Chronicle
| Published date | 01 March 1966 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1966.tb00921.x |
| Date | 01 March 1966 |
| Author | Robert F. Banks |
Chronicle
September
-
December
1965
THE CLIMATE
OF
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Britain's economic difficulties and, more particularly, her balance of pay-
ments problem remained the dominant influence on the climate of industrial
relations during the last quarter of
I
965.
The balance of payments situation had
improved by the end
of
the year, but the trade deficit still remained a major
problem. In spite
of
the measures taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
restrain home demand the economy remained persistently buoyant, and un-
employment continued at low levels throughout the period. The number of
workers unemployed in Great Britain, as compared with the first half of
1965
declined, and the monthly unemployment figures for September, October and
November were between
20
and
30,000
persons less than in the same months
in
1964.
The actual number of persons wholly unemployed and temporarily
stopped in Great Britain between September and November* and these figures
as
a
proportion
of
the total number of employees were reported by the Ministry
of Labour as follows:
Month Per cent unemployed Numbers unemployed
(000)
I965 I964 1965
1
964
September
I
'4
I
'5 3'5'3 341.7
October
I
'4 "5 3'7.0 34743
November
I
'4
1
'5 331'9 350.0
Weekly and hourly wage rates and earnings for all workers in all industries
and services continued to rise rapidly throughout the year and, compared with
the same months in
I
964,
there were marked increases in levels of pay. Normal
weekly hours declined and figures for
1965
were substantially lower than those
for
1964.
Indices of weekly and hourly wage rates and normal weekly hours
(31
January
1956
=
100)
Month Weekly wage rates Hourly wage rates Normal weekly
hours
I965 1964
1
965 I964 1965 1964
September
148.0 141.8 160.2 149'9 92'4 94.6
November
149.2 142.3 162.0 150.8 92'
1
94'4
October
148-4 141'9
161.0
150.0
92.2 94-6
Indices
of
weekly and monthly earnings (the average for
I
963
=
I
00)
Month Weekly paid employees Monthly paid employees
All
employees
1
965
1
964 1965 1964
September
I
16.3 108.5 108.0 102.4
I
14.8 107.6
October
I
17.7 109.5 109.2 103.1
I
16.2 108.6
November
117.4
110.1
I
10.9 104.2 116.2
109.3
1965 1964
*
The figures presented in this section are obtained
from
the Ministry
of
Labour surveys, un-
fortunately December totals were
not
available at the time the Chronicle went
to
press.
90
CHRONICLE
SEPTEMBER
I
965
-
DECEMBER
I
965
9'
The index of retail prices also showed substantial increases over the year
especially after the Budget in April. However, the rate of price increase during
the second half of the year was slowed down by the decisions of the National
Board for Prices and Incomes, and was below the rate of increases in money
incomes.
Index of Retail Prices
(16
January
1962
=
100)
September
I
13.0 107.8
November
I
13.6 108.8
Month
I965 I964
October
I
13.1 107.9
Between September and November
1965
industrial conflict as measured by
the number ofstrikes, the number ofworkers involved and the number ofworking
days lost on account of strike action remained at approximately the same level
as recorded in comparable months in
1964.
During the period the main centres
of strike action were in the motor vehicle and cycle, engineering and mining
industries. Provisional monthly figures
for
the various measures of industrial
conflict are presented below:
Month
Number
of
disputes
Number
of
workers
Number
of
working
beginning
or
in involved
(000)
duys lost
(000)
progress
each
month
I965 I964 I965 I964
September
238 258 83.7 67.1 149.0 159.0
October
224
277
72'5 76.7 196.0 161.0
November
226 261 67.9 64.8 146.0 159'0
1
965
1
964
GOVERNMENT POLICY AND ACTIVITIES
Proposals
for
strengthening Prices and Incomes Policy
Continued price rises and wage increases far in excess of the suggested norm
of
3-34
per cent forced the Government in September to take steps to strengthen
its voluntary prices and incomes policy. Immediately before the commencement
of the annual Trades Union Congress at Brighton Mr George Brown, the
Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, informed the general council of the
TUC that he intended to introduce legislation which would give the Govern-
ment powers by Orders in Council to implement a compulsory early warning
system for wage claims and prospective price increases if the voluntary policy
continued to be ineffective. Faced with the threat of direct Government inter-
vention in the collective bargaining process the general council agreed to
recommend that Congress should accept the introduction of the proposed
legislation, but on the condition that the Government would only put the early
warning system into operation if it was necessary to make the prices and incomes
policy effective, and only after consultation with the TUC and the Confederation
of British Industry. However, the general council stressed that in its view the
Government's proposals left intact the voluntary principles on which the
prices and incomes policy was based and it took immediate steps to get Congress
support for a TUC wage vetting scheme which would make the early warning
legislation unnecessary (see Trade Union section below).
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