§ Mr. Leaveyasked the Minister of Labour what steps he has taken to ascertain whether employers and trade unions in the engineering and shipbuilding industries are proposing to set up a National Joint Council in their industries as recommended by the Courts of Inquiry in their Reports of April, 1957; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodSoon after the Reports were published I asked the organisations concerned whether they had reached any conclusions on the desirability of setting up a Joint Council. In respect of the engineering industry the Engineering Employers' Federation replied that after very careful consideration it had reached the conclusion that the suggested National Joint Council for the engineering industry would not achieve the result desired by the Court of Inquiry. It was of the opinion that the existing procedure for the avoidance of disputes works satisfactorily. The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions repeated the statement made at the Court of Inquiry that it considered that the setting up of such a body with wide terms of reference would be advantageous to the industry.
In respect of the shipbuilding industry the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation says that in present circumstances it does not wish to pursue with the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions the question of setting up a Joint Council for the industry. The Confederation says it cannot agree to the proposals in the Report and that the existing arrangements within the industry should continue to operate.
While I regret that the suggestion made originally by the Court of Inquiry in 1954 for the engineering industry and reinforced by the Courts of Inquiry in 1957 for both industries has been rejected 84W it is, of course, for the organisations themselves to agree upon machinery for the discussion of wages and other conditions of employment, as well as other matters of joint interest affecting the productive efficiency of the industry.