About 20,000 workers making tuses, luxury coaches and motor bodies are to have a 40-hour week next year and pay increases as from January 6 of between 4 and 5%. In addition a certain msasure of parity between men and w..en is to be introduced, The new wage rate for women will be the same as that for labourers in the industry (4/634 per hour) tut since the women concerned aro semi-skilled — workers the settlement does not give “equal pay" under a strict inter pretation.
Alfred Roberts, goneral secretary of the National Union of Vehicle Builders, has described the agreement as “quite an advance." Certainly it will have the effect of increasing the pressure on engineering employers to concede the 40-hour week and equal paye HOUSE OF LAY-ABOUTS? from a London correspondent
Mandrake, in his column in the Sunday Tolegraph of December 27 had an interesting item on how British peers earn (or don't earn) their living. Amongst those with inheritable titl%s (this includes baronets) and even excluding those aged 75 or more, it seems that “over one-third have never followed any gainful occupation, and another 25% have already retired from work." In other words, even disregarding the very old title holders, "less than 40% are currently in jobs; and among this minority nearly half are company directors."