§ Mrs. McKayasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity (1) on what approximate date she expects the seven years' phased introduction of equal pay to commence;
(2) what stage has been reached in the talks on equal pay between herself, the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress; how the new phase in the talks differs from the long series of previous talks; and what progress has been made;
(3) what progress has now been made in her Department's consideration of the question of equal pay, including the study of the relevant Articles of the Treaty of Rome, further consideration of its scope, definition and cost, its implications in the present economic situation to the prices and incomes policy, and the timing and phasing of future action;
(4) if she will make a statement on equal pay, giving details of her policy of including the reform in the criteria of the incomes policy; and if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy that there should be a pay freeze for male workers until women's pay is level in appropriate cases.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe series of discussions which have been held since 1966 between the Government, the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress have done much to establish the nature of the practical problems which must be resolved before equal pay can be fully implemented. Last June we decided that we were ready to take a further significant step forward by starting new talks which would look beyond technical problems to the preparation of firm and detailed proposals for action. We subsequently had separate meetings with both the C.B.I. and the T.U.C. to outline our proposals. Following these talks my Department, the C.B.I. and the 175W T.U.C. are co-operating in a joint inquiry to establish the likely cost of equal pay in a number of industries in which it could be expected to have a particular impact. Both the C.B.I. and the T.U.C. are agreed that the results of this study are essential to further discussions of the details of a phased programme of implementation. The inquiry is now well in hand and discussions with the C.B.I. and T.U.C. will be resumed in the New Year. The precise timing of the programme will depend upon the outcome of these further discussions. A pay freeze for male workers is not part of the Government's policy, but voluntary co-operation by men will allow progress towards equal pay within the current incomes policy.