§ 45. Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will now publish the results of the study carried out by her Department in conjunction with the Con- 326W federation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress into the effects of introducing equal pay in 13 selected industries.
§ Mrs. CastleI hope to publish the results of the inquiry in the December issue of the "Employment and Productivity Gazette".
§ 47. Mr. Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will publish a White Paper on her proposals for legislation relating to equal pay in order to encourage full discussion of the problems involved.
§ Mrs. CastleI do not think a White Paper is necessary. My proposals have been set out in a consultative document which has been sent to the C.B.I., the T.U.C. and other interested organisations. Details have been made available to the Press, and an article has been published in the October issue of the "Employment and Productivity Gazette". I am arranging for the hon. Member to be sent a copy of the consultative document.
§ 48. Mr. Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what allowance she proposes to make for the special position of firms whose labour costs will be substantially increased by the introduction of equal pay.
§ Mrs. CastleThe position of such firms was one of the factors I had in mind in deciding to introduce equal pay over a five-year period.
§ 53. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what progress is being made with job evaluation studies to enable discrimination against women in rates of pay to end by 1975.
§ Mrs. CastleIt is for industry to carry out job evaluation. One of my proposals for the legislation on equal pay is that it should be discriminatory to pay different remuneration on ground of sex for jobs found to be equivalent as a result of job evaluation in terms of skill, effort and responsibility.
§ 54. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she has now received the reactions of the Confederation of British 327W Industry and the Trades Union Congress to her proposals for equal pay; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mrs. CastleThe comments of the C.B.I. and the T.U.C. have now been received and we are studying them.