§ 11. Mr. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Labour whether he will make a statement on the Court of Inquiry set 547 up to inquire into the dispute at the Austin Motor Company's Longbridge factory.
§ Sir W. MoncktonThe Court completed its hearings on 28th April. I expect to receive its Report very shortly and to be able to lay it before Parliament early next week.
§ Mr. EdelmanIs it not the case that the sittings of the Court of Inquiry have been completely irrelevant to the settlement of the dispute? In view of the fact that one of the parties to the dispute announced its intention not to accept the findings of the Court of Inquiry or to act on its recommendations, would the right hon. and learned Gentleman not look again at this costly piece of apparatus which has already cost many thousands of pounds to see whether it serves any useful purpose at all?
§ Sir W. MoncktonI should not like to give judgment on the question of how far this matter served a useful purpose until I have had the advantage of reading the Report.
§ 15. Mr. Edelmanasked the Minister of Labour how many of the Midland workers, formerly employed at the Austin Motor Works, who took part in the recent strike have applied for re-employment; how many remain unemployed; and what consultations he has had to encourage the re-employment of former strikers in fair and equitable conditions.
§ Sir W. MoncktonOut of a total of 1,583 workers who were discharged by the Austin Motor Company on 27th March, about 1,440 have now applied for re-employment by registering at the employment exchanges, and the great majority of these have been submitted for consideration by the firm. I am informed that up to date the Company have re-engaged nearly 700. As regards the last part of the Question, the re-employment of the men concerned was one of the matters discussed between the parties in the proceedings before the Court of Inquiry, and I would not, therefore, wish to make any comment in advance of the Court's Report.
§ Mr. EdelmanBut, in the interests of future industrial peace and in view of the legacy of bitterness which would otherwise remain, will not the right hon. and learned Gentleman encourage the 548 management to re-engage all these strikers as quickly as possible, and will he bear in mind the necessity, pending the announcement of the Court of Inquiry decision, to discourage the indecent gloating which has been shown in certain circles over the way this strike has ended?
§ Sir W. MoncktonIf I might say one word about the last part of the question, I discourage any gloating. What I want to see as soon as possible is the men, of whom I have been speaking and who are not yet in employment, being employed again. That is my job. I am perfectly sure that I shall not do any good by making comments in advance of the Report on a matter which must be dealt with, directly or indirectly, in the body of the Report.