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A worthwhile salary?
Page 90
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Therefore his hands are full indeed, and his best effort and interest is called for. Surely such a responsible job will give him a good worthwhile salary? But there again he has been left well behind. A maintenance foreman with a 100-vehicle fleet rarely exceeding £18 a week yet a skilled fitter with a little evening overtime over his eighthour day, plus a Sunday morning, can take home £24, with the trunk driver in front of them all at £27 to £30.
There is little need to wonder at the steady wastage of foreman and other supervisors at this time. Many have left for the far higher wages and better conditions of the car industry. Small wonder, as vehicle repair is nearly at the head of the list of dirty jobs and among lots of the smaller haulage fums conditions for repair staff are at times atrocious. Many garages are literally overflowing with work at certain times of the day, and it is no unusual sight to see a brake reline, wheel cylinder or oil seal change being undertaken on some outside gravel or cinder vehicle park by an oilskin-clothed fitter— hardly a sight to really encourage applicants for the many vacancies.
It is now easier to understand why the good skilled fitter is not the slightest bit interested in promotion, since it means in most instances a reduction in pay from the wage plus overtime that he is accustomed to and around which he has fashioned his way of life. In fact he is more likely to be tempted away from the industry.