rrintworkers have been among the first to feel the Government's whip of compulsory legislation. Fayment of a cost of living increase, agreed between the Newsvaper Proprietors and the Print Unions in 1964, has now been stopped by Order in Council. 27,000 London employees will have their wages reduced by 2s. a week, and 2,000 provincial rrinters by 6s. a week. Encouraged by the Government's intervention, the employers are refusing to sign new wage agreements although the old ones have expired. The big test will come in December when the agreement covering workers in General Print expires. All this ~ plus the threat of "rationalisation" which is hanging over the industry - is leading to considerable anxiety which has already found expression in a number of stovpages in national rapers. But no clear-cut policy for resisting these attacks has yet emerged. The two main print Unions (S.0.G.A.T. and N.G.A.) are divided. S.0.G.A.T., a fusion of the old N.A.T.S.0.P.A. and the Paperworkers', is opposed to the freeze and is insisting (on paper) that all agreements must be honoured. ‘.G.A., @ fusion of the compositors, machine minders, and printing tel egraphists, officially supports the freeze and has decided not to oppose the Order in Council stopping the cost of living increase. ' The last Delegate meeting of the London Machine Branch of 5.0.G.1.T., which some 400 delegates attended, debated a motion which called upon chavels to take industrial action to defeat the freeze and pledged the branch to take immediate action if anyone was penalised under the Prices and Incomes Act. This resolution was narrowly defeated in favour of a motion which, in effect, supported industrial action provided the initiative came from the Executive Council. Growing hostility to the Labour Government is reflected in large numbers "contracting out" of paying the political levy and one whole machine chapel has done this in protest at the wage freeze. This sort of opposition also found expression at the Annual Meeting last month of the London Clerical Branch-of S.0.G.A.T. (10,000 members and 150 chapel delegates) which carried almost unanimously the following motion:
"This delegate meeting ... is opposed to the use of the Law and the
State machine to hold back or limit wage increases and therefore
opposes the Labour Government's Prices and Incomes Act, its Wages
Freeze, as well as the Tory Party's threat to reform the Trade Unions.
All these policies will require anti-Trade Union legislation. The :
Executive Council is therefore urged to prepare the Union for a policy. .
of independence from all Governments and political parties and, to this
end, suggests that “xecutive’ Council ballot all those members who pay
the political levy as to whether our present affiliation to the Labour
Party should continue." Meanwhile, S.0.G.1.Tis Exe@utive Council has itself come very near .to advocating disaffiliation from the Labour Party in an official Statement entitled "S.0.G.A.T. and the Wage Freeze". Theydeclare that the Labour Government is "pursuing Tory policies", is making the rich richer at the expense of the workers, and is using compulsion to prevent wage increases and stop trade union activity. They state that unless this policy is changed Labour "must forfeit our support”, In this rather confused situation an Association of Rank and File. Printworkers has been set up and * From Resistance continued /
embraces on its working committee members of nearly all the vrint unions,
It is hoped that this association will help to overcome the present
isolation among chavels and Unions and assist in the co-ordination of
views and activities on how rrintworkers can fight the wage freeze and
anti-Trade Union legislation. The objects of the Association have been
agreed as follows:
Le To fight the wage Freeze, the Prices and Incomes Act, and all anti-
Trade Union legislation.
25 To promote sympathetic industrial action should the penal clauses of
the Prices and Incomes Act be invoked against anyone trying to improve
wages and working conditions.
36 To campaign within the printing unions for a ballot of the membership
on the question of continued affiliation to the Labour Party.
4. To propagate the idea of One Union for the Printing Industry.
se To associate with rank and file associations in other industries which
have similar aims.