 months (312 issues) {10.14 for 6 months (156 Issues) £5.07 for 3 months (78 Issues)

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It is only in the last paragraph but one of the article that Baker gets round to suggesting any action at all. And that is action by the employers.

'In my view', he says, 'the BEF should reconsider attitude to the whole claim, including offer time rate ..

"The present basic a disgrace.' We are sure the EEF, whicn is currently locking out Baker's members all over the Manchester district, will read his comments with interest. Then-like the Tory Ministers responsible for UCS-they will laugh like drains. 6.50 7.00 7.25 8.10 9.00 9.20 10.10 10.45 11.10 TOM AND JERRY.

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