HC Deb 30 June 1981 vol 7 cc687-8
7. Mr. Race

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 22 May, Official Report, c. 190, what assistance officials of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service have given in seeking a resolution of the dispute at the Camden Journal and Hornsey Journal newspapers.

Mr. Waddington

I understand that after meeting with officials of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, the parties have agreed to go into arbitration with a single arbitrator.

Mr. Race

Will the Minister convey the thanks of the House to ACAS for the work that it has done in seeking a solution to the dispute? Through his good offices, will he make it clear to ACAS that any long-lasting solution to the dispute must centre on the redeployment and non-victimisation of any journalists involved in the dispute in the past few months?

Mr. Waddington

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his remarks about the assistance given by ACAS. It would not be right for me to comment on the issue between the parties. I remind the hon. Gentleman of the independence of ACAS, as guaranteed in schedule 1 of the 1975 Act.

Mr. Squire

Does my hon. and learned Friend realise how seriously we would view anything that reduced the British public's ability to read about the activities of Camden council?

Mr. Waddington

I have some sympathy with my hon. Friend. I said that I would not comment on the issue between the parties. However, having read the Socialist Worker, I am in no doubt that some unsavoury people have been trying to get in on the act.

Mr. Dobson

Does the Minister accept that the summary closure of those newspapers sprang from the fact that the management objected to a reasonably objective portrayal of the activities of the Haringey and Camden councils? That shows how much the Conservative Party is concerned about the freedom of the press.

Mr. Waddington

That is an example of someone trying to get in on the act. I am leaving it to the parties involved to get on with arbitration.

Mr. Robert Atkins

Will my hon. and learned Friend accept—as one who has been a reader of the Hornsey Journal for many years—that many members of that paper's staff feel most aggrieved by the attitude expressed by some of those working on the Camden Journal? Earlier, the hon. Member for Wood Green (Mr. Race) suggested that there should be no victimisation. Will my hon. and learned Friend ensure that there is no victimisation of those who resigned from the NUJ because of their concern and upset about the union's policies?

Mr. Waddington

My hon. Friend is trying to tempt me, but I must decline to be tempted.