in the pan, but become instructive experiences which will bear truit tor the hattles to be fought in the autumn.
WEAK LINK
Tens of thousands of women came out on the strects to demonstrate in the summer of 1969 for equality of pay at work, forcing the last Labour Government to quickly frame and pass an Act to head off this rising tide of militancy. Employers were given six years to raise women's rates-or find ways to avoid their legal obligations. But even under the Tories" pay laus, sonie concessions were made for 'orderly progress' towards equal pay.
Now with inflation biting deeply Committee for Women's Equal Rights (NACCWERja national body formed after the famous strike by women upholsterers at Ford. Now that the time is drawing near for the fall implementation of the Act, this demand will once again be an Important focus of situeo es in the future months. But will the Act alone meet the expectations of women fighting for equal pay?
1970 ACT The Act states that women shall regeive equal pay under two conditions. First, where they are doing the same or broadly similar jobs as men. Second, where their jobs are different, but have been rated as equivalent to a man's under a job evaluation staged a walk-out at the BOAC Air Terminal in London last year-find themscives fighting against both the male trade unionists und the employers who persistently underrate women's skilis, in the Act is one which states that where men and women work together, women will not receive less than the lowest male rate. ate pay scales for men and womenas existing in most industries-will be longer exist.
bowever, as is illustrated by the agreements reached by USDAW. Shop assistants have had their rates equated with a male rate which had been static for a long period. And in the case of the Retail Co-op, the male rate had been specially reduced for the introduction of' equal puy.
that women don't end lumped together at the bottom of the men's scale In the eng beering industry, for example, there are presently five unofficial grades: skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled, women and youth. Most of the women in the industry are doing jobs which are semi-skilled Under the terms of the Act and under many union agreements there One of the most positive points This means separallow combined und women's grades will no Even this clause can be got round, GRADING And there is nothing to ensure behind this decision!
ment to lift the Factory Act restrictions. Women workers at the Typhoo tea factory in Birmingham are presently operating an overtime ban and a policy of non cooperation to resist the employers attempt to introduce a double-day shift, If their employers are succesful, the women will be forced to work from 6 am to 2 pm, and from 2 pm to 10 pm-an hour longer than the Factory Acts LABOUR GOVERNMENT In the Queen's speech, the Labour Government promised legislation later this year to deal with discrimination against women. Hownach relance can be placed on this Gosernment may be judged by its policy on the discriminatory laws affecting women married to foreign nationals. Home Secretary Roy Jenkins has decided not to make any chenges in the law, a decision he admitted in volved 'an element of sexual discrimnation. Presumabiy this is more respectable than racism, the reason In any case, if the Labour Government was really concerned to end discrimination against women, what better place to start even now than by ordering women's rates to be raised to 90% of men's. The Tories shelved this order which the Equal Pay Act states conft have been made any time after 31 December, 1973. Even better, Labour could decide to immediately pass and Implement a new Act-one pluging all the loop holes and raking away the 21 months employer still have to find ways to escape the Act.
However, with the Labour Gor ernment already acting al a guard dog for major Tory anti-working or temove the surcharge placed on the Clay (ross concillors) women workers can expect little trom Labour in their fight for equality. Ir is up to the working class to mount an offensive un this front But what bas the Labour novement been doing during the past four years to ensure that ar least the meagre gains allowed under the Act were achieved in full? Almost nothing. While employers organisations have been energetically instrucling their members to prepare for the Act by making swe men and women
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THE PERFUME SMELLS NICE BUT THE
cluss laws (their refusal to shelve Phase 3, pay hack the NIRC fines,