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Five-day Week for London Markets ?
Page 47
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FROM OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT
FAR-REACHING changes in the . pattern of deliveries to London's fruit and vegetable markets—and no doubt eventually to provincial markets as well— are foreshadowed by the agreement for a five-day week between the Covent Garden Market Tenants' Association, and the Transport and General Workers' Union.
The agreement, which has been accepted by the two sides although it has not formally been signed yet, provides• in the first instance for a two-hour cut in the Standard working week from 44 to 42 hours, starting on May 4. This is to be followed in September by the introduction of a five-day, Monday to Friday, ' working week for a trial five-month period. Next spring the market would return temporarily to 54-day working, followed in October, 1965, by a permanent five-day week.
" The latter parts of the agreement are subject to London's other five wholesale fruit and vegetable markets—Borough, Brentford, King's Cross, Spitalfields and Stratford — accepting similar working arrangements. So far these markets are showing little readiness to fall into line. In fact, the spokesman for one of the tenants' associations ts reported to have described the Covent Garden agreement as "damnable".
Mr. W. A. Punt, the union's officer responsible for the markets, commented mildly: "Negotiations are still proceeding with the other tenants' associations, but we hope that if the Covent Garden Tenants' Association signs an agreement, the others will see the reasonableness of the claim". Whether this will be so, remains to be seen. Un to now a point verging on deadlock has been reached and even the intervention of Ministry of Labour conciliation officers has failed to bring about any agreement.
. The reason for Covent Garden's insistence on similar trading hours at the other markets is clear. If Covent Garden were the Only Market to work a five-day-week, they fear that much of their trade would be lost to the other markets. But spokesmen for the other markets stress their differences from Covent Garden, which they claim has most of its business with wholesalers, provincial markets and large multiple traders. It is, therefore, better able to close on Saturdays. But the other markets do much of their trading with small retailers who want fresh fruit and vegetables for their customers on Saturday morning.
For both growers and transport undertakings, both road and rail, Saturday closing will mean that all supplies for the week-end would have to reach the markets by Friday morning. There will be further difficulties when it comes to perishable foodstuffs, such as strawberries, lettuces and watercress, Anything that does not reach the market by Friday will have deteriorated so much the following Monday as to be virtually unsaleable.
Against that union leaders say that most of what the housewife buys now on
Saturdays is bOught by the greengrocer on Friday or even Thursday and that comparatively little business is done in the markets on Saturdays. They feel that there should be little difficulty in doing the sante amount of business in five days as is at present done. in five and a half.
Meanwhile, the Covent Garden Authority seems to have accepted the Beckton site as the most suitable for its new market, this being the place recommended by the Fantus study group.
Haulage Wage Rise Confirmed
THE Road Haulage Wages Council at 1 its meeting in London last week confirmed the proposal for the increase in haulage pay set out-in R.H.(77). It is understood that relatively few objections were received by the Council,
The proposals, which are for a four per cent increase in basic rate in Grade 1 areas, with differentials maintained for other areas, have now been passed to the Minister of Labour. When he has formally approved the increase it will be published as a statutory order, R.H.(78), and the Minister will set a date for the new rates to come into force.