§ 10. Mr. Concannonasked the Minister of Power if he will give details of the general direction he has given to the National Coal Board to institute an extension of the Bevercotes colliery multi-shift agreement to other major pits.
§ Mr. MarshI have given no such general direction to the National Coal Board, but the Board is aware of the importance for the industry and the economy of measures to increase productivity.
§ Mr. ConcannonIs my right hon. Friend aware that any extension of this multi-shift agreement will greatly affect the area which I represent, both socially and economically, and that it is to that area's best advantage to know in good time? I am, of course, thinking of the ancillary workers to the coal-mining industry, plus the shops and churches in the area.
§ Mr. MarshIt is, of course, for the N.C.B. and the unions to agree on the extension of the Bevercotes kind of agreement and not for me to give formal directions. It must be in the interests of those in the industry that we should make the most intensive use of the industry's capital equipment.
§ Sir J. EdenBefore seeking to extend this kind of agreement to other pits, should not the right hon. Gentleman 1422 exert his influence and authority to ensure that it operates effectively at Bevercotes? Even there, as he will recognise, it is not operating successfully yet. What will he do about it?
§ Mr. MarshThe hon. Gentleman, as so frequently happens, misunderstands the position. Productivity agreements are not laid down by diktat by the Government but negotiated freely between the unions and the National Coal Board. I should have thought that we would all, on both sides of the House, desire measures designed to increase efficiency.