§ Mr. Peter Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity (1) whether she is satisfied with the operation of Statutory Instrument, 1967, No. 1252; and if she will make a statement;
(2) how many employers of registered dock labour have gone out of business since the introduction of Statutory Instrument, 1967, No. 1252;
(3) what representations she has received from employers of registered dock labour about the workings of Statutory Instrument, 1967, No. 1252; and what replies she has sent;
(4) how many registered dock workers have been transferred from one employer to another under the provisions of Statutory Instrument, 1967, No. 1252, to the latest convenient date.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am in general satisfied with the operation of the Dock Workers' Employment Scheme embodied in Statutory Instrument 1967, No. 1252. Various representations have been made from time to time by employers' organisations about particular features of the Scheme, each of which has been replied to on its merits. The National Association of Port Employers has recently suggested, in connection with the Government's plans for the re-organisation of the industry, that continuation of the Scheme is unjustified and inappropriate. The Government consider it essential, however, to continue the protection afforded by the Scheme against reversion to a system of casual employment. The number of registered employers has been reduced, in accordance with the policy supported by both sides of the House during the passage of the Docks and Harbour Act, 1966, from 1,268 in September, 1967, to 445 in July, 1969. Information is not readily available from the National Dock Labour Board about the number of registered dock workers permanently transferred from one employer to another.