§ 37. Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Minister of Power why, having sent the pay claim of clerical workers in the gas industry to the National Board for Prices and Incomes, he did not himself adjudicate on this claim, following the refusal of the National Board for Prices and Incomes to deal with it.
§ The Minister of Power (Mr. Frederick Lee)This claim was not referred to the National Board for Prices and Incomes, nor did the Board refuse to deal with it. I have no power to adjudicate on wage claims in the gas or any other industry.
§ Mr. LewisIs the Minister aware that there is a great deal to be said for the Government dealing with pay claims within their own sector where they have responsibility rather than passing the matter on to these overburdened members of the National Board for Prices and Incomes?
§ Mr. PeytonI must press the right hon. Gentleman for an answer on this subject. Even if he thinks that his own intervention would be wrong, he surely ought to apply the same doctrines to the tiresome and noisome interventions of the First Secretary.
§ Mr. LeeIt is the job of my right hon. Friend the First Secretary to interview the claimants in these cases and if agreement cannot be reached he decides whether they should go to the National Board for Prices and Incomes. In the instance referred to by the hon. Gentleman, as my right hon. Friend was not available I met the parties to the dispute.