§ 1. Mr. Vaughan-Morganasked the Minister of Labour how many man-days were lost through industrial disputes, sickness industrial accidents and prescribed diseases, taking the last convenient year in each case.
§ The Minister of Labour and National Service (Mr. Iain Macleod)The approximate number of man-days lost is as follows:
It is difficult to make exact comparisons because some of the figures are not comprehensive. For example, the figure for industrial disputes excludes stoppages involving fewer than ten workers, and that for sickness usually excludes absences of less than four days.
Million Industrial disputes 3¾ Sickness 280 Industrial accidents 18 Prescribed diseases 1½
§ Mr. Vaughan-MorganWhile I thank my right hon. Friend for those very interesting figures, which I think merit considerable further study, would he not agree that there is immense scope for an increase in productivity by eliminating some of the causes leading to sickness in industry?
§ Mr. MacleodYes, Sir. I think they are very remarkable figures indeed. They show that our losses through sickness are about 75 times our losses through industrial disputes. I am told that at any given time about 1 million men are away from work through sickness. This shows in which field it may be possible to make substantial advances.
Mr. LeeCould the right hon. Gentleman obtain a breakdown of the sickness figures to show how much is accounted for by the man's occupation as distinct from the ordinary run of sickness?
§ Mr. MacleodI have isolated the figures for prescribed diseases, which in part meets the hon. Member's point. I should not think that such a break-down of the sickness figures is available, but I will look into this with the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance, and, if it is available, I will let the hon. Gentleman know.