§ 36. Sir Knox Cunninghamasked the Lord President of the Council what progress has been made in the negotiations with the staff union representatives with regard to improved rates of pay for the catering staff of the House of Commons.
§ Mr. MaxwellI have been asked to reply.
Negotiations are continuing. It is expected that they will be concluded before the Summer Recess.
§ Sir Knox CunninghamDoes the hon. Gentleman recall that in the past we were told that one of the reasons why there could not be an increase in wages was the price of meals. Now that the prices of meals have gone up, is it not time that we got down to the matter and saw that the staff's wages were put up?
§ Mr. MaxwellAs I said, negotiations are in progress and a wage increase in principle has been agreed. It would be wrong to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations, but I hope that better remuneration can be paid to the staffs, and that this can be met out of improvement in the performance of the Department without the cost falling as a charge on the Exchequer.