§ Mr. Bishopasked the Minister of Labour what information he has, with regard to European engineering industries, about the hours normally worked per week, the number of days holiday and the hours worked per year in France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands compared with the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HattersleyThe following information, which is available from the usual international sources for the overseas countries concerned, is shown alongside data on average hours worked for the United Kingdom. Owing to differences in concept, scope, methodology and presentation, the figures do not provide a satisfactory basis for comparisons between one country and another.
AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER WEEK BY WAGE EARNERS IN METAL PRODUCTS, MACHINERY, ETC. INDUSTRIES IN 1965 France 47.1 Belgium (a) (b) Germany (Federal Republic) (c): Males 44.9 Females 41.1 Sweden Not available Netherlands (d): Adult males 46.1 United Kingdom (e) 43.8 (a) The figures relate to October. (b) An average for the group of industries is not published. Averages for the component industries, however, were as follows: Metal products: 39.4 hours; Machinery (non-electrical) 41.6 hours; Electrical machinery: 42.2 hours, and Transport equipment: 40.9 hours. (c) Including West Berlin. (d) The figure relates to one week in October and includes also metal manufacturing. (e) The figures relate to October and to all full-time manual workers. Similar information is not available from these sources in relation to the number of hours worked per year, or the number of paid holidays in the engineering industries.