§ 128. Mr. Holtasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what grounds the recent pay claim made on behalf of the clerical officers and clerical assistants in the Civil Service was rejected.
§ The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. J. E. S. Simon)This claim for an increase of approximately 20 per cent. was not rejected outright. An offer which would give substantial increases to many of the officers concerned was made at the end of November. The offer was that thought justified by a report of the Civil Service Pay Research Unit on the pay of broadly comparable work outside the Civil Service.
§ 129. Mr. Holtasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards Civil Service pay claims in the light of their non-strike record and of the recent wage award to the National Union of Mineworkers.
§ Mr. SimonThe Government has accepted the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service (1953–55) for determining the pay of nonindustrial civil servants. The primary principle recommended by the Royal Commission was fair comparison with the current remuneration of outside staffs employed on broadly comparable work, taking into account differences in other conditions of service. The recent wage increase to mineworkers is not relevant as miners are not employed on "broadly comparable work".