Having just left school (1961) I worked for a bit on the M62 to be at Warrington, as one of Sir Robert McAlpine's surveyor's labourers, at the princely rate of two shillings and twopence farthing per hour. Mans rate was four and fourpence, boys rate half of that.

'Sub' comes from 'subsistence money' - ale, prozzies, bets, bacon butties, and any sub was deducted from your weeks pay.

You worked a "week in hand" as I remember.

I heard the disputed phrase as "shuttherin' jams", which was explained to me as Murray MacLeod explains it above (his post of 0436).