Film and TV Technician (1957)

December 1957 EDITORIAL 163 FILM & TV TECHNICIAN _ THEY WANT WAR rpHE' Government, it is now be-^ coming increasingly clear, is hell-bent for war on the Trade Unions. Recent facts speak for themselves and their meaning should be clearly grasped by every trade unionist in the country, whatever his personal political outlook may be. Take the question of the Health Employees, for instance. Representatives of both sides on the Whitley Council agreed on an increase of 3% for those below a certain salary. The Minister of Health, presumably with the full backing of his colleagues in the Government, refused to operate this properly negotiated decision. By this action alone the Government has thrown, and deliberately thrown, the largest size spanner in the whole national machinery of negotiation. Without a declaration of war it has perpetrated an act of war. But that is not all. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, speaking in the recent economic debate in the House of Commons, had this to say : " Wages increases unrelated to, and going far beyond, the general growth of real wealth within the country are by far the greatest danger we have to face, and we should be deceiving ourselves if we pretended otherwise. Those who ask for wage increases, those who grant wage increases, and those who adjudicate about wages should have this fact firmly in the forefront of their minds." What the Government, through the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is in fact saying, is this : " If you are a wage earner do not ask for any more money. If you insist on asking, we shall do everything in our power to see that your employer does not give it to you, even though he may recognise the justice of your claim and be willing to increase your pay. Of course, you are perfectly free to take the matter to arbitration. Do so, by all means. We shall warn the arbitrators to find against you, and if they ignore our warning we shall refuse to implement their findings and we shall do everything possible to see that 'independent' employers do the same." The Government was not slow to implement this attitude in the case of the railwaymen. Clearly, in the light of all this, it would be a pathetically trusting trade unionist who could go before any arbitration tribunal on a question of wages with any confidence in receiving an impartial finding. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NOTE THESE DATES The Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 8th and Sunday, March 9th, 1958, at the* T.U.C. Memorial Buildings, 23-28 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.2 FINAL DATE FOR RESOLUTIONS All resolutions and nominations must be received at Head Office NOT LATER THAN FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27th, 1957 Tribunals in the past, though they have perhaps not been entirely free from prejudice on all occasions, have at least served as reasonably impartial bodies, and in doing so they have been a valuable element in preventing unnecessary industrial warfare. That they can no longer perform this service is a matter of the Government's seeking. It seems that they would prefer open war to peaceful negotiation. Trade Unionists everywhere will note the Government's choice. The war against higher wages and the spanner in the machinery of negotiation are two aspects of a policy that is bound to have very grave consequences. But this is not all. The Chancellor of the Exchequer attacked " wage increases going far beyond the general growth of real wealth ". This general growth of real wealth, on which the well-being of the country as a whole depends, demands the maximum of productivity together with full employment, yet the Government has instituted financial policies which by discouraging investment are bound to curb rather than foster the expansion of industry, and to lead to unemployment rather than full employment. As the T.U.C. Economic Committee has pointed out, the Government's financial measures have led to a position in which the right to work is no longer acknowledged as a social and economic priority. The results of such a policy may bring disaster, and, of course, there will be an attempt to pass the blame to the Unions if and when it comes. What we have written above applies to the industrial field as a whole, but members of A.C.T.T. will not have forgotten that we ourselves have some claims pending on behalf of our members. There will, for instance, be a claim going shortly to the Laboratory employers, and we have no intention of being put off with a refusal based on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement which we quoted above. Then, again, there are to be approaches to the A.S.F.P. for a consolidation of the cost of living bonus. We feel it necessary to make one thing crystal clear. While the cost of living continues to rise there will be wage claims from various sections of the industry, but we do not accept the cost of living and productivity as the sole determinants of wages. As long as the employers are entitled to operate for their own profit workers in the industry are equally entitled to a fair and reasonable share of the proceeds. FILM & TV TECHNICIAN Editor: MARTIN CHISHOLM Editorial Office: 2 Soho Square, W.l Telephone: GERrard 8506 Advertisement Office: 5 and 6 Red Lion Sq., W.C.I Telephone: HOLborn 4972