This journal came into existence around the time the question of an incomes policy began to be discussed. Since then we have tried to inject into this discussion two points: firstly, those advocates of merely saying "No" to the incomes policy underestimated the danger which came from the demagogic argument of "protecting the lower-paid workers from a wages ratrace"; secondly, that because the true level of profits is conrex]ed, trade unionists, if they accepted the incomes policy,would be at a severe disadvantage in all negotiations, We concluded that the answer to this situation was to link the fight against a wage-freezing incomes policy with the slogan of “opening the books",
We believe that powerful confirmation for the first part of our argument has.come from the U.S.D.A.W. conference (among other trade union gatherings). So far as the second part is concerned, we offer for consideration an extensive quotation from the Sunday Times business news section of April 18th. Entitled "Big Five banks lift the veil on their real profits", an arijifle by Charles Raw reveals:
"Some of the Big Five Banks have decided,as a matter of policy, to reveal a larger proportion of their true profits. At least two, Barclays and Westminster, are, I believe, already disclusing a higher proportion each year. Under this programme they should... be disclsising some 70 to 80% of their true profits in two or three years! time. At present they are unwilling to disclose the complete figure.
"Opinion among the rest of the banks is also moving in favour of disclosing more to shareholders.....The Banks have never had any agreement between themselves on profit disclosure. The wide fluctuation in profitability on assets between the banks suggests that there has been no consistency on the ratios disclosed by each bank,....Over the past five years disclosed profits of National Provincial have risen by 58%, Barclays by 51%, Midland and Westminster by about 45% and Lloyds by 25%....Most estimates, which have usually put true profits at about double the disclosed figures, have probably understated the extent to which banks already reveal their true earnings,"
Whatever else might emerge from this article one thing is clear: big business as a matter of routine does not reveal its true profits ~ even to its shareholders. Can anyone seriously argue, therefore, that they would be willing to reveal their true profits to their own work-people? And yet » the mass of British workers and lower middle class people (among whose ranks the fiercest critics of trade unionism are sometimes found) would consider it a perfectly reasonable thing - for trade union leaders to insist that there can be no discussion about incomes policy unless the true level of profits is revealed.
Later this week the trade union executives will be meeting Mr. Brown to discuss his incomes policy. They should insist upon the principle of no negotiations about an incomes policy without the true level of profits being revealed. That this means opening the books to the workpeople of the firms concerned follows. This will most clearly be rejected by the employers and therefore the onus of sabotaging the incomes policy will be theirs. With a fighting strategy, geared to increasing encroachment on the power of the employers by workers! control, the way will be clear to build a left in the labour movement committed to a real incomes policy under workers' control,