§ 12. Mr. Fernyhoughasked the Minister of Labour the number of working days lost in the year ended 31st March, 1963, due to strikes, both official and unofficial, and the number lost due to unemployment for the same period.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe number of working days lost in Great Britain through strikes 416 in the year ended 31st March, 1963, was 1,900,000. The number of man-days of unemployment in the same period was about 140 million.
§ Mr. FernyhoughCan the hon. Gentleman explain why he and those hon. Members who sit on the benches behind him are so concerned about the relatively small number of days lost due to industrial disputes and appear to be unconcerned about the very large number of days lost through unemployment? [HON. MEMBERS:"Nonsense"] Does not the hon. Gentleman think that, instead of putting Motions on the Order Paper which are critical of trade unions, his hon. Friends might begin to be more critical of the Government about the way in which this very big problem has been dealt with?
§ Mr. WhitelawI should have thought that neither the hon. Gentleman nor I would wish in any way to be complacent about either of these reasons for losing productive resources.