An Old Pub Near the Angel

New Business

Dougie stood up and said that it was time to go. Willie nodded and finished his beer before leaving. The union meetings were held in a small office, part of the district town hall, and although timed to begin at 7.30 prompt, seldom started before eight o’clock. They arrived at 8.10 to find the room deserted. A passing janitor informed them that someone had poked his head round about ten minutes ago and suggested that they take a seat and have a smoke if they wanted. Dougie laughed.

‘Told you,’ he said.

‘Well it was a warm day man and you can’t really blame them. We did have a couple ourselves.’

Dougie stared at him for a moment.

‘You’re off your head anyway,’ he said. ‘I mean you don’t really think they’ll discuss the Bill do you?’

‘We’ll see.’

The sounds of approaching voices accompanied by loud laughter were preceded into the room by an old man who walked slowly down the passageway and sat on a chair in the corner, in the second front row. Then the door opened and in came the Chairman and the Shop Steward of the branch, followed by assorted members of the committee and around a dozen ordinary union members. The committee men strode to the far end of the room and sat down behind the long table where the Shop Steward proceeded to lay out some sheets of paper and his tobacco tin. The ordinary members, now seated on the chairs on the other side of the table, were speaking amongst themselves. Dougie was discussing the day’s racing with the fellow in front when the Chairman called the meeting to order and apologised for the absence of the Secretary. Someone at the back loudly whispered something about Ibrox Park and the Chairman quickly retorted that he wasn’t far wrong there and laughed with the rest.

‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘our good friend and scrutineer Brother Reilly has kindly offered to stand in. So, Gus!’

Gus MacDonald the Shop Steward passed some papers across to Brother Reilly, and remarked aside to the Chairman:

‘Couple of new faces tonight eh!’ He continued loudly, ‘Well Brothers if Brother Reilly reads us last month’s Minutes we’ll get it started eh?’

‘Aye well. .’ began the Acting Secretary, adjusting his spectacles before beginning.

‘And so if there’s no objections I’ll sign for a True Record,’ said the Chairman when the Acting Secretary had read the last Minute.

‘Don’t see any,’ said Reilly, peering around the room.

‘Any Matters Arising?’ asked the Chairman as he signed.

‘What about this canteen business eh?’ cried a fellow sitting near the front.

‘No!’ replied the Chairman.

‘Not a Matter Arising,’ said the Acting Secretary.

‘What’s going to get done?’ continued the fellow.

The Chairman glanced across at the Shop Steward before answering. ‘Later Tam.’ He leaned over and whispered something to the Acting Secretary.

But the fellow persisted. ‘Well I hope so because. .’

‘Tam!’ cried Brother Reilly, shaking his head in exasperation.

‘Okay,’ interrupted the Shop Steward, darting a look at the Chairman. ‘I got on to the manager about that Tam and he said there’s nothing he can do. Said it was Head Office’s decision and he’d take it to them, but as I told you last month they’re only allowed to put on two dinners and all Head Office’ll say is there’s no demand.’

‘No demand!’ echoed Tam, amazed. ‘No demand! Christ there’s plenty! Plenty uses the bloody place; and we never get a choice. Bloody terrible!’

‘Aye I know Tam.’ The Shop Steward gestured vaguely about the table.

‘You know? Christ every day of the week stew or mince. Bloody stew or mince all the time Gus! Bloody ridiculous! Surely they can give us a better choice than that?’

‘Well that’s what I told the manager and he. .’

‘Aye you’re right Tam, it’s a disgrace,’ called another man.

‘Aye and you’d be cheaper eating in a bloody restaurant,’ cried someone in the front row.

‘Aye you’re right there!’ agreed another.

‘Order!’ demanded the Chairman. ‘A minute! One at a time eh?’

‘Well the manager. .’ began the Shop Steward.

‘Fuck the manager — bloody mince — every day of the week since. .’

‘Bar Friday Tam, eh?’ cried a voice from the back.

‘Aye a bit of scabby fish. Bloody out of order.’ Tam sat back, arms folded and shoulders erect.

‘Well. .’ tried Brother MacDonald.

‘Christ!’ Tam looked somewhere over the heads of the committee.

‘Okay! Order!’ called the Chairman. ‘We’ve done all this last month, Brother Smith and Gus says the manager’s getting on to Head Office about it so we’ll just have to wait and see the score. Okay?’

Tam muttered something to his neighbour.

‘Okay?’ repeated the Chairman.

Tam shrugged.

‘Right,’ continued the Chairman. ‘Anything else?’

‘Aye Brother,’ grunted the old man who sat in the corner in the second front row. ‘What about the paper?’

‘Yes,’ replied the Chairman, amid laughter, ‘Correspondence Sammy, Correspondence.’

‘In a minute Sammy, okay?’ said the Shop Steward.

‘Aye well.’ The old timer rocked back and forth, nodding to himself.

‘Right then Brothers if that’s the lot. .’ The Chairman looked around but on seeing no more queries, continued. ‘Okay then. Brother MacDonald’ll read us the Correspondence.’

‘Well Brothers, not much tonight.’ He withdrew a few envelopes from his briefcase and began reading the contents aloud. No one interrupted this time. On opening the last letter he paused and glancing across at the old man, said with mock severity: ‘Concerning toilet paper.’

A few amused looks and one or two quips greeted the reading of this letter. It confirmed that in future an adequate supply of toilet paper (soft) would be provided, subject to the Shop Steward’s request on behalf of the branch members.

‘Okay Sammy?’ asked the Shop Steward.

‘Aye Brother. They better!’ added the old man darkly.

‘People are always knocking his Daily Record,’ whispered Dougie, ‘and using it to wipe their arse.’

Willie smiled without replying.

‘We had two delegates over to see our Brothers in Kilmarnock last week,’ the Chairman cleared his throat, ‘about their pay claim and. . Brother Reilly!’

‘Aye me and Boabbie went to see them at their meeting. They’re looking for 15 % and they’ll get it Lindsay says. He thinks they should’ve went for twenty.’

‘Hum,’ muttered the Chairman, then whispered something to MacDonald.

‘And that’s it more or less. Oh Sammy, Brother Lindsay was asking for you. Said to tell you him and Etty would be through to see how you’re doing.’

‘Aye Brother.’

‘How much we asking anyway?’ called a man from the back.

‘Fifteen Charlie,’ answered Brother Reilly.

‘That’s New Business,’ interjected the Chairman.

‘What we’re waiting for.’ Dougie spoke out the corner of his mouth.

Willie nodded.

‘Oh another thing,’ Reilly went on, ‘You want to see their facilities through there — snooker and table tennis and that. You want to see it! They run handicap competitions all the time and Lindsay says some of the staff goes in for them too.’

‘Aye we’ve had a few talks on this subject before Brothers,’ said the Chairman.

‘Aye,’ agreed the Shop Steward. ‘Remember the last one?’

‘Not likely to forget,’ said some men, grinning in appreciation.

‘Anyway if that’s it Brother?’

‘Aye, just thought I’d mention it,’ replied the Acting Secretary.

‘No harm done,’ said the Chairman. ‘Right Brothers. New Business.’

‘The pay claim!’ shouted Tam. ‘What about asking for twenty?’

‘No point Brother,’ answered the Shop Steward. ‘We’ve no chance of getting fifteen as it is.’

‘If Kilmarnock gets it — we better!’ remarked someone.

‘We’re already getting more than them. The management are just bringing them up to our level.’

‘Our level?’

‘Well,’ grinned MacDonald, ‘not quite Brother; but no too far away.’

‘I move we put in for twenty!’ declared Tam, rising to his feet.

‘Jesus Christ!’ muttered the Chairman.

‘Tam there’s no chance. Waste of bloody time!’ cried the Shop Steward.

‘Well fifteen. .’ Tam paused. ‘We ask for twenty we’ll definitely get fifteen.’

The Chairman struck a match and relit his long-dead pipe. He spoke quietly to the Acting Secretary, seemingly without any interest in the current discussion.

‘Anybody second that motion?’ asked the Shop Steward hopelessly, after a moment.

‘Aye me!’ said Tam’s neighbour, rising and standing shoulder to elbow with his tall friend.

MacDonald hesitated.

‘Brothers,’ said the Chairman at last, ‘this has been gone into very carefully. We are asking fifteen and that’s that. Waste of time asking more. Let’s wait and see what happens through at Kilmarnock first eh?’

A few of the members nodded their agreement.

‘Think you should withdraw the motion,’ stated the Chairman after a short pause.

‘Aye,’ agreed Tam’s neighbour without hesitation.

Tam sat down shaking his head in disgust.

* * *

‘What about this business about the apprentice?’ asked a man in the front row.

The Chairman turned to Brother Reilly who quickly explained the facts to him.

‘It’s out of order that one of the clerks has only to open his mouth and the boy’s hauled up in front of the manager,’ continued the man.

‘Well he shouldn’t have swore at him in the first place Brother,’ said the Shop Steward.

‘Ach it’s out of order.’

‘He shouldn’t have been in their toilet in the first place,’ said the Chairman.

‘Christ he had the runs! What’s he supposed to do?’

‘That’s right he couldn’t wait,’ said a voice from the back.

‘He only got a warning. .’

‘I’ll speak to the manager,’ remarked the Shop Steward.

‘Says they’ve got towels in there,’ grumbled old Sammy.

‘Anyway,’ said the Chairman, ‘that’s it?’

‘What about a games room or something, snooker or something?’ asked Tam.

‘Well!’ called the Chairman.

‘I move that we try again to get a snooker table,’ affirmed Tam.

‘I second that motion Brother,’ said the Acting Secretary.

The Chairman looked at his watch before saying: ‘Nothing else then?’

‘I could do with a pint,’ said the Shop Steward, shuffling his sheaves of foolscap paper as he rose to his feet.

‘A minute!’ cried Willie in a voice two octaves higher than usual.

Dougie rubbed his hands together and lowered himself further down in his seat.

‘Well Brother?’ called the Shop Steward. The Chairman was knocking his pipe bowl out, against his shoe.

‘About the Bill. The second reading takes place at the end of the week and if nothing worthwhile is done quickly it will be passed through without any opposition worth talking about.’

A murmur travelled through the room. The Shop Steward sat down heavily.

‘What’s he talking about?’ asked someone.

‘When did he start in the job?’ asked another.

‘Never get a pint now,’ muttered Brother Reilly.

‘You mean THE “Bill”?’ queried the Chairman.

‘Of course,’ replied Willie. ‘As far as I can ascertain there have been no individual points raised, neither has the “Bill” as a whole ever been discussed — at any of your branch meetings.’

Someone at the back laughed. Old Sammy shuffled up the passageway and out, quietly closing the door behind him.

‘He’s a student!’ confirmed someone at the back.

‘Well son,’ explained the Shop Steward, ‘naturally we don’t like it but it has to get done. I mean it had to come.’

‘What’s it all about?’ asked Tam.

‘It means one cannot strike unofficially, for one thing,’ said Willie.

‘That right?’ Tam said to the table.

‘Well. . aye,’ answered the Shop Steward, ‘but all it means is our strikes’ll all be official from now on.’ He rolled a cigarette.

‘For example,’ persisted Willie, ‘if you were to decide to strike because the management refused to meet your demands for adequate toilet paper, and the union would neither support nor back your action, you could be jailed.’

‘What!’

‘What was that?’

‘Okay son,’ commented the Chairman. Turning to Tam he said, ‘He’s talking nonsense. The management are giving us the paper anyway.’

‘I didn’t know anything about it,’ insisted Tam glaring around the room.

‘It’s on sale at the Post Office,’ someone shouted from the back.

‘But Brother what’s this about the jail for striking?’ asked an elderly man sitting in the front row.

‘Nobody’s getting the jail for striking!’ cried the exasperated Chairman.

‘Unless any of you take unofficial action,’ added Willie.

‘Right son that’s it finished. They’ve taken this decision at Headquarters and that’s it. It’s ultra vires!’

‘I am surprised the matter has not been discussed. .’

‘Okay kid it’s finished,’ said the Acting Secretary. ‘It’s just politics anyway.’

‘So if there’s nothing else Brothers. .?’

‘I don’t know the score here about all this,’ said Tam.

‘Get it at any Post Office; been on sale for weeks,’ the Shop Steward said quickly as he closed his briefcase.

‘Aye okay.’ Tam hitched up his trousers then pointed a finger at him.

‘You remember and see the manager about that bloody canteen.’

‘Aye, don’t worry about that Tam. I’ll go and see the bastard first thing in the morning.’

‘Right then.’ He nodded down to his neighbour and they strode purposefully from the room.

‘Be lucky to catch a pint,’ they heard Tam’s neighbour say.

‘Right Brothers I think we’ll wind it up here.’ The Chairman stood up and the other committee members filed down the passageway after him.

‘Should come for a drink with us son,’ said the Chairman, pausing as he passed Willie’s row. ‘Eh Gus?’

‘Aye son, we like a good argument,’ said the Shop Steward.

‘As long as it’s no about religion,’ affirmed the Chairman. ‘OK then lads? See you tomorrow.’

When everyone had left the room Dougie turned to his companion and hooted derisively.

Willie scratched his head.