MACHINERY FOR SETTLING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

HC Deb 15 January 1971 vol 809 cc402-3

Question proposed, That the Clause stand part of the Bill.

Sir J. Eden

The question of superannuation has caused a certain amount of concern, along with some other matters which have been raised with me by the Authority staff side and discussed on Second Reading. There was the question of machinery for settling terms and conditions of employment and the question of interchange between the staff of the companies and the staff of the Authority.

When we debated the last Clause I said, in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Abingdon (Mr. Neave) relating to superannuation, that I would deal with it more fully on Clause 9 stand part. On reflection—and I apologise for misleading him—it would be more appropriate if I dealt with the matter when we come to Clause 20 stand part, and I hope that my hon. Friend will agree to my adopting that course.

12 noon.

This was the further point raised on the question of interchange. The staff side said that they had felt for some time that the interchange of staff between the companies and the Authority would be hindered unless recruitment by the companies was preceded by some form of special "trawling" of vacancies created by the Authority or by the companies. I understand that the companies are likely to fill their vacancies in this way if the Authority has known surpluses of staff, but not otherwise.

This is not a matter which affects the actual text of the Bill, and I shall probably have to consider the matter a little further than I have done already in order to see whether there is any way to meet the anxieties of the staff on this point. I therefore wish to give the staff the assurance that I will write to them as soon as possible, and certainly before the Bill reaches its Committee stage in another place.

In meeting this point now, I want simply to echo again the views expressed by the right hon. Gentleman on Clause 8 when we are considering the formation of companies arising out of very real growth points in the Authority's activities. Although I accept that there are grounds for anxieties in particular circumstances, I feel that we have every reason for feeling assured that the prospect of redundancies is, to put it at its lowest, very unlikely.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 9 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 10–12 ordered to stand part of the Bill.