§ 14. Mr. Richard Winterbottomasked the Minister of Labour in view of the wide interest in the subject of joint consultation, what steps he is taking to bring the subject more closely to the attention of management and workpeople.
Mr. LeeI would refer my hon. Friend to the Debate on 5th April, 1950. In addition, my right hon. Friend has had a booklet prepared, in which are discussed, in the form of question and answer, the various matters arising on a wider extension throughout industry of the machinery of joint consultation. I am glad to say that both the British Employers' Confederation and the Trades Union Congress, together with a number of voluntary organisations, are giving the most valuable help in securing the widest possible distribution for it, and I am placing copies in the Library for the information of Members.
§ Mr. WinterbottomWhile thanking my hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask whether practical experience has been taken into consideration in the compilation of this pamphlet?
Mr. LeeYes, Sir. The booklet is a record of a discussion by three industrial 1042 workers with practical experience of how joint consultation works and what it can mean, given goodwill and co-operation on both sides.
§ Major Tufton BeamishWill the Parliamentary Secretary give an assurance that he will not take as a yard-stick in this matter the joint consultative machinery which exists between the Government and the Socialist Party Executive?