Day 302 - 18 Nov 96 - Page 51


     
     1        10 quid, so what is he complaining about", or something --
     2        he says that they used to spend hours negotiating over very
     3        marginal improvements in the overtime provisions and in the
     4        wages councils, where, you know, hundredths of a penny on
     5        the hour were seen as very important -- especially, of
     6        course, if you are very low paid -- and that for people on
     7        low pay, small amounts of money can count a great deal on
     8        the hourly rate.
     9
    10        He actually turned out to have sat on the relevant wage
    11        council body that was adjudicating at the relevant time:
    12        1986/1987.  He says he could not be sure, on day 180, but
    13        on day 181 he was sure.  I think, yes, he was a
    14        representative of the union, one of the representatives.
    15
    16        On page 56, he deals with the lack of increase, only a 5
    17        pence increase in three years since the wage councils
    18        abolition.
    19
    20        He said the whole point of wages councils minimum rate was
    21        to keep pace with inflation.  Inflation proofing, he said
    22        at line 54, was a sine que nom of the system; otherwise,
    23        what was the point of it?
    24
    25        He says top of page 57, that in the -- it is hard to
    26        understand what exactly he is saying.  He says, in his
    27        opinion, high unemployment amongst young people makes this
    28        possible; i.e., to have such low pay increases.  You said,
    29        well, he does not have to spell that out, presumably
    30        because it was just obvious common sense; you kind of
    31        interrupted there.
    32
    33        So, there is an example of how McDonald's are taking
    34        advantage of people who have very little choice; and the
    35        only question then becomes:  are young people and black
    36        people and women the people in the wage market who have the
    37        highest levels of unemployment and the least choice --
    38        which we would say is common sense and common knowledge.
    39
    40        Then he says: "Take away wages councils, take away the
    41        floor, take away the minimum; the market prevails and the
    42        unequal nature of the employment relationship" -- and he is
    43        interrupted there.  What he is basically saying is that, as
    44        it says in the fact sheet, the wage councils were a
    45        protection, and that when the market prevails without
    46        statutory protection, the unequal nature of the employment
    47        relationship, i.e. the employer has all the power and the
    48        workers do not have any, without any union protection
    49        especially, inevitably wages will go down.  He says "is
    50        revealed", at line 44, page 57.
    51
    52        If I can just finish this day off, I think it would be an
    53        idea.
    54
    55        He goes on to the Health and Safety report, and he
    56        concludes page 60, line 8: "It does not mince its words,
    57        does it?  There is no more authoritative body in this
    58        country on health and safety work practices."  He believes:
    59         "....it is a shocking report for this particular reason,
    60        that it goes to the heart of the work system in the company

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