§ Mr. Woodhouseasked the Minister of Labour what instructions he has issued to employment exchanges governing their treatment of employers who practise racial discrimination in filling vacancies; on what date the most recent instructions were issued; and in what respect they differ from previous instructions.
§ Mr. GunterEmployment exchange managers have for many years been instructed to do their utmost to persuade an employer, who may attach discriminatory conditions when notifying a vacancy, to consider on their merits any available workers of the class discriminated against who appear suitable for the job. On 5th August, 1964 a new procedure was introduced under which exchange managers were required, when an employer appeared to persist in discrimination as a result of prejudice, to report the facts to Regional Office for further efforts at persuasion. If those efforts fail, the case is then reported to headquarters for further efforts. Finally, I or my Parliamentary Secretary would consider whether the Department should refuse to deal with any vacancies from114W the firm concerned. Our efforts at persuasion have met with a considerable degree of success but I am keeping the situation under close review.