Union's Flatly Reject Wage Freeze Plan

Chronicle (Levin), 4 November 1949, Page 5

Union's Flatly Reject Wage Freeze Plan

Received Thursday 7 p.m. LONDON, Nov. 3. The T.U.C. General Council's plan for a complete wage freeze with no exceptions was flatly rejected yesterday by some of the powerful trade union leaders who form the Council's special economic committee which- is considering the effect of devaluation on wages and prices. They insis'ted, iirstly, tbat the lowest paid workers must be free to get a wage inerease when the cost of living i goes up, and, secondly, that trade j unions must be free to uegotiate wage • increases without restriction when they believe this to be essential to proteet their members. The economic committee is to meet again on Monday. Commenting on the deadlock The Times says: "The whole strueture of national policy in the trial after devaluation may be perilously weakened. There ean be only regret and much disquiet that the trade union leadership has been unable to faee the brave and diffieult course suggested. " The T.U.C. special economic committee at a meeting which lasted all yesterday rejected a plan which would mean an almost complete standstill in wages, including the suspension of agreements under which the wages of about 1,500,000 workers are tied to the cost of living, says The Times labour correspondent: The leaders of unions with cost of living sliding seales refused to aecept that these should ■ be suspended. When the cost of living rises. as a result of devaluation and these unions receive automatie increases, it will be exceedingly diffieult to ask other workers to restrain their wages elaims. The committee when it meets again on Monday will no doubt re-empliasise the need for wage restraint, but the prospects of making the advice effective have been considerably diminished and the economic hopes which the Government had placed upon devaluation will be correspondingly weakened.