Pay and Pay Rises

Q. Yes, let's talk a little about pay, if we could.

A. Pay? Yes.

Q. For a start, you know, when you started?

A. When I started, my starting wage was £7.50 a week, and that would be in '58, I think, possibly earlier.  That was a very good wage, very good. The average wage, I think, then for the operatives would be about £4.50 - £5 a week.

Q. How were pay rises negotiated? How did that work?

A. Pay rises were quite simple because there was a national agreement for a cost of living increase, so as the cost of living index went up, so the pay went up, and it was on a six-monthly basis.  And it went up by a ha'penny or a penny.

Source: East Midlands Oral History Archive (Ref: R Kempton)