HC Deb 24 January 1984 vol 52 cc754-5
6. Mr. John Townend

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will assess the performance of the dock labour scheme ports as compared with non-scheme ports in terms of capacity to handle traffic, cost-effectiveness of operation, and actual employment of workers, with a view to amending the Dock Work Regulation Act 1976.

Mr. Gummer

Comparisons between ports have to take into account many things. It is not possible to isolate any one factor. There is, however, no doubt that the operation of the dock labour scheme is increasingly being questioned by those concerned in the industry.

Mr. Townend

I welcome my hon. Friend's remarks, but is he aware that only two groups of people have jobs that are guaranteed for life? They are university professors and dockers working under the dock labour scheme. Is that not one of the reasons why ports, such as Hull, have been losing their competitive position against Felixstowe and private wharfs? As the Government believe in a free labour market, is it not time that they grasped the nettle and abolished the scheme lock, stock and barrel?

Mr. Gummer

It is not for me to comment on the excellent port of Felixstowe, but I agree with my hon. Friend. I also agree with the comment of Lord McCarthy, in another place, that the Act was misconceived.

Mr. McNamara

The Act gave dignity, honour and job security for the first time to underprivileged workers in one of the most casual industries that had ever existed in this country. It enabled men in the docks to hold their heads up for the first time without having to fight and scramble for the favour of half a day's work and giving the employer a backhander in the pub after the job was done. We do not want to return to such a situation. We need more schemes, such as the dock labour scheme, to protect workers.

Mr. Gummer

The hon. Gentleman rightly reminds us that the situation in 1946 was very different from what it is today. However, the dock labour scheme is not working as it was intended to work. It does not benefit either registered dock workers or the rest of the dock services. The industry must make sure that the public and those who benefit from the docks see that the scheme is working effectively. At the moment, that is not clear to them.

Mr. Hill

Competition between scheme and non-scheme ports is totally unfair. The Jones-Aldington agreement was intended to last for a certain period. Is it not time for a thorough review of the dock labour scheme? Could not a separate unbiased body be set up to discuss all the points for and against the scheme, the effects of which can be draconian in certain ports?

Mr. Gummer

If the dock labour scheme is to provide the benefits to which the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) referred, it must be seen to provide those benefits. It often appears to operate in the narrow interests of a certain section of those who work in the docks.

Mr. Loyden

Will the Minister resist the suggestion of his hon. Friend the Member for Bridlngton (Mr. Townend) that he should interfere with the dock labour scheme? The scheme ports and the non-scheme ports have coexisted for a considerable time. Any attempt by the Government to interfere with the scheme could unite dock workers against the Government in a way that has not been seen for many years.

Mr. Gummer

Such comments would be taken more seriously by the House if the British docks had enjoyed a more remarkable resurgence in the past 25 years. The docks industry would do well to heed my advice, that it must be seen to make the scheme work. If not, people will pay more attention to the way in which it benefits only a small group of workers.

Mr. Rowe

I and hon. Members representing neighbouring constituencies have been lobbied by dockers from the Medway towns who fear that the operation of the dock labour scheme will ensure that jobs that should go to them will go to other dockers. If that is how the scheme works, will my hon. Friend do something about it?

Mr. Gummer

My hon. Friend points again to the fact that many people question the dock labour scheme because they believe that it leads to fewer rather than more jobs. I have said that it is up to the industry, and those who support the dock labour scheme, to show that it works. The example given by my hon. Friend is one that I shall be studying most carefully.