§ Mr. HUTCHISONasked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the second lightning unofficial strike of employés of the London Passenger Transport Board; whether he can state the causes of this second strike; and whether, in view of the grave inconvenience to the travelling public caused by occurrences of this nature, since the board is practically a public monopoly, he will investigate the possibilities, either of diminishing trouble of this nature, or at least of issuing on every occasion a full explanation of the reasons actuating it.
§ Mr. E. BROWNMy attention has been drawn to the hardship caused to the public as a result of the withdrawal of travelling facilities by the stoppages of work to which my hon. Friend refers. Under the agreements between the London Passenger Transport Board and the Transport and General Workers' Union, comprehensive constitutional machinery has been established for dealing with all questions affecting working conditions and it is greatly to be regretted that, in these circumstances, this machinery was not utilised. The effectiveness of voluntary collective agreements depends upon the loyalty of members of organisations which are parties to them, and I hope that the need for other action will not arise.