§ 34. Mr. Fernyhoughasked the President of the Board of Trade what recent talks he has had with the Pressed Steel Company about their proposal to establish a new factory in Jarrow.
§ Mr. J. RodgersThe Department has discussed with the Company the situation arising from the breakdown of negotiations between them and the trade unions. There are no grounds on which my right hon. Friend could intervene, and the work which would have been done at Jarrow will now be carried out at the company's plant at Linwood in Scotland.
§ Mr. FernyhoughDoes the Minister appreciate what a bitter disappointment this was to the people of Jarrow? Is he aware that many of us believe that this company never intended to come to Jarrow and that it seized upon a minor difference in order to make a major decision which might have very harmful consequences in Jarrow? Why was he so ready to grant an I.D.C. for the company to transfer to another area before he had satisfied himself that the difficulties which had arisen in Jarrow between the two sides could not be reconciled?
§ Mr. RodgersIt is a great disappointment not only to the people of Jarrow, which I fully recognise, but also to the Board of Trade, that this development did not take place in Jarrow. It is not for me or my right hon. Friend to express an opinion on the breakdown of the negotiations between the Pressed Steel Company and the A.E.U., which is the real cause why the company decided to go ahead at Linwood. We could not refuse an I.D.C. for Linwood, which is also a development district.
§ Mr. SpeirWithout in any way wishing to minimise the damage done to the prospects of employment on Tyneside by the intransigence of the A.E.U., whose local branch refused to accept methods of work study already accepted in Scotland and the South, may I ask whether my hon. Friend will agree that, by and large, over the past few years labour relations on Tyneside have been extremely good? Would he not also say that if new industries are to be brought to the Tyneside area the local people must be prepared to employ new methods?
§ Mr. RodgersI agree with both parts of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. It should be put on record that the record of labour in north-east England is extremely good, as good as, if 2577 not better than, in other parts of the country. At the same time, it is equally important that the unions should recognise the necessity of adopting up-to-date methods.
§ Mr. FernyhoughIs not the Minister aware that this firm was wanting to introduce a practice in Jarrow which did not operate in its other factories—
§ Mr. Fernyhough—and that the people of Tyneside were not prepared to be the guinea pigs without being given certain assurances? It is not for the hon. Member for Hexham (Mr. Speir) to denigrate the trade unions in the North-East. They can look after themselves, and he should try to help them.
§ Mr. RodgersI do not think it would be wise for me to go into the pros and cons of the dispute between the firm and the union, but the outcome is one greatly to be regretted.
§ Mr. SpeirIn view of the very misleading statements made by the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough), I shall take the first opportunity of raising the matter on the Adjournment.
§ 35. Mr. Fernyhoughasked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the high and persistent level of unemployment in Jarrow, he will state what new sources of employment are likely to be available in the locality in the near future.
§ Mr. J. RodgersBetween 1,000 and 2,000 new jobs should accrue from new projects and extensions in the Tyne South-East Employment Exchange District, which includes Jarrow and Hebburn; the majority of these should mature within the next two years. We are continuing to do all we can to encourage new industry to go to the North-East, and, as the hon. Member will be aware, my right hon. Friend announced on Tuesday our intention of building an advance factory of about 40,000 square feet on the borders of Jarrow and South Shields.
§ Mr. FernyhoughCan the hon. Gentleman be a little more forthcoming and tell us at what firms these new jobs will arise? Can he say whether he has any employer in sight for the advance factory which he proposes to build?
§ Mr. RodgersThe 2,000 jobs in prospect include 950 for Vickers-Armstrong and Mercantile Dry Dock. These firms are going ahead with their extensions, but the exact time when they will come into fruition depends on the building programme and the future of the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industries. The other 1,000 include a number for Paton and Baldwin, and will be mainly of female labour.