§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the state of working arrangements between pilots and the Belfast Pilotage Authority.
§ Mr. David MitchellI understand that there has been disagreement between the Belfast Pilotage Authority and the pilots about the extent to which standby time should be reflected in pilots' earnings and about rota arrangements.
§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps he intends to take to ensure that the Belfast Pilotage Authority promotes appropriate byelaws under section 16 of the Pilotage Act 1983 for duty requirements for pilots;
(2) if he will exercise his powers under section 16(2)(b) of the Pilotage Act 1983 to direct the Belfast Pilotage Authority to submit appropriate byelaws to formalise its requirements for pilots in respect of hours of duty and terms of service.
§ Mr. David MitchellSection 16 of the Pilotage Act 1983 empowers the Secretary of State to direct a pilotage authority to submit a byelaw to him for confirmation only where a body or persons set out in section 16(1) of the Act have made representation to him that such a byelaw should be brought into force. The Secretary of State has received no such representation for a byelaw to define terms of service, hours of duty or other duty requirements for Belfast pilots.