HL Deb 15 November 1976 vol 377 c1004

19 Clause 4, page 5, line 8, at end insert— A.—(1) Subject to final determination by the local dock labour boards, transfer of men from the extension register to the main register shall be restricted to those—

  1. (a) who have been employed for a minimum of two years in work which becomes classified as dock work;
  2. (b) who have satisfied the Medical Officer of the National Dock Labour Board that they are fit to perform the work concerned;
  3. (c) who have attained the necessary levels of skill to perform the work in question; and
  4. (d) who have not, while previously employed in the port transport industry, accepted severance pay under any redundancy scheme.
(2) Where a person is employed on premises classified under the Act and is unable to meet the requirements of subsection (1) above, that person shall be allowed to continue in that employment on the extension register.

20 Clause 4, page 5, line 9, after section "insert" and section (Transfer from Extension to Main Register) above,"

The Commons disagreed to these Amendments for the following Reason:

21 Because they impose undesirable restrictions respecting the transfer of an existing work force from one register to the the other.

4 p.m.

Lord JACQUES

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth not insist on their Amendments Nos. 19 and 20, to which the Commons have disagreed for Reason No. 21.

Moved, That the House doth not insist on the said Amendments, to which the Commons have disagreed for Reason No. 21.—(Lord Jacques.)

Lord SANDFORD

My Lords, I rise briefly to regret that the other place took this view. Our Amendment had been modified considerably in the light of the Government's first reactions, but we still felt it was necessary to have this new clause in order to limit the extent to which the existence of a large force of men, unskilled and largely medically unfit to do the work for which they were registered, remained a burden to port employees. We still take that view and regret that this Amendment should not have been accepted and that this cost will now fall on the ports and the employers in them.

On Question, Motion agreed to.