are ee pte Pe tafe the planning of incomes, certain basic principles Se sein nee a those of equal pay for equal work for women
’ rate of pay at 18 years of age, and the establishment
¢ Further, fringe benefits and
adly underpaid sections
b) It does not provide for redistributi
istribution between social se
v r ctors of incomes. A precondition for any incomes policy must be that it ickentems the sector of rentier incomes and adds to that of wages and salaries, c) It is not underpinned by an adequate level of social welfare provision. Pensions in particular still need considerable augmentation in spite of the recent very important increases, : ad) It does not adequately control property incomes. Taxation is an inadequate weapon for preventing cheating by the employers. Only the complete accountability of every firm to its workpeople can provide the necessary checks and controls by which the unions can ensure that the norms of the policy are rigorously applied to the sector of property incomes. This requires that workpeople must as of right have access to all their employers' account books, and to such professional aid as is needed to interpret the data contained therein, This can be provided by trade union accountants and the officers of the inland revenue, Wages are already publicly known and controlled by the employers and the Inland Revenue; equity requires that profits be placed in a similar position. e) It does not adequately control prices. In order to do this, the Labour Government should be pressed to set up machinery to effectively determine prices as opposed to the present P.I.B., which merely reviews the decisions, which have been taken unilaterally by business. The principles upon which the machinery would be based would be that:i. No increases in prices would be permitted without the authorisation of the prices control commission, ii. Commissions would be set up in each industry with statutory powers to investigate all the accounts and cost elements in the firms concerned. All the findings of the commission would be made public. iii, All decisions of the price control commissions would be legally enforceable. iv. The structure of the commissions should ensure effective workers! and consumers! control in the decisions. : ve These commissions would be guaranteed the necessary finances and staff to enable them to function adequately. f) The policy also causes us concern, because it is not founded in a strategic national plan for the development of planned, publicly owed,
Incomes Policy Rejection continued/ democratically ry n j fit
i i tly, it will tend to bene
ically administered industry. Conseque ; ; obeabe interests rather than thrust forward and defend public priorities Pp
g) For all these reasons, it tends to undermine the freedom and power of the trade unions.
t 2 In rejecting the policy, we reaffirm our support for the 7 .UsC.'s composite resolution of 1964.
t
should be opened up with the unions, abou ‘tne conte oF prey policy, in which these detailed objections can be met. If this is done quickly, it may be possible to save the nigh rcs from a costly and demoralising defeat, and to contribute to the rallying of the Labour and Trade Union movement for socialist objectives, such as those outlined in Clause IV of the Labour Party Constitution,