'Lengthen the dole queues'
Sir: It was with delight that I read Patrick Cosgrave's article 'Lengthen the dole queues' on 31 January 1976. It has seemed almost beyond my understanding the naivety of both businessmen and trade unionists and the inability to recognise Mr Jones's flat £6 policy for what it really is. I can only congratulate Mr Cosgrave on finding out what has seemed to be obvious to me for a long time—that a £6 increase can benefit those worst off in the trade union ranks by a percentage greater than inflation itself, and is a device for helping trade union members. This, of course, need not be a bad thing, and neither can it be denied that the poorer members of society require money more urgently than those wealthier who are able to withstand inflation better.
What is, however, more pertinent is the fact that if this type of economic thinking does continue it will indeed freeze British industry—or at least the private portion which is left. This factor, together with the weakness in negotiating strength between those in industry and those in the trade unions, is self-evident to most trade unionists, but from my own experience this worries them equally and possibly more than the employers themselves.
Fundamentally, of course, there is nothing new in this situation; it is merely that the mythology of the Deakin days was inadequately challenged—the result being that claims were indeed moderate. One can hardly say that this benefited the British economy since from my own experience a great deal of machinery which should have been bought in order to save the direct labour element was not purchased, and quite simply because wages were too cheap to make any saving worthwhile.
One can hardly forecast the drastic revision of the situation over such a short period. Maybe thanks to Mr Jones, and for completely the wrong reasons, by pricing British labour out of the market we will, in fact, make British industry competitive with government subsidies to pay for the equipment previously not installed.
Claus W. Benedict Porth Textiles Limited, Tonypandy, Mid-Glamorgan
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