The Administrative Aspects of the Introduction of Productivity Payment Schemes in the Electricity Supply Industry*
| Date | 01 September 1974 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1974.tb00189.x |
| Author | J.D.M. BELL |
| Published date | 01 September 1974 |
The Administrative AsDects
of
the Introduction
of
Productivity Payment Schemes in the Electricity
Supply Industry*
J.
D
.M
.BELL
Mr.Bell
is
Industrial Relations
Adviser
to
the
Electricity Council.
The Electricity Supply Industry
(ESI)
as
a nationalized concern and an
essential public utility, has a number of special obligations to the public,
to
the government and to those it employs. Its primary function is to
maintain
a
supply and a service to its consumers,
‘To
perform this it
currently employs approximately
~go,ooo
staff, and to these it has a duty
to be a good employer. The industry must take account
of
the ‘public
interest’, a consideration which may vary
as
governments change or even
as
their policies change. It also has an obligation to conduct its business
on efficient, commercially viable lines
so
as
not to waste public finance
or to put too great a burden (in tariffs) on consumers. Clearly thrse
constraints
on
the running of the industry are not always readily
compatible.
The most serious domestic issue confronting this country in recent years
ha3 been the need
to
contain inflation. During periods of inflation the
ESI
has been faced, in the commercial spherc, with the need to set realistic
tariffs, and in industrial relations to reconcile conflicting influences. The
industry must pay competitive wage rates in order to attract the quality
and quantity of staff required; it has to be careful not to aggravate the
inflationary situation, and therefore must negotiate (within incomes policy
restraints) wage settlements which are still mcaningful to staff and accept-
able to the unions.
Employees
and unions demand that wage rates keep
pace with or outpace inflation; employers and government are tied by
the need
to
control inflation. During the
1960’s
productivity deals were
hailed
as
the solution to this dilemma. It was rightly held that
if
prodric-
tivity rises, then proportionate wage increases can follow. The Labour
government’s National Board for Prices and Incomes
(NBPI)
prcssed this
idea and the
ESI
responded to the call. But productivity deals in the
ESI
*l’he opinions expressed in this article
do
not
necessarily coincide with
those
of
the
Electricity Council.
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