The antial wage agreement berween CATU and the British Ceramic Manufac biters Federation normally bocomes operative on 25 March of cuch year. Hy tradition, the round of negotiations leading up to this agreement is opened six socks before by the exchange of the March Notices between CATU and the BCMF.
This ycar the Union's March Notice called for a substantial increase in basic and piecework rates, a new chreshold apeersent Lice caura days paid nouda; a year, improved ovcrtime rates, and the payment of adult rates at 18 inaroad of But the settlement, while conceding the last two points and giving an extra two days holiday as well as consolidating the exasting thresbold payment into the Essic, guve no new threshold agreement and offerru only in new money -with further small pay hercases in three stages The lutest nurses pay settlement does nothing to aulve the problem of low pay in the National Health Service.
The award gives a student nurse a min: mum wuge of 130 - meaning an increaso of mound E8 a week. However this includts thresholds of $4.40 wlich are being ahsorbed into the new rates, and there is no new cost of living agreement. The real in crease is therefore a miserly £ 3.60 a week.
It wus montis after the Halshury Repart was published before the runes got their increase, and by that time inflation had eroded most of the new award. But Halshury had also warned about the need to increase board and fodging charges, and even though the Government has been som to implement its other promises about the NIS it was quick to fulfil that one, In 1972 boarding charges were £2.40 a month. In 1975 they are t 10 a month -an ancrease of 316 per cent. Now they ane to go up by another 17 per cent. Eating costs are niso going up, The Ancillary Stuffs side of the Whitley Council has nee otiated a rise in canteen prices which will affect all NHS workers.
Not long ago Alan Fisher was describ ing the nurses as victims of a 'primitive save society'. Emolive words indoed. But NUPE, like all the other NHIS unions, has done nothing to emancipate the save All the undon leaders have back peddled on the Goverment is putting the burden of diat demand for a cut in the working week and for major improvements in the special duty money they were so loudly demanding a short time ago Last year the nursos were united and prepased to wage a struggle for an all-round better wage. The findings of the Halsbury Report were deigned to aplit that unity. The nursing officers were given quite substantial increases and the student nurses lett with a meso pittance. Now it is the really low paid student nurses who will have to fight the battle alone.
This is the social contract in practice hitting handest at groups like the nurses who are expected to pay for tie crisis of the capitalist syalem. The NHS is in a stare of near collapse and once again die Labour crisis round the necks of the low paid.