The wages side of the Tories" Phase 3 proposals have been presented by both the Government and the capitalist press as a better deal than Phase 2, full of all kinds of provisions for flexibility"
The Tories plans are quite complex, and it is necessary to study them carefully in order to see what is really being offered. But a close examination backs up what we have been predicting for some time: Phase 3 basically dishes out more of what the working class has had to put up with under Phase 2. WAGE RISES The old formula of Cl + 4% restriction on wage rises has been replaced by two formulas from which trade union negotiators can choose: £2.25 a head, or 7%. These formulas are used in the same way as under Phase 2-to work out. for every company, a pool from which all wage rises for its employees must come. The exact way in which this pool is discributed among different sections of the workforce & not regulated by the Government, On average, the new 75 formuls and the old E1 + 4%6 work out at a hout the same. The alternative 52.25 a head would provide a somewhat larger sum for wage rises in those industries where the low-paid are concentrated.
Red Weekly 12 October 1973 Page 4 Another 15 of the wages bill can be negotiated in exchange for reorganising pay or grading systems, taking steps to increase efficiency, or to extend bolidays, or increase sickness or holiday pay. Many workers will undoubtedly obtain the benefits of this provision, but it is almost certain, with retail prices up almost 9% over the past year, that even the resulting wage rise of 856 would be totally eaten up by rising prices over the next 12 months. SHIFT BONUSES One important provision allows for shitt honuses, over and above rises under Phase 3, to be paid to workers who are on shifts that require them to work weekends or nights. The total amount of such shift payments including the amount of bonuses already in existence, or consolidated into basic rates since the start of Phase 2(6 November, 1972)can be as much as 20% of basic hourly rates for those hours that fall on Saturday or Sunday, or between 8 pm and 6 am.
The purpose of such a concession is to make it possible to attract labour into areas such as public transport and hospitals, where awkward bours at present discourage people from taking up these Jobs.
The existence of this provision has ind many commentators, such as The Garden newe paper, to suggest that it could permit massive wage rises for some groups-such as the minersthus avoiding the danger of an industrialshowdown. The Guardian argues that the application of the shift bonus would allow the Coal Board to offer rises of £6.50 to £7.50 to the National Union of Miners, The problem with this argument is that it assumes that all miners are working, all the time, during 'bonus" hours: clearly ridiculous.
Even if we were to assume that all workers in an industry were on a shift system that operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they would still only be working at bonus rates for 60% of the time. So rather than getting a 20% rise in basic wages they would only pet 12%-aasuming of course that they are not getting any shift bonus at all at present.
What this means in the case of the miners-who already receive a shift bonus of about 49--is not pay rises of £6.50 to £7,50, hut £4.50 to Ed at the most. The majority of workers who work these hours can not expeet any moore than another 5-6% on the basic rate, over and above the ordinary Phase 3 increase.
THRESHOLD AGREEMENTS Another important part of the Tory proposals which has received much praise and publicity is the allowance for the necotiation of threshold agreements which would supposedly provide protection against rising prices, Under such agreements a rise of 40p a week could be paid out if price rises over the next year reach the 75 mark, und another 40p for every fuil 196 rise above 7%.
It is obvious that under this scheme the entire 75% rise which the Tories propose to allow is to be caten up by inflation before a penny more can be claimed. Even then, the relief" they grant is miserly.
The 40p is to he treated as a special payment and will not affect the amount of overtime or bonus payments (in other words it's 40p-take it or leave it). Since this extra 40p will be subject to a full t0% tax deduction for most workers, it & unly enough to keep up the real buying power of those who are at present carning lem than t30 = week gross finchsling overtime and bonus payments). Thus the