§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will take the necessary action to ensure that the staffs employed by the Crown Agents for the Colonies have granted to them the same facilities for reference of disputed questions to arbitration as are provided to Civil Service staffs by agreement between the official and staff sides of the Civil Service National Whitley Council?
§ Sir T. InskipI have been asked to reply. Under the agreements of 1925 and 1936 between the official and staff sides of the National Whitley Council for the Civil Service, access to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal is confined to civil servants affiliated to the Civil Service National Whitley Council. The staffs employed by the Crown Agents for the Colonies are not so affiliated. If any question concerning those staffs should arise which, in the case of civil servants, would be a matter for the Arbitration Tribunal, I should be prepared to consider making suitable arrangements for arbitration. So far as I am aware, however, no such question has in fact arisen.