§ 9. Mr. Keelingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the attempts by the Roumanian Government to enforce the dismissal by British oil companies of specified employees.
§ Mr. MayhewMy right hon. Friend, in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for King's Norton (Mr. Blackburn) on 14th July, described how expulsions of employees of oil companies in Roumania were being effected for political reasons. Our Representative in Bucharest was instructed to protest last August about the expulsions of employees of firms in which there were British interests. Since then Roumanian companies, including those which are wholly or partly British-owned, have had to dismiss members of their staff as part of a government plan for redistribution of manpower. All Roumanian concerns appear to have suffered equally from the effects of this plan. The redistribution, which began in mid-July, is still the subject of negotiations between the oil companies and the Government. The latest information is that a new Government Commission has been appointed to carry the compression a stage further.
§ Mr. KeelingWill the Under-Secretary of State say whether the oil companies are still being asked to dismiss employees because they are not members of the Communist Party?
§ Mr. MayhewThere is no discrimination against British companies over this. The compression that is going on is part of an overall manpower policy of the Roumanian Government. I do not think that the particular dismissals are due to the reasons given by the hon. Member.