29. Major Lloydasked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to the report of the Amalgamated Engineering Union Redundancy and Employment Sub-Committee, published by the Slough Trades Council, of which a copy has been sent to him, in which charges are made of collusion between local employers and officials of his Ministry to the detriment of the interests and rights of engineering employees; and whether he will hold an inquiry into these charges.
§ Mr. IsaacsYes, Sir. I am aware of this report and of the charges of collusion contained in it which are unfounded. The report was published in full in the "Slough Observer"on 5th October. An interview with the chairman of the District Man Power Board in Reading, in which he dealt with the charges in detail, was subsequently published in that newspaper on 19th October. Later the chairman of the Man Power Board and the Manager of the Slough Employment Exchange had a full discussion with representatives of the local bodies responsible for publication of the original report, and following this an agreed statement appeared in the "Slough Observer" on 2nd November. I am sending the hon. and gallant Member the relevant Press reports, from which he will see that the charges made in the original report arose from a misunderstanding of the position.