§ 3.57 p.m.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MNISTRY OF DEFENCE (LORD MANCROFT)My Lords, I should like to intervene briefly in order to make a statement about the further developments in the shipbuilding dispute similar to that which is being made in another place by my right honourable friend the Minister of Labour and National Service. Following the meeting with the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and the informal talks with the President of the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation, to which my right honourable friend referred yesterday, he met representatives of the Federation last night and they are to discuss the situation with their Executive later to-day and with their Board tomorrow morning, after which my right honourable friend will see them again. He is meeting representatives of the engineering employers later this afternoon.
As regards the interesting suggestion which was made yesterday by the right honourable Member for Ebbw Vale, and which is similar to one that my right honourable friend and his offcials already had in mini, I am able to say that the shipbuilding employers are willing to give it their careful consideration. Although my right honourable friend has not so far been able to obtain the full official view of the unions, I am given to understand that hey are not likely to favour the suggestion.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, we are obliged to the noble Lord for the statement he has just made. The whole country is exceedingly anxious about the situation created by this major disagreement between the employers and the employed of two vastly important and really integrated industries. If the engineering dispute goes on in the kind of snowball fashion indicated, we may have workers on strike running into millions. That is a very serious situation. I wonder whether we are yet wholly satisfied that everything is being done which can possibly be done to bring the two sides together after these long attempts at negotiations, at least in the shipbuilding industry, over many months past, without getting any real response from either side. I know the Minister will do his best to get them together as that would be a most useful thing to do.
I hope it will not generally be taken in the spirit of the last paragraph the noble Lord read out—that assumptions are made as to what will be the ultimate attitude—until the full results of consultations with the workers' side are known. I feel sure that that cannot be the Minister's real intention, but the reading of that paragraph struck me as being rather unfavourable in negotiations of this important and delicate nature. Whatever the merits of the case—and on that one is not entitled to comment at the moment—I hope that the efforts which are being made to bring a peaceable settlement to the matter will mature, and that we may escape some of the very serious consequences of a grave disagreement of this kind.
LORD REAMy Lords, I should like to support what the noble Viscount, the Leader of the Opposition, has said, and also thank the Minister for his statement. The noble Viscount referred to the last paragraph of this statement, where some doubt was expressed that one side would consider favourably the suggestions. To counterbalance that there is the fact that these suggestions came from the right honourable gentleman the Member for Ebbw Vale, and I hope that, in view of the origin, the sign that there is some sort of intention to discuss the matter further coming from one side will encourage the other side to take it up.
§ LORD MANCROFTMy Lords, I am certain your Lordships are grateful to both noble Lords for the tempered way in which they have spoken. I am sure we share the acute anxiety expressed by the noble Viscount, Lord Alexander of Hillsborough. I can assure him that my right honourable friend the Minister of Labour and National Service will do everything in his power to try to bring the parties together, and will accept any suggestion that might possibly help. That is what he has done in respect of the suggestion of the right honourable gentleman the Member for Ebbw Vale. I merely indicated to your Lordships what my right honourable friend thinks is the present state of reaction to those suggestions.