Ministers like to build monuments particularly to themsclves. Jemie Lee
hga the open university, which is not open at sll. There are reservetions
on who can enter the courses and its aim is not the plessure of understanding
but the creation of more technocrats. Through ite courses the student will
change his working role, but he will chenge from being one kind of producer
to being a more valued kind. That is how they will slways be defined in
this society -— as producers. Mr Wilson, of course, hss the whole system as
his monument. The rejuvination of the bourgeois state sppears to be his
life's work. This involves an increase in production, which will produce a
useable surplus of funds. The funds, of course, cannot come from the
employer's profits. Every move made, from wage restraint to attempted
control of the unions, is s move mde with surplus production in mind, We
are producers you ses- invented sometime between the wheel end the internal
combustion engine - infinitely more relaible and more adaptable too, Mrs.
Gastle's monument, though she doesn't know it, 1s 4 reguler time bomb. We
mist be quite clear about the issue of Equal Fay for work of Equal Value.
In the terms in which it is disuussed by the Government it hae nothing to
do with equality and everything to do with productivity. Equel pay is only
an issue at sll beesuse the Wilson Government seés it ae leading to:-
1) 8 greater lebour force.
2) 9 lsbour force whose productive talue will be slmost doubled becuuse
night work restrictions will be removed,
3) 8 labour force whoso productive value will be increased because equal
pay can be coupled with productivity agreements, which will involve a
speed up of work, a shortening of work breaks, elc.
4) a useful excuse for controlling working cluss wage increases.
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If the government looked upon the issue of equel pey in terms of equality and justice i+ would provide for the extra pay to come immediately from the employers’ profits, Bat thia would be nothing less on open challenge to Cupitelenst Wilaon's wey at all. Right, so they reverse the whole situation, they negotinte, not so mach with the employers for justice as with the vorkere for ing *sased anounts of work, In return for an early removal of night work restrictions and an accepted continuance of wage restraint, ve may over a poriod of 5-7 years, have at least = . the semblance of what is rightfully ours. See how increased productivity can at once be organised, whilst justice is a far more complex affair! At the T.ELC. conference Mr. L.A. Matthews of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Yorkers emphasised the lengthening of periods of work without adequate braake for women and young pereons. He acid many of tho racommeniations of the working purty denling with tours of employment of women and youg persans in feeterics were regressive. Production had been the yardaticx in dealing with the lfare aspects of the Factories Acts, If new reguletions were to be put into force, it might maen women would have to work for 6 houra without a bresk, There was a auspiation that the measures were to be part of the py ce women might have to pry for equal pay! Mr. Matthews has understood well that equal pay on Mrs. Cestle's terms will in. fact be an extension of that sort of bargninine between Labour and Ceoitel which resulta in the Productivity agreement. Ite the sort of bargain in which Capital will give increased benefits, in return for e speed-up of work which will increase their profits. Now beeause of economic pressures, U.P. conmmittmonts, end a standard of living they want to miintain, the workers havc in the recant past incressed their pace of work in return for what the omployers offerred, Maat +H Yhat the worker soon finds, however, is thet when youte working flotcapt, with only short breaks, fower hands, night-shifte and the lot, you'ra exheuated and trapped at thirty and at forty the pace is too much or just irrclavant. This is whet Irs, Caatle is offering women. She wants us to become fully integrated into a system which will wring ua dry. This ie also what is being offerred to ue by certain wemen trade wnionists who meaininin that in return for equal pay, we must be prepared to work nights eto. They want us to become totally submisaive to (..21tel Capital, They went women to ba instrumencti in es*ablishins tat workera are productive unita that must function both dey and night, regardless of the effects on what is left of thoir non-worlting lives and health. And why is Mrs. Castle's monument a time bomb? The confederation of one industry have of course rejected equal pry. Wilson insists that it must be coupled With wrge restraint, whilst most unions insist thet it must net. It would seem that there are tos ghagy conflicting porapectives for agreement to be reached. But this does not constitudesthe explosivenoee of the aituation. Agreement may. in future bo reached. Capital san not resist the possibility of a apeed-up of production: this is what is going very sho Paste hee nackaany Py for it's very survival, it is whet lir. Wison wante, anc the unions may well"be too used to thinking in terms of exchanging some mor of their members! awaat for a little justice, to agree to such conditims for equel pay. The situation is explosive booause it spells out to women, and also to mon that they are rewarded as no more then human conveyor belts, Ye mist increase their awareness of this. YW, are not going to be instrumental in establishing nig t-work for another section of the working cliss, rathar we shall try to bring it down. We are not contributinpe to the wage bergeining perspective which works prople inta ill health and apathy, for 2 little moro from the employer. This requires A gcfengive ” & mentality, which wa do not have. We are giving Aeini in roturn for equal pay, Let Mra. Catle suggest thant we should, ond she will find owt just how offensive we cen bo!