Drain calls for permanent wage controls
Socialist Press1978 1978-07-12Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
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Published by Folrose Ltd. for the Workers Socialist League, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, Printed by Anvil Printers, London. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper. the social contract, the leader of Britain's biggest white collar union has made a call for permanent wage controls in the public sector.
NALGO General Secretary Geoffrey Drain did not distinguish between Tory and Labour governments.
In either cast, he declared, the public union leaders should "thrash out" the amount of money available for pay increases, and decide how to divide it among. the workers involved.
This policy-which would abandon any prospect of a trade union challenge to government spending cuts or pay limits, and leave the defence of the living standards of millions of workers to the tender mercies of Labour bureauLondon NW5 crats or Tory politiciansis entirely in line with the new scheme being hatched by the Labour Party and TUC leaders.
A new draft joint policy statement "Into the 80s: An Agreement" was discussed at last week's TUC-Labour Party liaison committee meeting.
Even timid left' Eric Heffer felt obliged to raise a passing whimper at the complete absence of even a veneer of 'socialism' in this plan for a permanent straightjacket on wages.
But there is no likelihood that this will deter Heffer, and every other Labour 'left', from giving the plan their tacit support in the same way as Phases 1,2 and 3 of wage control.
With or without meaningless garnish of phrases about 'redistributing wealth', 'priority to the low paid' paid', and nonsense about 'helping' old age pensioners, Callaghan is shrewdly confident that TUC leaders and Labour 'lefts' are incapable of waging a fight to remove this right wing cabinet of wage-cutters as he enters the pre-election period.
Press ahead
Labour Party members and trade unionists must not wait around for action from these 'lefts': they must press ahead with catchingup pay claims in defiance of Phases 3 and 4 and put down motions demanding that Labour MPs éither fight the Callaghan-Healey leadership or stand aside for those who will.
There must be a fight to ensure that a full Labour Party conference to decide the manifesto is held prior to the election.