TUC (Hansard, 6 June 1978)

§ Q8. Mr. Robert Hughes
asked the Prime Minister when he last met the Trades Union Congress.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Dean) on 25th May.

§ Mr. Hughes
I thank my right hon. Friend for that very helpful answer. Will he meet the TUC very soon and discuss with it the very serious problems of unemployment and the fact that the TUC believes that there ought to be a great increase in public expenditure in order to provide employment? Will he also take the opportunity to discuss with the TUC the ways in which local authorities have underspent on budgets for which money is already available, in order to ensure that they take up that money and provide more employment?

§ The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend will have heard the answers given this afternoon by the Secretary of State for Employment in which he showed that unemployment was steadily decreasing, although it is far too high. With regard to local authorities, that is a question of finding the revenue. That is why I am glad to see production going ahead, because that will produce the dividend we need to finance the local authorities.

§ Mr. David Steel
If the Prime Minister has a meeting soon with officials of the TUC, will he see whether they can use their good offices to help resolve the dispute which is delaying equipment to the Post Office and which in itself is having a serious effect on the installation of telephones in various parts of the country?

§ The Prime Minister
I shall draw that matter to the attention of the Secretary of State for Industry.

§ Mr. Ioan Evans
Is my right hon. Friend aware that deep concern is being expressed by many trade union leaders over the confrontation policy being put forward by the Conservative Party? When he meets TUC leaders, will he tell them that the answer is to work for the return of a Labour Government with a good working majority when the opportunity arises?

§ The Prime Minister
I believe that the Opposition need to clarify the position a little, although that is not for me. I do not think that a policy of "If you have a weak union, bash it; if you have a strong union, surrender to it" is likely to commend itself to the British people.

§ Mr. Tebbit
When the Prime Minister next meets the TUC, will he discuss with it the reasons for the shortage of skilled labour which, despite his denial of it in January, it is now clear exists throughout the economy during a time when there are 11 million unemployed? Could it be that people do not believe that it pays, in this country, to acquire skills and work hard any more?

§ The Prime Minister
There may be something in the hon. Gentleman's point. What we need to do is to intensify the training for skill. There is far more training for skill in this country today than there has ever been. In the past four years we have stepped it up. It does not look as if it is sufficient yet, and I am ready to consider proposals for increasing it further. As for rewards, certainly an incomes policy does not help differentials of that nature. We sometimes have to choose between varying evils, and overcoming inflation was the first priority of the Tories as well as of ourselves. The only difference is that we have been more successful.