HC Deb 05 February 1979 vol 962 cc22-3W
Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what reforms he expects to introduce in his Department's statistical collection techniques as a result of the findings of the recent report of IFF Research Limited, commissioned by the Social Science Research Council, into work place industrial relations in British manufacturing industry; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Golding

My Department's statistics on aspects of industrial action, which involve methods and coverage which are very similar to those followed in most other industrial countries, are under consideration; but careful investigation is required before coming to decisions on possible changes. I shall want to avoid significant increases in costs of data collection, either to industry or the Government.

Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of strikes he estimates his Department fails to record in its presentation of statistics relating to industrial relations in manufacturing industry.

Mr. Golding

My Department's statistics aim to cover all strikes other than those lasting less than a day, or involving fewer than 10 workers, except where the aggregate number of working days lost exceeds 100. No direct estimate is available of the shortfall in recording, but it is believed that, overall, only a relatively small proportion of strikes within this definition are missed. These are mostly the small-scale disputes which are believed to be more concentrated in some industries than others.

Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is his estimate of the percentage of British factories employing under 200 people that were strike-free during the latest 12-month period for which figures are available;

(2) what is his estimate of the percentage of British factories employing over 200 people that were strike-free during the latest 12-month period for which figures are available.

Mr. Golding

The latest special analysis in this degree of detail relates to 1975 and shows that in respect of 89 per cent. of manufacturing plants with 200 or more employees and 99 per cent. of plants with 11–199 employees no strikes were recorded within our definitions.

Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any statistical evidence to suggest a direct relationship between the size of a manufacturing industry and its susceptibility to industrial disputes.

Mr. Golding

The evidence is that the susceptibility of industrial disputes is related to the size of the plant in manufacturing industry—the number of working days lost per 1,000 employees increases with establishment size—and not to the size of the industry itself. The information is set out in Department of Employment manpower paper No. 15 "Strikes in Britain", pages 54 to 63, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.