§ 15. Mr. GrocottTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to reduce the hours of work of people in manufacturing industry to the average levels of the European Community.
§ Mr. GrocottWill the Minister confirm that workers in manufacturing industry in Britain work an average of 44 hours a week—the longest working hours of any of the 12 countries in the Common Market? Will he take this opportunity to congratulate those trade unions that are 759 leading campaigns towards a shorter working week, and will he tell us when the Government will finally adopt a policy of manufacturing investment that will give people in industry the tools to do their jobs?
§ Mr. ForthThe answer is no on all counts. First, the hon. Gentleman is typically wrong in his facts. The information I have is that the hours worked in manufacturing here in the United Kingdom are very much in line with those of our major competitors in the European Community. Secondly, if the hon. Gentleman thinks that trade unions contribute to productivity, competitiveness and employment in Britain by seeking to force down working hours arbitrarily, he lives in a different world from most real people. The hon. Gentleman's question well illustrates the extent to which the Opposition are totally out of touch with the needs of the United Kingdom in the 1990s.