Big textiles struggles ahead

From JACK GALE THE woollen textile industry is facing a tough time, and this undoubtedly means struggles ahead in Yorkshire woollen towns like Bradford. Last week several woollen firms published their annual reports. • British Cotton & Wool Dyers Association Ltd. declared that their group trading profit was £345,338, compared with f452,092 last year. The group net profit was down from £140,963 to £107,812. The dividend was reduced from 124 per cent to 8} per cent. • Troydale Industries' net profit is down from £165,000 to £141,000. The trading profit is reduced from £421,000 to £436,000. • Allied Colloids, which produces dyestuffs and chemicals for the industry, reports a decline in trading profits from £201,133 to £187,497.

Unemployment and short time working in Bradford is the highest for over three years— 3,612 for the month ending June 18. There has been an increase in unemployment in every industry except building. Most of the short time is in textiles, but is also growing in engineering.

Leavers To add to this, 2,000 boys and girls will be leaving school in three weeks time, the highest total since the war. 1,200 left a few weeks ago at Easter and a further 1,200 in the new year.

According to Mr. W. Walters of the Bradford Youth Employment Bureau, job prospects are 'not as good as this time last year' but the bureau is 'living in hope'.

But something more than hope is needed. Board of Trade export figures for May show that exports in wool textiles are lower thar UM LEADERS of the National Union of Mineworkers, meeting in annual conference at Skegness this week, defeated a move by the delegates to call for a general pay claim with priority over all other considerations.

The leaders won, instead, approval for them to press for a complete revision of the mining industry's wages structure.

They plan to open negotiations with the NCB in the autumn, and hopes for any substantial rise beyond the 'guiding light' maximum of 2ž per cent are forlorn, to say the least.

At the conference, last year in all the main sections except woollen yarn.

Exports of woollen cloth in the first five months of 1962 are 6 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year. Worsted cloth exports are 10 per cent down, and iops almost 15 per cent down.

Exports to America fell from £8 million to £7.9 million, to West Germany from £6.4 million to £5.9 million.

Imports of wool tops into the 16 main importing countries have risen by 15 per cent between the final quarter of 1961 and the first three months of 1962. But British shipments fell by 8 per cent.

No Orders Three of Britain's main customers for wool tops-China, India and Japan-are all taking less. Current production is exceeding orders in most establishments in Bradford and no large orders are coming in.

To make matiers worse, Canada has just slapped a 5 per cent surcharge on wool cloth, as well as on other 'less essential' imports. This will hit, especially, medium priced cloths, and is a severe blow from the wool cloth industry's largest market (£8 million worth exported to Canada last year).

Another ominous sign for Bradford is that imports of raw wool are declining. Compared with last year there has been an 8f per cent drop from 353.4 million pounds to 323.5 million pounds.

An article in last week's NEWSLETTER showed how a falling rate of profit leads to intensified drives against the working class. This is certainly on the cards in Bradford.

pay President, Mr. S. Ford, ended the wages debate by accepting a motion calling for a substantial increase, but made it completely ineffective by stating that it was the executive's responsibility to 'interpret the mandate given by the conference'.

The delegates made a disastrous error by not challenging this dictatorial statement. Mr. Ford now has authority to make, shelve or not make a claim as he thinks fit.

Nominees for the NUM seats on the TUC general council next year are Mr. A. Martin, Mr. Will Paynter and Mr. Ford.