§ 2.37 p.m.
§ LORD KILMANYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards settling the dispute which has caused B.E.A. to withdraw all services to and from Turnhouse aerodrome.]
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, B.E.A. were able to restore their services to Dyce 3 on Thursday, January 30, and restored the Edinburgh services from yesterday morning.
Her Majesty's Government are hopeful that discussions now taking place will lead to a satisfactory ending to this dispute, which has inflicted such serious inconvenience to passengers and could have caused damage to the Scottish economy.
§ LORD KILMANYMy Lords, while welcoming the setting up of the Working Party, and wishing it well in its efforts, may I ask the noble Lord why it was not set up sooner? Is it not a fact that this dispute could have been foreseen, and indeed was foreseen, some little time ago? Is the noble Lord aware that there is much resentment at the dilatory handling of this matter by Her Majesty's Government?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, I hope the noble Lord will forgive me if I say that it is always easier to say that these things could have been settled more easily if one has no responsibility for their settlement. This was a complicated matter. We now have three different kinds of authorities for aerodromes, and getting some sort of standardised and uniform rates throughout the aerodrome industry is not easy.
§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, could the noble Lord say what progress has been made in transferring the control, or at least the management, of Turnhouse Aerodrome to the British Airports Authority?
§ LORD BESWICKNo, my Lords. That is a quite separate Question, and if the noble Lord will put it down, I will try to give him an Answer.
§ BARONESS HORSBRUGHMy Lords, could the noble Lord say why so many lightning strikes took place, and why people were even taken off aeroplanes at the last moment, when they were all ready to go, and yet nothing was done until B.E.A. shut the whole place?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, the reason there were so many lightning strikes was that the workers concerned thought this was the best way of bringing their alleged grievances to the general notice. There was some criticism of B.E.A. for closing down; but, in the end, 4 I think the noble Baroness will perhaps agree that this did enable us to get, not of course a conclusion, because we have not yet concluded the matter, but to get together to see whether we could work out a proper agreement.
§ LORD STRATHCLYDEMy Lords, is it not a fact that this dispute arose because those at Edinburgh Airport receive less remuneration than those summarily employed at other airports? Why should there not be a level of remuneration suitable to all airports?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, there are now three different authorities for aerodromes. We have the British Airports Authority. There are the local authorities which are aerodrome owners; and there are other aerodromes which are under the control and ownership of the Board of Trade. Different conditions and factors exist at all these airports. Some have pension arrangements, and some have not. As I have said, trying to get fair play all round is a complicated question and I hope that the Working Party will come up with a satisfactory Report.
§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYEMy Lords, while I admit that an industrial difference did exist, was it not vindictive of the leaders of these unofficial strikes to wait until an aircraft was actually overhead, and then strike so that the aircraft could not land? Surely, such conduct as that cannot be condoned in any industrial dispute.
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, I note what the noble Lord says, but I do not think I should be helping the sort of atmosphere that we want if I started calling some of the parties to the Working Party that is now set up vindictive.
§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, is it not possible to amend the service contracts of these gentlemen to prevent them from taking action which is prejudicial to the safety of the aircraft?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, it may well be that if we tried to do something like that it would cause even greater trouble in the future.
THE EARL OF DUNDONALDMy Lords, can the Minister say why British United Airways managed to maintain their services, and why B.E.A. could not?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, I am not aware of the difficulty here, but I should have thought it was possibly because they had fewer services and were able to look after their passengers with fewer personnel.
THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, can the noble Lord say whether the safety of aircraft was ever endangered or whether it was only a case of gross inconvenience to passengers?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, I should have said that the decision of B.E.A. to suspend services had in mind both factors: both the inconvenience to passengers and the question of safety.
THE MARQUESS OF ABERDEEN AND TEMAIRMy Lords, can the noble Lords say which authority controls Dyce Airport, Aberdeen?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, both Dyce and Turnhouse, as I understand it, are Board of Trade responsibilities.