WILSON FACES TOUGH FIGHT

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 15

WILSON FACES TOUGH FIGHT

Unions Against Austerity Drive

(N Z-P A. Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, July 22. Mr Harold Wilson and his senior Ministers today faced a threat of revolt by 8.5 million trade unionists against his austerity drive to bolster the pound and ease Britain’s economy.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Janies Callaghan, this morning is meeting leaders of the Trade Union Congress, the powerful parent body of Britain’s unions, to win support for the six-month wages freeze and other deflationary measure announced on Wednesday.

The congress leaders will decide next Wednesday whether to support Mr Wilson’s call for a voluntary wages standstill. F.ve unions have already openly rejected the plan. The first snub came from former Minister of Technology, Mr Frank Cousins, leader of Britain’s biggest union, the 1.5 million-strone Transport and General Workers' Union.

Mr Cousins, who recently resigned his portfolio in protest against the Government’s incomes policy, has pledged opposition by all his members to any kind of wages halt, IGNORING PLEA Yesterday, four smaller unions—representing the building workers, agricultural workers, draughtsmen, and a group of advisory staff —all announced that they would ignore Mr Wilson’s standstill plea. The general secretary of the T.U.C., Mr George Wood'cock, has already come out in opposition to the wages freeze but he has not yet advised the congress to openly oppose the Government.

Government sources have

made It plain that the administration hopes to get a voluntary union agreement to the pay pause because it acknowledges that blanket statutory control would be too complex to enforce. After his talks with union officials Mr Callaghan will meet leaders of employers’ associations to seek agreement to a standstill on prices and company dividends. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr George Brown, who threatened to resign in protest at the scope of the squeeze but later changed his mind, will play a key role in convincing workers and employers that Britain’s plight is serious. RISE VETOED The Government has meanwhile swiftly vetoed pay rises for 60.000 gas Industry workers who won an increase only one day before the new measures were announced. Economic experts in British newspapers said today that foreign reaction to the emergency measures made it clear that future confidence in sterling would chiefly depend on the success of the freeze over the next two or three months. Industrial correspondents predicted that the majority of union leaders would accent the wages standstill. But they warned it would have to get considerable backing to have any hope of success. Sterling rose, fell and rose again on foreign exchanges yesterday. The sterling dollar rate onened with a small rise to 2.7902, dinned to about 2.7892. then rallied sharply to 2.7900 after reports that the Bank of England and the United States Federal Reserve Bank had moved in to I buy pounds.