HC Deb 05 June 1951 vol 488 cc787-8
6. Miss Burton

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on the degree of liaison established between his Department and employers for the purpose of avoiding unemployment in Coventry due to shortage of raw materials by the absorption of such personnel elsewhere.

Mr. Robens

Following discussions with the National Joint Advisory Council, employers at Coventry and elsewhere have been asked through their associations to give my local offices early intimation of prospective redundancies. Similarly, trade unions have been asked to advise workers whose jobs are coming to an end to register at local offices whilst they are still in employment, so that there may be an opportunity to help them to find other work without any interval of unemployment.

Miss Burton

Does my right hon. Friend realise that there is real appreciation of the work which he is doing in this connection and that in Coventry the trade union movement is giving full co-operation to the employment exchanges in this matter?

Mr. Edelman

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that no major decision about the movement of labour will be taken without prior consultation with the trade unions, both on a national and a local level?

Mr. Robens

That is, in fact, what I am doing, and the general idea behind the proposals I am carrying out is that if redundancies are notified in good time, then when a man's employment comes to an end on Friday night there will be a job for him somewhere else on the Monday morning.