§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent Government contractors who wish to pay more than the Government's 10 per cent. guidelines without penal sanctions will be able to dismiss their staffs and re-employ them at a salary or wage more than 10 per cent. above their previous salary scale.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerIn these circumstances, it would not be consistent with pay policy for a company to pay more than the appropriate rate for the job in terms of the existing pay structure.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West enclosing the November-December issue of the ASTMS Journal, showing the number of freely negotiated agreements between that union and a number of employers; and, if both the union and employers refuse to divulge details where these are above the 10 per cent. guideline, what action he can take.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI received the communications on 9th February. I very much regret any action by employer or unions which helps make more diflicult the task of bringing inflation under control. If a company is unable to demonstrate that its pay settlements are consistent with pay guidelines, the Government will take that into account in exercising its discretion in relation to the matters mentioned in paragraph 16 of Cmnd. 6882.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what his policy is with regard to a firm compelled by a trade union to pay more than the 10 per cent. guideline to ensure that it operates the fair wages clause when carrying out Government contracts, in the light of the new policy of the refusal of Government contracts if it fails to sign a 325W declaration that it will not exceed the 10 per cent. guidelines;
(2) whether the 10 per cent. guideline and the 12-month rule apply where arbitration and other special investigatory committees award salaries in excess of this figure.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe pay guidelines apply whatever means are used to settle the level of settlement. But, as under previous rounds, increases that are shown to be necessary to meet the requirements of statutory obligations are in accordance wih the policy, and this includes the implementation of awards by the Central Arbitration Committee under Schedule 11 to the Employment Protection Act 1975 and under the fair wages resolution.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent the Government's new proposals for enforcing the 10 per cent. guideline on wages and salaries will increase or decrease unemployment.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerAs stated in the White Paper (Cmnd. 6882), the precondition for success in returning to full employment is the mastery of inflation, in which the pay policy and the steps we
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ANNUAL AVERAGE PERCENTAGE INCREASE OF GROSS HOURLY EARNINGS OF MANUAL WORKERS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES (EXCEPT WHERE THE INDUSTRIAL COVERAGE IS STATED TO BE DIFFERENT) Country Notes 1945–51 1951–64 1964–70 1970–74 1974–76 United Kingdom … … (a) (b) 6 6½ 8 14½ 18 Federal Republic of Germany (c) 11½(d) (e) [1951–56 6 (e)1956–64 9] 8 10½ 7½ France … … … (a) (f) 23 (n) 8 8½ 16 15 Italy … … … … (g) 11½(d) 7 9½ 18½ 24½(h) Netherlands … … 7 (i) 8 10 16 11½ Belgium … … … 7(b) (d) (i) 4½(b) (i) 8½ 17½ 13 Luxembourg … … 12½(k) 4(k) 7½ 14½ 12 Ireland … … … 8½ 6 10½ 18½ 23½ Denmark … … … (a) 7½(l) 7 11½ 15½ 15 USA … … … 7½ 3½ 5 7 8½ Canada … … … 9 4½ 7 10 15 Japan … … … (m) 85(n) 8½ 13½ 19½ 12 Sources: International Labour Office "Year Book of Labour Statistics". Eurostat "Hourly Earnings; Hours of Work". Notes: (a) Adults only. (b) Males only. (c)Including family allowances paid by employers. (d)Four year period (1947–51). (e) Including building and quarrying. (f) Wage rates (not earnings). (g) Including payments in kind. (h)One year period (1974–75). (i) Production and related workers. (j) Based on daily (not hourly) earnings. (k) Including mining, construction and services. (l) Including mining, construction and transport. (m) Based on monthly earnings of manual and non-manual workers; these include family allowances and bonuses paid by the employers. (n) Five year period (1946–51). are taking in support of it have an important part to play.