Some readers have seid they were not convinced that the lansuage used in the last issue of The Week about the profits of Amal gawated Tin Mines of Nigeria was justified. Perhaps the following quotation from the October 23rd issue of the .Investors Chronicle will help them to understand whet I meant when I spoke of the regime in Nigeria being a stooge regimes
",..Apart from fears of price instability, the producers have other reasons for uneasee Recently, the Morgan award raised the wage rate from 4s. a day as a minimum to 4s 1ld and in speeches made in the shadow of the impendin; elections, a promise was made to the workers of a 5s 64 minimum, The minimum wages apply to expatriate companies, and not to contractors who supply a large part of the tin industry's labour force, The contractors charge the companies on the basis of the minimum waze, making part of their profits by paying less...."| (our emphasis)
Tims a little insight is given into the set-up.in Nigeria. How many : British workers would be satisfied with 4s 11d an hour? but the Investors : Caronicle is complaining about the effect on profits of 4s 1lld per day!! jut what is more, the contractors who. actually supply the labour force for the tin mines pay less than this! The present Government in Nizeria is a government whose social function is to make possible such a state of affairs. That government is in the Commonwealth = now we have a Lahour Government in Britain, Labour is intrinsically bound up with the trade unions. I would not ask for adventuristic moves, but surely a lebour Government will use whatever influence it has to see that the most elementary principles of trade unionism are spplied in the Commonwealth.