IMGpapers 1976–79

Newspapers of the International Marxist Group and its forerunners, 1976–79

Making concessions that aren't

Socialist Challenge No. 60, 24 August 1978 · p. 5 of the scan · 521 words

The scan: sc-n60-aug-24-1978.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-7 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 5 of the scan

and so preventing redundancies.

behind the McCarthy report.

result of mediation' between the Post Office and the POU. 'Mediation' is not as compli cated as it sounds, Really, it's for just another name for making concessions that are not really concessions at all.

Any POEU member who has had the luck to see a copy of the LODIL ALL TUNE SECE BOW ITE union Icadership came to ассері proposais rinciple. Furthermore, union HOURS cadets have been alempting t void a real fight for the 35 sour week from the beginning.

The first "concession" to the union which McCarthy pro poses in his report concerns the hours. The Post Office says to should ower (sic)

deal: savings in man culated, then any savings split union on a lifty-fifty basis.

Ine union conceded the principle immediately. It stated that cat hours should not result loss INCESSE productivity, as the same work would be done in less time. In other words there would be no work-sHanny, no more 100s week would kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. It would increase the leisure time of workers, and - with the new technology which threatens jobs — it would be one step towards sharing the work available, RICH PALSER looks at the wheelings and dealings The McCarthy report is the productivity deal: a 35 bour week could be achieved without loss in productivity, and so miere would de no extra costs union conceded this principle.

McCarthy casily that hours should be cut on a "sharing" benefits of increased productivity. management.

The scoond concession of McCarthy's report concern reduced. Management argued im the negotiations that hours should be cur one stage at a time. After each productivity could be ored and if: increases in productivity finled to keep pace with the reduction the cede in our could the halted With the concession of a 3712 hour week in McCarthy "conceded" that the second stage in reducing hours should not he denendent how the first stage goes. He wants to guarance coat toe cal in hours can be malched by That's why be call "concede" that there should be no delay in IN NEWCASTLE and the London borough of as it stops at 37%i hours.

Measures needed to increase productivity will include more Nexible lunch times, eight or and starting a productivity increases are not achieved? This still has to be nescusated. dently thinks these matters can iraned out once agreement is reached on the main issues.

McCarthy has given some "concessions for the union "conceded" leadership members. But they came only stage, the monitDOC CLAI the required the enterprise McCarthy confi 1o sell lo their once the union leadership had thrown away the main poists of As he says in the report: truly be said that, in the words of the White Paper (on wage restraint), benefits are being chared between "the workers.

In short, the engineers wil get a cut in hours, the Po Office will maintain producti vity, and the Government will maintain its wages! limit. The Secretary of State for Industry is well pleased with McCarthy 35HR WEEK

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