Equal Pay (Hansard, 25 March 1968)

48. Mr. Bob Brown
asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on progress of discussions on the subject of equal pay in the context of Human Rights Year and the 50th anniversary of votes for women.

§ Mr. Hattersley
I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth (Mr. Milne) on 11th March, 1968.—[Vol. 760, c. 971–3.]

Mr. Brown
Would my hon. Friend agree that 50 years after having received the vote, our womenfolk are still second-class citizens in industry? Does he not consider that as a first step we should at least give immediate consideration this year and next year to women having equal rights in industry with their male counterparts?

§ Mr. Hattersley
I certainly would not agree that women are invariably second-class citizens in industry. Those who might be so described are in that position for a variety of reasons, not all of which are the responsibility of my Ministry and of my right hon. Friend the Minister. I agree, however, that immediate consideration should be given to this problem. That was why I was happy to announce earlier in the year that the C.B.I. and the T.U.C. had been consulted and were making decisions about how the next step could, and should, be taken.

§ Dame Irene Ward
When does the Minister think that he will be able to announce some progress in this matter? It is no good keeping on answering questions about conferences and the like if we never get an answer about whether progress is being made.

§ Mr. Hattersley
I am advised that the T.U.C. and the C.B.I. are making progress in the difficult decisions which they have to take concerning scope, definition and cost. I am sure that the hon. Lady agrees that in embarking on this large and expensive project, it is essential that the important groundwork should be done well. It would be quite wrong of me to urge the C.B.I. and the T.U.C. to move at a speed which would result in the wrong decisions being taken.

§ Dr. Summerskill
Would not my hon. Friend agree that the difficulties in introducing fair and just legislation to give women the rate for the job are not nearly as great as those facing the Government in introducing wage restraint which they intend to do in the near future?

§ Mr. Hattersley
I make no comment about the comparative difficulty since I regard this as something on which no precise calculation can be made. My hon. Friend should, however, understand that there is one way in which the legislation on wage control, as she describes it, differs fundamentally from the legislation for equal pay, and that it is that it will cost the country and industry a very great deal of money indeed.