HC Deb 27 February 1969 vol 778 cc1902-3
14. Mr. Stratton Mills

asked the Postmaster-General what was the exact cost incurred by the Post Office as a result of the trike by Post Office workers on Thursday, 30th January; and if he will indicate how this figure is arrived at.

Mr. Stonehouse

The cost of the one-day strike cannot be separately identified.

Mr. Stratton Mills

Is it not clear that the dispute was badly handled and resulted in a great deal of inconvenience and expense to the public? Will the right hon. Gentleman settle one point? Did he make clear to Lord Shackleton and other Ministers that the Government's original proposals would result in a decrease in the take-home pay of the overseas telegraph operators?

Mr. Storehouse

That is a wide supplementary question, very much wider than the original Question, and I do not intend to be drawn on it.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

In the light of my right hon. Friend's first reply, if he now says that the figure cannot be given, can he explain why I was told that it cost £2 million?

Mr. Stonehouse

My hon. Friend's Question on 13th February asked me to give an exact figure for the all-inclusive cost to the Post Office of the recent strike, not just the one-day strike. I gave him a minimum estimate, not an exact figure, of £2 million, and I adhere to that. It was for the whole dispute, not for the one-day strike.