HC Deb 20 January 1972 vol 829 cc647-8
11. Mr. Judd

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a progress report on productivity negotiations in the Royal Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth.

The Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy (Mr. Peter Kirk)

The level of take-home pay in Portsmouth Dockyard was increased under an agreement signed in November, 1970, which set the productivity bonus at a level of £3.10 per man per week. The agreement provided for re-negotiation at the end of a year's operation and the achievements during that period are currently being reviewed.

Mr. Judd

While I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether he does not accept that for many of the men employed in the dockyards throughout the country, in the face of inflation their low earnings make it very difficult to make ends meet? Can he assure the House that the Government recognise this problem for their own labour force?

Mr. Kirk

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the introduction of productivity agreements in the Royal Dockyards is a new departure and we cannot review them as fast as, no doubt, he and I would like. We are doing as much as we can to ensure that wages in the Royal Dockyards keep up with, and if possible stay in advance of, the rise in the cost of living.

Dame Joan Vickers

How do these agreements compare with the productivity agreement in the Devonport Dockyard?

Mr. Kirk

In Devonport the agreement was to be reviewed six-monthly rather than yearly. As I told my hon. Friend in answer to a Question in December, we reviewed the six-monthly agreement in Devonport and came to the conclusion that it was not right at the end of six months to increase the amount paid.

Dr. David Owen

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that there was a long delay in the review of that dockyard —about four months—before the announcement that there was insufficient money? Can he give an assurance that there has been no overall interference by the central Government in the amount of money available for productivity deals and that this is solely a responsibility of the dockyard department and is self-financing?

Mr. Kirk

I can give a positive assurance to that effect. We have made it quite plain that we shall honour all the implications that flow from the productivity agreements.