Should Wages be Local?
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By A. E. Sherlock-Mesher
Mr. A. F. Neal (Manchester), Aid. J. H. Whitaker (Todmorden), Mr. G. Cherry (Birkenhead), Mr. H. Muscroft (Huddersfield), the new president of the MP.T.A., Aid. R. Weir (Black burn), the retiring president, and Mr. R. E. Hyslop, general secretary.
THE question of wages and conditions was uppermost in the minds of everyone who attended the annual conference of the Municipal Passenger Transport Association in Portsmouth. last week. The notc had been sounded by Mr. A. F. Neal, general manager of Manchester Transport Department, in his paper, "Operating Standards," summarized in The Commercial Motor last week.
In elaborating the paper at the conference, Mr. Neal confessed that he regarded the section on staff conditions as the most important. His plea for local autonomy in fixing wages—with control by the national body—was attacked by several speakers, who feared that if his proposal were put into effect, the national machinery for fixing wages and conditions would break down.
Rigid Limit
The discussion was, however, unworthy of the scope of Mr. Neal's paper. A rigid time limit, to fit into the social arrangements, was imposed on the discussion, which, because some speakers failed to keep to the point and "hogged the mike," was unduly restricted.
Instead of reading his paper, Mr. Neal gave a precis of it and added some comments. He noted a tendency for engines to be reduced in swept volume or output, in the interests of economy. He criticized town planners for their neglect of transport in designing new areas.
He caused controversy when he supported the decision (now under review) of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to disqualify from the annual awards for safe driving, drivers
who during the past year had been convicted of speeding. In his view, the most important cause of serious accidents was speeding and he appeared to make no allowances for technical offences.
He condemned the inclusion of halfpennies in Cares and thought that a minimum fare of 3d., with 2d. stages, was probably justified. Such a scheme would simplify fare structures. He doubted whether reductions in the mileage scale based on the distance travelled would be practicable.
Coming to the controversial matter of staff conditions, he said that the real criterion was earnings • per hour. The market rate had to be paid. At an average depot in Manchester, only 19 hours in the basic 44-hour week were worked between 7.30 a.m. on Monday and 5.30 p.m. on Friday. Not only was there too much overtime in transport, but much of the working week was spent at unpopular times.
Mr. Neat was opposed to concession fares for pensioners or for workers. Pensioners should, he said, be given the money and allowed-to spend it as they wished.
Ald. J. H. Whitaker (Todmorden) opened the discussion " with his usual fire and attacked Mr. Neal's suggestion of varying Standards of wageis according to area. He had, he confessed, once opposed a national standard, but he believed that it would now be a retrograde step to depart from it. He foresaw that to do so might destroy the
existing national machinery. As an old-age pensioner, he did not want concession fareshe desired a reasonable pension.
Local Autonomy
Aid. G. C. W. Jones (West Bromwich), whose town is thriving, disagreed with Aid. Whitaker and wished for Ideal autonomy. The criterion should, he thought, be the number of vacancies open at the local employment exchanges. The transport industry committed a fatal error in thinking that it alone was short of staff, and in failing to recruit boys and girls straight from school.
• Mr. Neal, in replying, admitted the difficulty of recruiting youngsters and confessed that he did not know the answer.
air. C. D. Larrow (Newcastle upon Tyne), who was horrified at the thought of a 3d. minimum fare, brought a reply from Mr. Neal that one undertaking already had a bottom rate of 2id.
Larrow said that Newcastle gave concessions to various classes of person, but still managed to charge only lid. for 1.1 miles. In answer to his question whether season tickets were practicable