Wages Orders (Breaches) (Hansard, 5 June 1984)

§ 8. Mr. Leighton
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employers were found to be in breach of the wages orders during the last available 12 months; and how many of those were prosecuted.

§ Mr. Gummer
One worker or more was found to have been underpaid in 9,842 of the establishments inspected in 1983. Payment of the arrears due was secured by the inspectorate in 92 per cent. of cases. It was found necessary to prosecute two employers.

§ Mr. Leighton
Is the Minister aware that that level of prosecution is derisory? Does not show that employers 149 feel no obligation to obey the law and is it not clear that abiding by the law is becoming purely a voluntary matter? Will the Minister enforce the law, and if so, when? Is he allowing the law to fall into disrepute and disuse so that he can abolish wages councils more easily?

§ Mr. Gummer
If the hon. Gentleman were right in his argument, he would be right to ask those questions. Ninety four per cent. of workers whose position was investigated were found to be paid the minimum rates or higher. As those investigated were liable to be affected by underpayments and underpayment was not found in 94 per cent. of the cases, that shows that it is restricted to a few people. I remind the hon. Gentleman that arrears are paid in 92 per cent. of cases to the 6 per cent. who are underpaid. The Government certainly insist on the law being carried out.

§ Mr. Rowe
Is my hon. Friend aware that, whatever the rights and wrongs of the statutorily enforced minimum wage level, many hon. Members on the Government side of the House think it absurd and ridiculous that organisations or firms with two or three employees, who know the state of the company perfectly well, should be forced to pay a wage that is above what the company can stand?

§ Mr. Gummer
My hon. Friend has pointed out a fact which Opposition Members would do well to remember. There is no point in driving people out of work by fixing a level of wages that employers cannot pay. That is why I have suggested to right hon. and hon. Gentlemen that their job is to consider the figures and to study the facts before they shout about the success of the wages councils.