HC Deb 12 February 1948 vol 447 cc568-9
48. Mr. Osborne

asked the Minister of Labour which are the five trade unions in the Engineering Federation which still refuse to allow Polish workers to be employed; what is the membership of each union; for how long have discussions been going on with them; what are the suggestions he has made to them which they have promised to consider; and what reasons these five unions have given for refusing to co-operate with the Government.

The Minister of Labour (Mr. Isaacs)

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. G. Thomas) on 22nd January, to which I do not think it would be desirable for me to add anything at the present time.

Mr. Osborne

Could the right hon. Gentleman tell us the size of this problem—how many men are involved?

Mr. Isaacs

Taking everything into consideration, the whole problem is not a very large one, and it is not very big in any of the industries concerned. As I am still negotiating on the matter, I should hope to be able to continue without naming them.