§ Mr. Alfred Robens (by Private Notice)asked the Minister of Labour and National Service whether he has any further statement to make on the dock dispute.
§ The Minister of Labour and National Service (Sir Walter Monckton)Following the issue of the Interim Report of the Court of Inquiry which I appointed to investigate the dispute in the London Docks, officers of my Department held meetings yesterday with the National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers and with the Port Employers in London, with a view to assisting in reaching a settlement. After discussions lasting three hours, a proposal was formulated and accepted by the employers. The terms of the proposal were:
The National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers and the Port Employers in London mutually agree that usual working, including reasonable overtime, will be resumed on Monday. 1st November. Negotiations with a view to mutual agreement on the practical arrangements for overtime will take place simultaneously.Meanwhile, in order that the discussions can proceed in a spirit of good will on both sides, the employers will refrain from reporting men.The General Secretary of the National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers undertook to place this proposal before his Executive in the afternoon. He stated later that the proposal had been considered by his Executive, who had been joined by the Watermen, Lightermen, Tugmen and Bargemen's union, delegates from Birkenhead and Hull and members of the Liaison Committee of 2278 the unofficial strikers belonging to the Transport and General Workers Union.The proposed basis for resumption of work on Monday next was said to be acceptable subject to two conditions. The first was that there should be no victimisation of the strikers either in London or in other ports. The second was that the proposal agreed in respect of the London dispute should be applied to all the other ports affected. These conditions were then discussed by my officers with representatives of the London Employers and of the National Association of Port Employers. As a result, the National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers were informed that the employers were prepared to agree that there should be no victimisation by either side in the London dispute and a similar assurance on this point was given in respect of the other ports.
The employers were not, however, able to accept the demand that the proposals in respect of London should be applied to the rest of the country. Subsequently a reply was received from the strikers who were in conference, that they would not agree to what they described as a sectional solution and would not recommend a return to work until the national employers adopted a formula similar to the formula adopted by the London employers.
I should like to explain to the House why the national Port Employers are unable to accept the demand that the proposal made in respect of the London dispute should be applied to other ports where men are on strike. This demand raises serious constitutional issues. The dispute about overtime arose in and was confined to London and led to the official strike by the National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers in that port. I appointed a Court of Inquiry to investigate that dispute and the talks in my Department yesterday were conducted with the parties to it. I am informed that there has been no dispute in other ports about overtime; the strikes there were sympathetic strikes in support of the London strike. Indeed, I understand that satisfactory arrangements for the working of overtime already exist in some of the ports.
Accordingly no question of applying to these ports the proposed basis for resumption of work in London arises. 2279 To attempt to do so would involve the recognition by the Port Employers of unofficial strikers who had stopped work in support of the London strike against the repeated instructions of their union, the Transport and General Workers Union, and of men whose representatives have no status in the local negotiating machinery. The fact is that any matters in the ports outside London, including questions of overtime working, can be raised by the accredited representatives of the men in the local negotiating machinery.
The essential point is that a satisfactory formula was found for resumption of work in the London docks, and on that all the men now on strike throughout the country should return to work.
§ Mr. RobensAs I understand from that lengthy statement, for which the House is grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman, the London dockers who stopped work can now go back on the original agreement, and the employers have indicated that there shall be no reporting of men who refuse to work overtime whilst negotiations take place. In that case, therefore, the reason for the dockers' strike has been partially met. The strikes in the ports outside London were sympathetic strikes and, consequently, if a settlement is accepted in 2280 London on this very fair basis the sympathetic strikes would naturally cease, but if men in other ports have grievances in relation to overtime or anything else in connection with the agreement they can, through the proper constitutional machinery that has been set up and which has been working since 1947, have those grievances examined. That is the situation as I understand it.
§ Sir W. Moncktonindicated assent.
§ Mr. RobensIs it not possible, therefore, for a carefully worded and simple statement of that kind to be made to the strikers, either by use of the radio or the Press, so that the essential facts are brought home to all the strikers, in order that they may recognise that it is now mistaken loyalty to go on with this dispute, which is very dangerous to the economy of the country and will make their fellow workers in other industries suffer as well?
§ Sir W. MoncktonI am obliged to the right hon. Gentleman for that very full supplementary question, and I hope that the accuracy of it will be demonstrated when it gets the publicity which it ought to receive. Coming from the right hon. Gentleman, it certainly should get publicity. I shall bear in mind what he suggested about other methods of securing that these simple facts are made known to those now on strike.