HC Deb 05 December 1967 vol 755 cc283-5W
Mr. Hall-Davis

asked the Minister of Labour what are the numbers in manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment, respectively, within development areas and outside development areas in each economic region and in Scotland.

Mr. Hattersley

Following is the information:

Britain in each of the years 1956 to 1966 was as follows:

1956 2,039,000
1957 7,847,000
1958 3,204,000
1959 5,179,000
1960 2,868,000
1961 3,007,000
1962 5,677,000
1963 1,727,000
1964 2,243,000
1965 2,785,000
1966 2,287,000

Mr. Whitaker

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the days' work per thousand workers that Great Britain lost through industrial disputes last year, in comparison with figures for other countries available to him from international sources.

Mr. Hattersley

The table below, based on information supplied by the International Labour Office, shows the number of days lost through industrial disputes per 1,000 persons employed in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, in 1966. Corresponding figures are not available for Great Britain.

The industries covered are mining, manufacturing, construction and transport. As the definitions used for these statistics vary from country to country too much significance should not be attached to relatively small differences in the figures.

1966
Australia* 350
Belgium 310†
Canada 1,550
Denmark‡ 30
Finland 150
France 240
Federal Republic of Germany §
India 720
Ireland 1,460
Italy 1,700
Japan 170
Netherlands 10
New Zealand 230
Norway
Sweden║ 110
Switzerland
United kingdom 180
United States¶ 890
* Including electricity and gas.
† Preliminary figure.
‡ Manufacturing only.
§ Excluding West Berlin.
║ All industries included.
¶ Including Alaska and Hawaii. Figures cover also electricity, gas and sanitary services.

NOTE.—Where no figure is given the number of days lost per 1,000 persons employed is nil or negligible.