European Social Charter

HC Deb 29 May 1962 vol 660 cc117-9W

Mr. K. Lewis

asked the Minister of Labour if he will now make a statement about the ratification of the European Social Charter.

Mr. Hare

The text of the European Social Charter was published on 17th April in the Foreign Office Miscellaneous Series of Command Papers (Miscellaneous No. 4, 1962) (Cmnd. 1667) and was laid before Parliament by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The bases for ratification are set out in Article 20 of the Charter. In order to ratify a Government must both accept Part I of the Charter as a declaration of aims which they will pursue by all appropriate means and at least five of seven specified articles in Part II of the Charter and sufficient additional articles

teachers and of women teachers employed in maintained secondary and primary schools, respectively, for each year from 1939 to 1962.

Sir D. Eccles

The table below gives the number of full-time teachers in maintained primary and secondary schools for the years 1947 to 1961, with comparable figures for 1938. Comparable statistics were not compiled for the intervening years.

or paragraphs of articles to make the total number of articles accepted to not less than 10, or the total number of paragraphs to not less than 45. The United Kingdom accepts the principles laid down in Part I of the Charter, six of the seven specified articles in Part II of the Charter and eight additional articles in that Part, making fourteen in all.

The conditions for ratification are thus satisfied and Her Majesty's Government propose to ratify the Charter as soon as possible after the expiry of 21 sitting days since publication.

The specified articles which it is proposed to accept are:

Articles 1, 5, 6, 13, 16 and 19.

In addition it is proposed to accept the following articles and paragraphs:

Paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Article 2.

Article 3.

Paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5 of Article 4.

Paragraphs 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 of Article 7.

Paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 8.

Articles 9, 10 and 11.

Paragraph 1 of Article 12.

Articles 14, 15, 17 and 18.