§ 38. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the Government's intention to present a White Paper on Resale Price Maintenance, a White 1751 Paper will also be laid before the House with the Government's proposals for dealing with trades unions' restrictive practices.
§ Mr. OsborneDoes the Minister agree that there are such things as trade union restrictive practices, and does he not agree that it will be to the country's productive benefit if they were modified or abolished? If he agrees with these two things will he do something about it?
Mr. LeeThe hon. Member should appreciate that we are not going to get the best results by going over old sores again. Our approach is the more constructive one of saying, "Let us see how we can get an increase in production." In the existing conditions, I do not think it would serve any good purpose to open up acrimonious discussions between both sides of industry.
§ Mr. Gerald WilliamsIf that is the view of trade unions, would they not welcome ventilation of this subject?
Mr. LeeI believe there are two sides to this argument. I think probably the best answer to all this is the remarkable increase in productivity achieved in the last two or three years.