at 25 per cent.
Now BOC is rejection of a 7.7 per cent offer.
Mick Gosling Deputy claim.
What are you asking for this year?
John Walsh: The claim is for a substantial increase on the basic with the company's profitato pay, consolidation of the E5 back productivity and 10 per cent got last year, increases in shift allowances, night-out and subsistence anowances.a 35-hou week. It's worth about 30 per been offered Tave YOU productivity deal?
Mickey Boulter: They wouldn't DEOCELLIVELYEOUS. couldn't do any more work under the present manning unless they LaYC 11S workers Wasn't there a productivity deal last year?
whatsoever. gave productivity, we lost no hours, and we lost no workers.
We learnt our esson under Phase 1 and 2 of the Work Study Review (WSR) system at the beginning of the 1970s. We lost 800 workers nationally (20 per cent of BOC's entire workforce).
I never agreed with it but we had to abide by the majority decision, and at a price of 13 per last year to blow a hole in Phase 3 of the Governmentfray Management were due to reply yesterday to the union's and John Ross spoke to JOHN WALSH and MICKEY BOULTER, Convenor and Convenor for the Transport & Workers Union at the Hackney depot, about this year's worker per week Hackney lost 30 per cent of its labour force After WSR 2 there will be no more productivity because people realised what a fraud it was.
How did you recover from that to winning what you did last year?
JW: We will have to go back a long time to explain that. years ago the union in BOC was just being organised.
There were no lay delegates on the national commince. we eventualy gol five on from the four regions in 1970/71 representing the T & G and General Workers more At thesame time we led a fight from Hackney for a national meeting of delegates from all 46 BOC depots. The place in 1974.
Now in the event of a pay claim being prepared it is taken no meeting of representatives depots where a resolution is adopted ane taken nacktoine branches where it is endorsed and submitted to management.
powerfulset-up this is. How has he company respondeur MB: The companv is irving to break the union set-up in BOC from national officers downwards. The weapon is overtime. The union officers signed an with the ment in 1969/70 for 48 hours. again. But what the company indirectly through departments and individuals is to let some people go over the General So at some depots you have OCODIe workine deudranieca OU hour week. We shouldn't allow the strength of the unions in this You work in a very profitable dealing industry. Do you see yourselves as a 'special case"
JW: We don't class ourselves as a special case.
MB: Nor at Ford's. How you be special at Ford's! They Ten are poorer paid than us.
They are everything they and more and it would still be negotiating inadequate for the work they are doing. And there's no way they can give more productivity.
Municipal Has the Ford strike encouraged BOC workers?
MB: It must do, mustn't it. We stood on our own last year. This first took year's marvellous for us.
JW: Unfortunately there is not a great deal we can do. We're the two main supplier of gases for Ford fact that they are closed we are supplying nothing are Hackney is that all supplies were Dagenham are blacked and so are the vehicles which would have carried them. We won't even let management use the vehicles inside the depot.
does different as there are no strict up with the low paid?
because of vear and m almost Many firm are claiming BOC workers in Manchester during last year's dispute now do you see yoursen unking their MB: Well, we used muscle last put rassed by it! Firms like BOC are making massive profits, carrying explosive materials on the roads all over Britain, and what do they contribute, what does contribute, to the firemen or the national health?
We pay for these services but firms claim they are putting profits back into machinery and so on and get government grants as well. The private sector should be made to money into the public You say 'use your muscle', but nave mese workers cor le MB: 1 reckon they have, but what happens is that the press turns all the people against them.
If the dustmen come out l'Il be going round the flats telling people not to leave black bags on their balconies for the flies and rats.
Take them down to the main road and leave them there not on the kerb, in the middle of the road. They' ve got to show that il'sthe councils and government who are responsible for the What about Callaghan's argument that anyone who breaks 5 per cent is a big threat to thi Labour Government?
JW: Well, I don't know and | don't particularly care. 1 do know that anyone who gets less that 12½ per cent this year will automatically be taking reduction in wages.
I want the workers to ger their fair share of the cake, and 5 per 1 cent is no fair share
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TUC pay policy, winning an increase which worked out entering the pay