HC Deb 22 May 1969 vol 784 cc649-51
32. Mr. J. H. Osborn

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many people were on either official or unofficial strike, respectively, on 1st May.

38. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what was the estimated number of working days lost on 1st May due to unofficial strike action; and how many were lost as a consequence of that action.

Mr. Hattersley

Reports from my regional officers suggest that the total number on strike on 1st May was between 80,000 and 90,000 and that almost all of these were on unofficial strike.

Mr. Osborn

Can it be deduced from these figures that there is a large amount of unofficial support for the measures of the Minister within the trade union movement? Is this an indication of it?

Mr. Hattersley

It is unwise, and perhaps tempting fate, to deduce too much from those figures. Certainly the strike was nothing like as large as the proponents of it announced it would be before 1st May. It would have been even smaller had many of the men who were called out on strike by unofficial leaders understood what my right hon. Friend proposed in her White Paper, rather than being told about it by a number of unofficial publications which gave the wildest possible distortions of her proposals.

Mr. William Hamilton

Would my hon. Friend not agree that his figure conforms with the figures expressed in various public opinion polls showing that the hostility to the provisions of the White Paper is nothing like as severe or strong as the opposition of a certain vocal minority?

Mr. Hattersley

That conclusion is obvious, and I am happy to endorse my hon. Friend's judgment.

Mr. James Hamilton

Is my hon. Friend aware that when we have decent employers who will open the doors of communication with the trade unions, we will have no unofficial disputes? Is he prepared to get in touch with these employers to ensure that proper procedure agreements are reached? Is he aware that this is particularly necessary in the engineering industry where they are waiting for five weeks for local consultations? Is he aware that if he was prepared to do something about this it would solve many of the unofficial stoppages?

Mr. Hattersley

No doubt my hon. Friend is right. That is the job for which the C.I.R. was established and it is the job that it will do as a first priority of the White Paper proposals.