§ 32. Miss Quennellasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what are currently the national average weekly wages and the national average weekly earnings, respectively, for male industrial workers.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerA precise answer cannot be given for average wage rates because there are thousands of basic or occupational rates covering varying but often unknown numbers. According to the results of the April, 1968, inquiry into the earnings of manual workers in manufacturing and certain other industries and services, the average weekly earnings of adult male manual workers in the United Kingdom were £22 5s. 3d.
§ Miss QuennellCan the hon. Gentleman say how his right hon. Friend can justify sending the wage settlement of the agricultural workers to the Prices and Incomes Board when this group of workers has the finest record of productivity of any industry and has never had a strike?
§ Mr. WalkerI do not quarrel with the hon. Lady about the productivity of farmworkers, but I am at a loss to understand how it arises on this Question. I would only say that the reference before the Board is a general one of the level of wages in the agricultural industry and that what is at issue is only the statutory minimum for agricultural workers. There is nothing at present to stop agricultural workers from negotiating increases with their separate employers.
§ Dr. John DunwoodyWill my right hon. Friend tell the House the extent by which the average wage in the development areas falls below the national average?
§ Mr. WalkerI do not have that information, but it is hoped that our new earnings survey, which has been the subject of so much criticism from the Opposition, will provide it in the near future.