GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED

Chronicle (Levin), 9 November 1949, Page 5

GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED

(N.Z.P.A.—

Reuter.

Trades Unions Will Help New Production Drire

Comriaht)

Received Wednesday, 10 a.m. LONDON, Nov. 8. British trades union leaders deeided today to give full suppart to the Labour Government's poiicy of greater production at less cost. The special economic committee of the-- Trades Union Congress, which has been studying the eff ects of devaiuation, ended lts meeting today and announced that it had / . eached "broad and general conV'clusions," which it nad recommended to the general council of the T.U.C. to adopt as its official poiicy at a special meeting tomorrow. The nature of the recommendations were kept secret, but wellinformed quarters forecast that a two-point poiicy would emerge from tomorrows general council meeting. This would recommend, firstly, that trade unions must continue with an even greater effort to keep demands for higher wages under restraint and, secondly, that trade unions must back the big new effort to raise production. Since devaiuation the T.U.C. special committee has examined ' a number of polieies, including a proposal that there should be a complete standstili on all but the lowest incomes and another that there should be a national minimum wage. Compromise On Wage Claims. With more than half the membership of the T.U.C. committed to claims for higher wages, the leaders, however, were not prepared to make the coneessions necessary to introduce such polieies. The "broad and .general conclusions" which have resulted from their discussions represent- a compromise. Meanwhile, in an award issued today the National Arbitration Tribunal emphasised the view expressed in the previous award that the production incentive scheme should operate in the electrical contracting industry in England and Wales. The dispute arose from the hourly pay rise claim. The employers — the National Federated Electrical Association — contended that a rise was unjustified. The tribunal held that the parties should jointly eonsider incentive schemes and decided that becaus'e such talks should be held without more deiay, a decision on the pay claim be deferred for six months.