§ 2. Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the effect on the wages and salaries level of British industry of entry into the Common Market; and what assessment he has made of the impact of this on industrial costs.
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Maurice Macmillan)In the short run no significant change that I can foresee. In the long run I am confident that real wages will be substantially increased. Industrial costs should remain competitive.
§ Mrs. ShortIs the hon. Gentleman saying that if prices increase, as everybody imagines they will, if we go into the Common Market, there will be no wage and salary increases to meet the increase, which is what is said in the White Paper? Is the hon. Gentleman further aware that womens' wages are far from reaching equality with mens' wages, and is he therefore saying that men and women in industry will have to bear the full brunt of entry into the 1111 Common Market with no help from the Government?
§ Mr. MacmillanI am saying nothing of the sort. The White Paper made it quite clear that the increase in food prices following entry would be marginal. There will also be a decrease in the price of some manufactures. I should not expect such marginal changes to have any significant effect on wage claims. The whole experience of the Community over a period is that real wages there have been rising faster than in the United Kingdom.