§ 2.46 p.m.
Baroness VICKERSMy 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 whether they will state what are the average weekly earnings in Her Majesty's Royal Naval Dockyards of mechanics, skilled labourers and labourers respectively; and what percentage of the industrial employees are able to participate in incentive payments and fixed schemes of prices respectively.
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, the average weekly earnings for all adult employees in Her Majesty's Dockyards who are employed for 40 hours or more in a week are: Skilled craftsmen, £82.89; semi-skilled workers, £73.72; unskilled 1127 workers, £58.76. The majority of employees in Her Majesty's Dockyards have the opportunity to participate in payment by results schemes. About one half of dockyard production work, in fact, is actually performed in this way.
Baroness VICKERSMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply. I put down a Question on 7th March 1956, when the earnings were £10 11s. 6d. a week. Now I gather that will be £59.5p. I have not had time to make any calculations and, if the noble Lord will be kind enough to tell me, I should like to know why the Polaris fitters only get £1.9p an hour, whereas fitters in neighbouring nationalised shipyards get £1.50p an hour. Why is there this difference?
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, this is a question that I cannot possibly answer. My simple arithmetic says that skilled craftsmen are getting something over £2 an hour for a 40 hour week. I do not know whether that helps the noble Baroness.