§ 11. Mr. G. M. Thomsonasked the Minister of Labour how much redundancy and short-time working there is in Dundee: and to make a statement on the employment prospects in the city.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodOn 12th March, 2,366 were registered as wholly unemployed in Dundee. Since then, 247 workers have been discharged on grounds of redundancy, and it is understood that 800 are working short-time. So far as can be foreseen the employment prospects in the Dundee area as a whole are reasonably good.
§ Mr. ThomsonIs the Minister aware that this redundancy and short-time working is creating some anxiety in Dundee, and corroborates the view given by the officials of the Board of Trade to a recent Select Committee of this House, that there is still a need for further new industry in Dundee?
§ Mr. MacleodThat may be so. All facts are relative. We are all brushing up our Burns these days, and the hon. Member knows that
Facts are chiels that winna ding.The unemployment percentage for Dundee—although I should like to see it lower—is exactly the same as that for Scotland as a whole, and is still fractionally better than that for the Scottish Development Area, but I agree that here and there—in the watch and clock industry, and the jute industry—there is a little cause for anxiety. We are watching the position very closely.