§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give the average wage and hours of work, where available, within the Common Market.
§ Mr. John GrantThe following information for EEC countries relates to October 1975, the most recent month for which broadly comparable data are available. International comparisons of average earnings are not meaningful unless account is taken of differences between countries in (i) rates of tax, (ii) the incidence of social benefits, and (iii) the methods of compilation of the statistics by the various national offices. Also significant variations in internal purchasing power, which are not reflected by market exchange rates, exist between countries.
AVERAGE EARNINGS AND HOURS OF WORK OF MANUAL WORKERS (MALE AND FEMALE) IN MINING AND QUARRYING, CONSTRUCTION AND THE MANUFACTURING INDUSIRIES: OCTOBER 1975 Average weekly hours of work Average gross hourly earnings Germany 40–9 9–94 D. Marks France 42–4 11–96 F. Francs Italy 41–5* 1,553 Lira Netherlands 40–8 10–26 Guilders Belgium 37–1 146–85 B. Francs Luxembourg 40–9 159–36 L. Francs United Kingdom 41–8 1–264£ Denmark 33–1† 31–26 D. Crowns Ireland 41–5 1–106 £ * September 1975. † Excluding construction. Sources:
Statistical Office of the European Communities
Central Statistical Office Dublin
Danmark Statistiks