Young workers are steadily growing angry about their bad conditions and the way they are being used. With the London Electricity board this is evident when they say that Electrician's mates will be gradually disposed of and apprentices will be used. Even now apprentices are being used. But they still get app nuces pay and lney get treated lik apprentices. The electricians will not give you one bag of toels to take to a job, they will give you all of them. Then they will cycle easily to the job.
The L.E.B. apprentices are better off than other young workers for pay and education. But the L.E.B. play on this by saying they are doing us a favour by sending us to college and teaching us a trade. But do they realise we are doing them a favour? We can't strike while we are apprentices so any greivances are rarely dealt with. We are split up into groups so that we are never all together at once to discuss our greivances and try and sort them out by taking action. Shop stewards encourage you to join their union - why? If the union takes action over something, we can't. If we have a greivance the unions say "what can we do? You aren't allowed to strike."
We must unite ourselves into a fighting body with other industrial firms supporting each other. In this way we can take action and sort out the problems that for many years have been disregarded with excuses like: You should be glad you are getting an apprenticeship other Ernie Roberts, Workers Control Conference, March 1969 youths aren't so lucky. Okay so we are the lucky ones, but let's make sure its worth being the lucky ones and fight for a 35 hour week, 4 weeks paid holiday, an agreed indenture, and the abolition of night work.
An Apprentice NOTE:
The young engineers, members A.E.U., have decided upon the following apprentices and youths' charter, which the 1968 National Committee approved:
(1) That the wages of apprentices should be paid on the basis of a revised percentage from 60 per cent at 15 years to 90 per cent in the last year of the apprenticeship; these percentages should be based on the skilled sale (2) A 35 hour working week; restrictions on the working of P.B.R. systems until the last year of apprenticeship, with payment of average piecework percentages, the abolition of compulsory night work for apprentices, boys and youths, and the payment of full wages during sickness.
(3) The establishment of four weeks annual holiday at full holiday rates.
(4) The establishment of a procedure agreement to cover all apprentices, and that all apprentices be employed under an agreed indenture, with the extension of powers and establishing OSTICE and factory training committees. THE DAYLIGHT HOURS A hev gorra bairn an a hev gorra wife an a cannit see me bairn or wife workin in the night, So go way Mr Doleman av got somethin else ti do than spen me daylight hours workin for you.
Yes aa am a song bird an a song bird must sing an you, oh Mr Doleman you'll not clip me wings.
So go way Mr Doleman av got somethin else ti do than spen me daylight hours workin for you.
Grab ya job an ram it in ya stupid gob ad ratha gan ti prison than de ya stinkin job.
So go way Mr Doleman av got somethin else ti do