§ 19. Dr. John Dunwoodyasked the Minister of Labour what steps he proposes to take to encourage the education of industrial managements in labour relations techniques.
§ Mr. GunterThe Ministry already takes steps to this end through the industrial relations service, by promoting conferences in collaboration with the British Institute of Management, the Institute of Personnel Management and other bodies, by participation in other conferences and by publications. General problems affecting labour relations are discussed on the National Joint Advisory Council. The Management Training and Development Committee of the Central Training Council will be giving guidance to industrial training boards on the general subject of management training. I shall do everything I can to develop this work.
§ Dr. DunwoodyWould my right hon. Friend not agree that very poor labour relations still exist in very many companies, and that that is all too often the cause of some of the disputes which damage our economy from time to time?
§ Mr. GunterI am quite aware that there are bad industrial relations in parts of British industry, but I hope that the House will not forget that very large areas of British industry today are doing a first-class job in this respect. Many large areas of management are fully aware of the responsibilities that rest on them. But there are areas of dispute, and we are doing what we can about them.