GUARANTEED WAGE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 117, 20 May 1941, Page 7

GUARANTEED WAGE

BRITISH COLLIERIES

STABILISING LABOUR

< BUGBY, May 18. A guaranteed wage for coalminers, subject to the workers' willingness to perform any services that are reasonably required of them, is one provision of the Essential Work (Coalmining Industry) Order, 1941, which mainly follows the same lines as the Essential Work (General Provisions) Order. The order, which has been made by the Minister of Labour and National Service, is designed to maintain and make the most effective use of the labour force of the coalmining industry and ensure for the men stability of employment on satisfactory conditions. It includes restrictions on the right of employers to discharge work people and of work people to leave their employment. An important feature, however, is that permission to leave employment will always be granted to enable the worker to take up employment in another colliery. I For time-workers the guaranteed! wage will be an appropriate time-rate for normal working hours, and for piece-workers it is their piece-work earnings and payment at an appropriate time rate for all shifts or parts of shifts normally worked by them for which work is not available, periods of lessj than one hour in any shift being disregarded. The order makes' provision for dealing with absentees, lateness, failure to icomply with a lawful order, and beihaviour calculated to impede effective St>roduction.--'8.0.W. i