§ 4.7 p.m.
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, with your Lordships' permission, I should like to repeat a Statement which has just been made in another place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity. As the procedure here is a little complicated, perhaps I should explain that I am going to repeat that Statement and then communicate to your Lordships a Statement from Her Majesty the Queen after which I shall repeat a Statement which is being made by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary in another place.
This is the Statement made by Mr. Carr:
"With permission I wish to make a further Statement about the national docks dispute.
742 "In the resumed discussions between the parties under my chairmanship last Monday, the port employers tabled a revised offer. This included the previous offer to increase guaranteed payments to £4 a day, £20 a week minimum for every registered dock worker. In addition, they proposed that the £2 modernisation supplement should be increased to £3 per week in those ports where it had not already been merged into the time rate or where interim additional payments had not already been made. They reiterated that they could not agree to any increase in the national basic time rate.
"The unions decided to report this offer to a national docks delegate conference on Wednesday, 15th July. They meanwhile asked their members to continue normal working. Most ports were, however, slopped on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"The outcome of the delegate conference was reported to me yesterday afternoon by the union representatives. I was informed by Mr. Jones that a recommendation that the employers' offer should be accepted as a basis for further negotiations had been rejected by 43 votes to 39 and that it had been decided to conduct an official strike 'until the claim for a higher basic rate is achieved'.
"The port employers then informed the union representatives in my presence, that they were prepared to hold further talks only if the strike was withdrawn; and that, for the reasons which had been discussed at length in the talks under my chairmanship last weekend, they could not agree any increase in the existing basic tune rate.
"I subsequently had separate meetings with representatives of the T.U.C. and of the C.B.I.
"From all these discussions it became clear that the unions were not prepared to resume talks on the basis of an increase in the modernisation payment which had been under discussion last weekend. For their part, the employers were not prepared to take part in talks on the existing basic rates, nor while the strike was still on.
743 "In view of the very grave consequences for the nation of the deadlock resulting from the positions taken by the two sides I have decided to appoint immediately a Court of Inquiry. I will announce the terms of reference and membership as soon as possible.
"This will involve a full and independent investigation and assessment to be made of the merits of the unions' claim and of the employers' offer. In view of this, and the very serious effects of the strike for the nation, as well as for the future prosperity of the industry and of the dockers themselves, I would urge the unions to consider suspending their industrial action."
My Lords, that terminates my right honourable friend's Statement.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl for repeating that Statement. I am quite certain that at the beginning of the week we all hoped that we should be able to congratulate both sides in this dispute on a satisfactory outcome, and therefore our regret that this has not been reached is that much the greater. It is easy to point fingers of complaint or criticism. I think at the present moment this would be wrong. On the other hand, I feel that we must recognise that this claim has been in being for some 18 months, and it is one that we had hoped would be settled before now.
I am quite certain that, in the position which the Government face, a Court of Inquiry is right. But if it is to prove acceptable, the question of the chairmanship and membership of the Court will be of great importance. Clearly, the Chairman will need to be a man of sufficient standing and knowledge of the docks industry to command respect from both sides. I hope that the noble Earl, perhaps next week, will be able to give us the names of the Chairman and the members.
The terms of reference are also important. I hope that it will be possible for the Government to consult with, and perhaps obtain the agreement of, the two sides on the terms of reference, because they are of equal importance to the impartiality and wisdom of the Chairman. On the question of speed, we all know that the docks present an intricate and 744 difficult problem, but perhaps the noble Earl can say whether it would be possible for an Interim Report to be produced, if this would meet the wishes of the two sides.
There is just one further thing that I should like to mention. My understanding, from reading the newspapers, is that, apart from some commodities, there are ample stocks in this country. I have heard already that prices are moving up quite sharply in respect of articles which cannot possibly have been affected by this strike. I hope that the Government will regard this not as what one might call one of the forces of the market, but as something quite intolerable. I hope they will take what steps they can take, perhaps by publicity on television and in the Press, to make clear what is to be regarded during this period as a fair price, so that the consumer will know and will be able to judge the price that he may be asked to pay during the next few days—because I hope that it will be only a few days. I think it would be quite intolerable if there should be some who think that they can make a "quick kill" as a consequence of our national emergency.
§ LORD BYERSMy Lords, I should like from these Benches to thank the noble Earl for repeating this Statement, and to endorse the plea which his right honourable friend has made for a return to work. In the circumstances, we accept the need for a Court of Inquiry, but I would express the hope that this does not mean abandoning the efforts to get the two sides talking again. As we understand it, the problem is that there is at present no basis for negotiation; but I hope that the Minister and Mr. Feather will at least try to get the two sides talking in an effort to find a basis for getting down to negotiation.
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, I should like to express my sincere gratitude to both the noble Lord, Lord Shepherd, and the noble Lord, Lord Byers, for the studious moderation and responsibility of their statements, and also for their welcome, in principle, of the proposal by my right honourable friend of a Court of Inquiry. In reply to the noble Lord, Lord Byers, I would only say that, while my right honourable friend's judgment 745 at the present time is that the best way of making progress is through a Court of Inquiry, he will of course be very willing to listen to any approach which may be made to him.
In answer to the noble Lord, Lord Shepherd, I would express agreement with him on the importance of the choice of Chairman for the Court of Inquiry, and on its composition; and indeed on the terms of reference. It is certainly my belief that it would be possible for the Court to make an Interim Report if that were judged to be a sensible course of action.
At this stage, I shall purposely confine myself to as few words as possible in this serious situation, but I have taken note of what the noble Lord has said about prices. I would confirm that, as I understand it, the stock position in the country as a whole at the present time is what could be described as generally satisfactory.
§ LORD STRANGEMy Lords, if the worst comes to the worst and troops have to go to work in the docks, presumably their pay will be made up to what the dockers are earning: the surplus will be sent to, I suppose, the Ministry of Defence, and the troops will receive their normal pay. Would he not agree that it would be a great encouragement for them if they could receive the full pay without the payment to the Government?
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, I hope the noble Lord will not feel that I am evading this question, but I should prefer to take any questions on this aspect when I have repeated, as I shall do shortly, the Statement that is being made by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary.
§ LORD STRANGEMy Lords, I accept that answer.