HL Deb 02 July 1973 vol 344 cc13-5

2.58 p.m.

THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (LORD WINDLESHAM)

My Lords, the House will wish to know that the Pay Board have now given a ruling on the dispute which has led the Hansard Reporters recently to take industrial action. The claim which the Pay Board considered was for the payment of a special bonus in respect of long hours worked in the Session 1971–72. The Board have ruled that, if conceded, such a payment would be outside the pay limit. This ruling has only just been received and its implications need to be studied.

Progress has, however, been made towards a settlement of the industrial dispute concerning Linotype operators employed by Her Majesty's Stationery Office at the Parliamentary Press. Normal working has been resumed to-day and, while it will not be possible to resume the full service immediately, it is hoped that delays in the printing of Parliamentary Papers will be progressively reduced.

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, we are grateful to the noble Lord for making this Statement. Is he aware that many of us will be disappointed, not to say surprised, by what he has to say in the first part of his Statement? While I agree with him that the implications of this non-award will need to be studied very carefully, can he confirm meanwhile that this seasonal bonus was paid in similar circumstances, in lieu of the restructuring of the pay scale, the previous year, and that a similar payment was made in years previous to that?

With regard to the second part of the noble Lord's Statement, we are of course all pleased that some settlement has been reached here; and so that we may follow this matter as intelligently as possible I wonder whether he will be good enough to give some idea of what was at issue: what was the backeround, what are the pay rates, and what is the basis of the settlement?

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, the interpretation of the Pay Code is of course the responsibility of the Board. They have given a ruling on a case which has been put to them in this instance. I shall be happy to make available to the noble Lord and, through the normal channels, to other noble Lords who are interested, the terms of the letter. I think the noble Lord would like to study that before making any further comment. As regards the progress that has been made in the dispute in the Parliamentary Press, I understand that it was possible to re-shape an offer from H.M.S.O. and to agree a formula within the limit of the pay policy and within the context of the current review of the house agreement which covers all staff in H.M.S.O. presses and binderies.

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his answer. But is there any reason at all why he should not give me the sort of confirmation for which I asked; namely, that the seasonal bonus had been paid in the previous year? I say that, of course, without going into the merits of the matter at all. I shall look forward with interest to seeing the contents of the letter to which the noble Lord has referred. As to the second matter. I asked the noble Lord whether he could give us some indication as to what had been said. Since the noble Lord appears to have said something to the Press on Friday, could he not equally tell the House what were the issues and what are the sums of money involved?

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, I can confirm that payments were made to our own Hansard Reporters on a number of occasions in the past. What I cannot confirm is what the noble Lord wants to extract out of me; namely, whether they were regarded as seasonal bonuses by the Pay Board. This is a highly technical matter and I think it is better to examine what the Board has said. I said nothing to the Press on either of these disputes on Friday.

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, I did ask whether the noble Lord would be good enough to tell the House what apparently he or another spokesman for the Government had told the Press about the pay rates involved in the case of the Linotype operators.

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, I hope the House will be content if I do not get drawn on this point. I said in my Statement that progress had been made towards a settlement of the industrial dispute. These are extremely technical matters, and I think it would be wrong possibly to jeopardise the chances of achieving a settlement in these circumstances.

LORD BYERS

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware that from these Benches at least he will have support in this matter? It is not just a technical matter; I believe it to be a delicate matter, too.

LORD SHACKLETON

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord why he sought to draw a conclusion from the very simple question put by my noble friend? He was not trying to establish whether it was a seasonal bonus; he was merely trying to establish one fact. While fully acknowledging the delicacy of this question, may I ask the noble Lord whether he would not agree that we have behaved with much more restraint than his noble friends did when we were in this situation, and we intend to continue so.

SEVERAL NOBLE LORDS

Oh!

LORD SHACKLETON

My Lords, if noble Lords make noises like that they had better read Hansard of a couple of years ago. May I therefore ask the noble Lord whether he will continue to keep us and, if necessary, House Committees informed on this matter, which clearly is not one suitable for debate on the Floor of the House but which does involve us all?

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, I should certainly like to give an undertaking on that last point.