THIS WEEK IN 1979: Thirty per cent rise '˜insult' to workers

Unions at Portsmouth dockyard gave their verdict on the government's long-awaited pay offer.

Management pledged to pay the 6,000 naval base industrial workers comparable wages to commercial shipyards, and offered rises of between 22 and 30 per cent staged over nine months.

But unions said the increases would still leave them lagging far behind.

Whitely committee chairman Alf Bonnie said: ‘This is a slap in the face and an insult to our intelligence. This will do nothing to stop the exodus of skilled men from the ‘yard.’