from an industrial correspondent. Workers in four big industries have suffered a wage shrink, according to a Ministzy of Labour inquiry. In the period between June '66 (when the freeze begen) and January '67 the engineering industry showed shrinkages from 12/5a to 20/0a a week for different catagories of workers. (3.3% to 6.0% decline)
On the other hand average hourly earnings, excluding overtime premium, rose for skilled timeworkers by 0.7%, and for labourers on timework by 0.6%, although they dropped by 0.1% for semi-skilled timeworkers.. The same applied to payment-by-result men, with increases of 1.1% for the skilled and 0,3% for labourers and a drop of 1.7% for the semi-skilled.
During the same period two further stages of the long term agreement between the Engineering Employers Federation came into operation representing weekly increases of 12/1ld & 10/0a for those timeworkers who were paid. the lowest district rate, Average weekly earnings, including overtime premium,a also fell for most shipbuilding and ship-repairing workers, The decreases ranged from 4s lld for semi-skilled payment-by-results workers to 16s 6d for skilled timeworkers, Only the semi-skilled timeworkers managed to earn more, 2s ld or 0.6%, .
The chemical industry showed a similar picture: average weekly earnings (including overtime) were down, the decrease ranging from 8s 9d (or 2.1%) for general workers on timework, to 24s 8d (or 5.1%) for payment-by-results craftsmen, Except for general workers on timework, whose average hourly earnings, excluding overtime went up by 2.8d, these earnings also declined, by between 0,2 and 1,3%,
The inquiry found that most workers in iron and steel manufacture shared the reduced earnings of their mates in the other industries: average weekly earnings for all but maintenance workers on timework fell by 3s 11d for payment~by-result service workers, and by 24s 2d for production workers, The maintenance workers were better off by 14s 3d. This report indicates the widening credibility gap between the actuality of wage restraint and the National Interest platitude of the "planned Growth of income", When the message gets home that the only "planned growth of income" is occuring in the city of London-at the workers expense- the old saying about the "Mills of the gods grinds slow - but exceedingly fine" will find its parallel in the Labour movement,