New Pay Lawsz

Scan page 8

I would like more intormazon ou lt rou 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HR ¡ The TUC leaders are again atting their heads together ith the Labour government d the employers - this time work out Stage Two of he state pay laws, to follow E from Jones' notorious £6 mit.

At a time when January's rise • wholesale prices was 14% wery one of the proposals floated jo far amounts to a massive wage but for the working class Sunday According to Telegraph, a 4% limit is being juggested - with a £2.40 "safety set" minimum to protect "low paid workers" • and • a £10 naximum.

FIGURES This means that by the pernment's own figures a low mid worker is seen as anyone urning less than £60 per week. This, thanks to repeated betrayals ly the TUC leadership, includes he vast majority of industrial and tate sector workers. That this urge number should be described • low paid also indicates the impact of the inflationary policies usued by the Wilson ipvernment defence of COMPLETE and SEND to:

Name ..

Address ....

Healey- demanded £6 limit capitalism.

It was in attempting to impose state control of wages that the Tory government was forced out of office by the miners in 1974. Now, with state pay laws already six months on the statute books under a Labour government union leaders like Jones are falling over themselves in the rush to devise further restraints.

At the same time the 'lefts' of the Tribune group who claim to oppose Wilson's policies have at best abstained in the voting on his policies in Parliament and not led any fight in defence of free collective bargaining.

• It is hard to overstate a de on we the WCT impact on workers' living standards of this abolition of free wage bargaining. No longer do trade unionists take into account forced increases in effort or the massive increases in the cost of living in putting in for a new pay increase. Instead all argument is restricted to a haggle around the £6 figure.

The consistent policy of the Workers Socialist League is to oppose all forms of state control of wages - whether this be a tlat rate figure or a percentage limit.

The defence of living standards demands we fight instead for a sliding scale of wages to be written in to all wage agreements to fully compensate for inflation, and to come on top of substantial wage increases needed now to make up for last year's huge inflation.

fund The great success of our Anniversary Rallies in London and Birmingham indicates the big advances made by our papers over the last year.

Our £500 Development Fund is to enable us further to improve its coverage, and prepare for the weekly Socialist Press..

Send donations to:

WSL, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NWS 1HR. Ist ANIVERSARY of 'SOCIALIST PRESS' LEEDS Sunday 15th February, 7.30 Trades Council Club