Power dispute of 1964

Power dispute of 1964

The power dispute of 1964 was an industrial action by electric power workers in the United Kingdom that raised fears of power cuts which were ultimately averted through negotiation with the employers.

Unions representing 128,000 manual workers demanded:
*Reduction in working time from a 42 to 40-hour week;
*An increase in annual paid holiday from two to three weeks;
*More long-service pay;
*Examination of pay rates for craftsmen and their mates.

— threatening an overtime ban and work-to-rule if the demands were not met. Their employers, represented by the Electricity Council, rejected the demands claiming that a three-year pay agreement had been put in place the previous year. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=11 February 1964 | page=6, col.G | title=Work-To-Rule Threat By Power Men - Demand For 40-Hour Week ] [ cite news | work=The Times | date=20 February 1964 | page=12, col.G | title=Power Dispute ]

The unions involved were: [ cite news | work=The Times | date=23 March 1964 | page=7, col.A | title=Guide to Power Dispute - Many Interests Involved In The Struggle ]
*Amalgamated Engineering Union;
*Electrical Trades Union;
*National Union of Enginemen, Firemen, Mechanics and Electrical Workers;
*National Union of General and Municipal Workers; and
*Transport and General Workers Union.

The unions were under pressure to settle from the Labour Party, and were called to talks at Westminster with deputy party leader George Brown and shadow Chancellor James Callaghan who feared for the impact a dispute would have on the party's prospects in the United Kingdom general election, 1964. Talks broke down on 19 March and it was feared that supply disruptions would follow the industrial action. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=20 March 1964 | page=14, col.A | title=Power Dispute Talks Break Down Overtime Ban On Monday, Union Delegation Walks Out Of Meeting ] Further talks on 25 March failed. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=26 March 1964 | page=14, col.A | title=Power Dispute Talks Break Down "Position Worse" After 4-Hour Meeting, Employers' Proposals Rejected ] There were parliamentary clashes between Labour Party leader Harold Wilson and Minister of Labour Joseph Godber. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=28 March 1964 | page=8, col.F | title=Minister Accuses Mr. Wilson Of "Wrecking" Charge And Counter-Charge Over Power Crisis ]

On 31 March, Godber appointed Lord Justice Pearson to chair a court of inquiry into the dispute. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=1 April 1964 | page=10, col.B | title=Lord Justice Pearson Inquiry Chairman ] The inquiry reported on 15 May and found fault on both sides. The employers had been guilty of "slowness and lack of vigour" in addressing the workers' concerns, while the workers had acted "too hastily" in breaking the three-year agreement which already included a mechanism for negotiation on "status proposals". However, the inquiry recognised that the workers felt "disappointed, frustrated and exasperated". Some felt that the report contained "more platitudes than recommendations" and it suggested no compromise, exhorting the parties to renewed efforts under the existing agreement. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=16 May 1964 | page=5, col.A | title=Both Sides To Blame In Power Dispute "Bury Past, Build For Future" Report Says ]

On 11 June, the employers conceded a pay rise that cost the industry an estimated £5 million annually (£64 million at 2003 prices [ cite journal | title=Consumer Price Inflation since 1750 | author=O‘Donoghue, J. "et al." | journal=Economic Trends | volume=604 | year=2004 | pages=38-46, March | url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?ID=726 ] ) in return for improvements in efficiency, and agreed to negotiate on the remaining issues. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=12 June 1964 | page=12, col.E | title=135,000 Power Workers To Get Pay Rise More Efficiency Promised, Cost May Be £5M ] Negotiations again broke down on 27 November and unions announces that industrial action would begin and that they would start balloting for a strike. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=28 November 1964 | page=8, col.C | title=Power Dispute Talks Fail Strike Threat Draws Near, Union Ballot To START On Monday ]

The dispute was called off on 30 November when the employers offered that excess hours worked would be compensated in cash if time-off "in lieu" was not taken within three months. The wage claim was arbitrated by the Industrial Court. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=1 December 1964 | page=10, col.C | title=Power Stations Overtime Ban Called Off - Payments Claim Settled ]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 1964 in the United Kingdom — Events from the year 1964 in the United Kingdom.Incumbents*Monarch HM Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister Alec Douglas Home, Conservative (until 16 October), Harold Wilson, LabourEvents* 29 January–9 February Great Britain and Northern Ireland… …   Wikipedia

  • 1964 — This article is about the year 1964. For other uses, see 1964 (disambiguation). Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century Decades: 1930s  1940s  1950s  – 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Cyprus dispute — Cyprus This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Cyprus Constitution Cyprus dispute …   Wikipedia

  • December 1964 South Vietnamese coup — Date December 19, 1964 Location Saigon, South Vietnam Result High National Council dissolved Nguyen Khanh political victory …   Wikipedia

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964 — Full title An act to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States of America to provide relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982) — Soviet Union …   Wikipedia

  • Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute — Timeline of de facto control February 1764 – April 1767  France January 1765 – July 1770 …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Ecuadorian–Peruvian territorial dispute — The territorial dispute between Ecuador and Peru was one of the most persistent and seemingly most resistant to resolution of any in the Western Hemisphere. The conflict arose virtually at the birth of these two nations from the Spanish Empire in …   Wikipedia

  • Will to power — For other uses, see Will to power (disambiguation). The will to power (German: der Wille zur Macht ) is widely seen as a prominent concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to… …   Wikipedia

  • Colin Pearson, Baron Pearson — Rt. Hon. Baron Pearson Colin Hargreaves Pearson, Baron Pearson PC, KC, CBE (28 July 1899 – 31 January 1980) was a Canadian born English barrister and judge. Rising to sit as a judge in the House of Lords, he is best remembered for his… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”