§ 17. Mr. Robert Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the weekly wages rates paid to locally recruited employees of the embassy and consular offices in South Africa; and how this compares to equivalent employees of the Foreign Office in the United Kingdom.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThere are 73 United Kingdom-based staff and 153 locally engaged staff employed in our posts in South Africa. I have no plans to increase this number. I am arranging to have circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of salary scales of locally engaged staff in South Africa. A direct comparison between these and rates paid in the United Kingdom would not, I believe, be useful.
§ Mr. HughesBearing in mind the recent revelation of how badly British companies behave in South Africa in terms of payment of wages, is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that his own house is in order? Would it not be a good idea for him to take the lead in this matter and ensure that wages paid to locally recruited staff, especially Africans—who tend to be paid much less than they should be—are at least at the same level as those of comparable posts in this country? Will he also ensure that employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office not resident in embassies—which employ many people from outside—have their needs carefully considered and are also paid decent wages?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeYes, Sir. It is right to do so. We want to be good employers, and I hope that the figures which the hon. Gentleman will see in the OFFICIAL REPORT will convince him that we are making progress in this direction. 1316 We pay various salary levels in different countries. One must take account of local conditions. For example, in the United States one has to pay very high salaries, while in other countries they are not so high. We try to be good employers in the conditions of the country concerned.
§ Mr. Evelyn KingIf we are to investigate the wage rates paid by private firms in foreign countries, should not we also look at India, South America and half a dozen other countries where the wage rates are very similar to, and in some cases worse than, those in South Africa, about which complaint has been made?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeWherever we are in the world, in whichever country, I hope we shall be good employers and pay a reasonable rate for the job.
§ Mr. David SteelAside from the question of salaries, will the right hon. Gentleman examine the conditions under which some of our local staff are employed in South Africa? Is he aware that they are subject to the same migration rules as other Africans and that we have not so far created a diplomatic compound there in which they could live with their families? The result is that many of them are forced to live hundreds of miles from their families.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeAs the hon. Gentleman knows, a great deal of the labour in South Africa is migratory, in the sense that it comes in for a few years and then leaves again. If he has a particular case in mind, perhaps he will correspond with me. I should like to look into these matters.
§ Following are the details:
| SALARIES PAID TO LOCALLY ENGAGED STAFF IN SOUTH AFRICA | |
| Local Grade | Monthly Salary Scale (Rand) |
| Senior Commercial Officer | R480–680 |
| LE I | R 370–520 |
| LE II | R 280–430 |
| LE III | R 175–295 |
| LE IV | R 140–220 |
| LE V(a) | R 100–164 |
| LE V(b) | R 87–132 |
| LE V(c) | R 85–100 |