WAGES are supposed to be protected against price increases at present by the "threshold" agreements, which are permitted under Phuse 3. These do give some small protection, but there are many things wrong with them:
*Less than 4 million workers, out of 22 million, are covered by them, *They do not come into operation until prices have already gone up by 7%6 *They are based on an anti-working class price index.
*The rises under the threshold agreements are too small.
The Guardian newspaper has made this last point: "Of themselves threshold agreements will every 156 rise in prices will provide less than adequate compensation for inflation (20 April).
The only real answer to this problem is a sliding scale of wages. This is an automatic monthly increase in pay to compensate fully of living.
The demand for a 'sliding scale of wages" has frequently been in the forefront of Italian workers" struggles against inflation. Several groups have actually won this demand.
Of course in some unions the right wing tries to use threshold agreements to obscure the issues. The right-wing Cumberland are of 3F those to: the rest of the working class will demand cost of living increases. The Guardian has reported fears that, 'Most of Britain's 22 million workforce will now press for threshold pay agreements' Not much help is likely to come from the Labour Government, In his budget speech Dennis Healey, instead of proposing plans for extending cost of living increases to the whole of the working class, went out of his way to denounce them because they prevented him from increasing direct taxes!
OBSTACLES
But, despite all the obstacles, the light for real protection of wages aminst inflation is a vital one, At the moment the working.class is on a treadmil having to run faster and faster Just to keep where it is. Already people are falling off the edges as they cannot reach the 20 or 25% wage increases necessary to safeguard their wages, If this situation goes on for long the runner will become exhausted.
The fight to protect working class incomes against mounting inflation is thus a decisive one, Central demands in this fight will be *Extend the threshold to the