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Liverpool strike: second peace plan
Page 38
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by our industrial correspondent
• Hopes of a settlement to the fortnight-long unofficial strike of 7,000 Merseyside lorry drivers rested with a mass meeting yesterday (Thursday) at which new peace proposals were to be put to the men.
Mr. Ken Jackson, TGWU national secretary, said: "We think these will form a reasonable basis for obtaining a full resumption of work'.
The peace formula was thrashed out in discussions with the branch committee which has been leading the dispute: lengthy talks have also been held with the local Road Haulage Association. A back-to-work vote was taken last week and the drivers claimed almost complete victory on their demands for increased pay. But the men misunderstood the peace terms. They thought that they would get a £16 basic wage immediately. When they reported for work on Wednesday and found that the agreement was only to start nego tiations—with El 6 a week as a fallback payment which would make little difference to earnings— the men walked out once again.
Mr. Jack Thomas, local TGWU officer, said: "We are back to square one". Two further mass meetings decided to continue the stoppage.
It was claimed that almost two-thirds of the employers on Merseyside were prepared to meet the men's demands for £16 a week—rises of between £3 3s Bd and E5 is 6d. The strike committee was making firm-by-firm inquiries to see exactly who would pay what. One sign of a break in the strike came on Tuesday when 300 draymen' on sympathy strike at three local brewery companies decided to report back to work.
Mr. Ray Gunter. Minister of Labour, has refused to intervene so far as this would "not be appropriate" in an unofficial dispute. He has promised, however, to ensure that essential supplies are kept moving.
Mr. Gunter saw Liverpool MPs about the dispute on Tuesday. He was prepared, if the peace move failed, to discuss the matter with union and employer officials during his talks on improvements in haulage productivity. Clearly, a costly settlement at Liverpool would set the pattern for similar claims in other parts of the country.