HC Deb 10 March 1969 vol 779 cc986-7
Mr. Speaker

Order. Mr. Norman Atkinson, to raise a point of order.

Mr. Atkinson

Mr. Speaker, I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely, that the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity should not make her acceptance of any Ford Motor Company wage settlement which may be above the 3½ per cent. norm conditional upon the inclusion of penalty clauses, thus establishing additional criteria". I seek leave not because of any desire to directly intervene in the local dispute now taking place between the trades unions and the Ford Motor Company, but to raise the whole matter of the support which is being given to the Ford proposals by the Department of Employment and Productivity.

As has been stated, the Ford proposals are a package deal which cannot be separated. The package includes not only direct wage improvements in the maximum sense to skilled workers, which could mean an improvement of 10½d. an hour for members of my trade union, but it also includes fringe benefits which have conditions attached. The benefits which concern us most are——

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Member cannot go into detail on the subject of the debate. He can do that if he gets his Standing Order No. 9. He must at the moment argue why he must have an emergency debate.

Mr. Atkinson

I appreciate that, Mr. Speaker. I was about to define why I believe this to be an urgent matter. It is because of the description of the fringe benefits; that is, £20 holiday bonus plus the guarantee of two-thirds earnings if a stoppage takes place as a result of an industrial dispute taking place elsewhere than on the premises of the Ford Motor Company.

As has been confirmed by my right hon. Friend today, the point is that the Government have accepted that if these penalty clauses are included in the agreement, then the agreement, which can amount to about 10 per cent., falls within the terms of the Prices and Incomes criteria. I think that this is a matter of urgency, particularly because of the national implications. If the Ford Motor Company's agreement is accepted, any employee who becomes involved in a go-slow, an overtime ban, or an unofficial dispute, will lose those fringe benefits. This is of the utmost importance.

There was nothing to suggest, when the House last discussed the matter in the prices and incomes debate, that such penalties or conditions should constitute a good reason why agreements of this kind should be accepted as being within the terms or criteria of the original prices and incomes arrangements. Therefore, I believe that the House should now discuss the Government's endorsement of these proposals before any further steps are taken, because I understand that a number of other industrial companies are now anxious to conclude agreements which include penalty clauses of this kind.

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member was courteous enough this morning to let me know that he might seek an emergency debate.

The hon. Member asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely, that the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity should not make her acceptance of any Ford Motor Company wage settlement which may be above the 3½ per cent. norm conditional upon the inclusion of penalty clauses, thus establishing additional criteria. As the House knows, under the revised Standing Order No. 9, I am directed to take into account the several factors set out in the Order, but to give no reasons for my decision.

I have given careful consideration to the representations made by the hon. Member, but I have to rule that his submission does not fall within the provisions of the revised Standing Order. Therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.