HC Deb 25 February 1969 vol 778 cc275-6W
Mr. John Page

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will publish a table showing the administrative functions and the relationship between the following organisations in the context of the proposals of the Whit; Paper. In Place of Strife, namely, the Commission on Industrial Relations, the National Board for Prices and Incomes, the Manpower and Productivity division of her Department, the Registrar of Trade Unions and Employers Associations, the Industrial Tribunals, the Industrial Board and the Industrial Court.

Mr. Harold Walker

The following is the information:

The Commission on Industrial Relations The main functions of the C.I.R. will be to encourage the improvement and extension of collective bargaining machinery, to examine trade union recognition problems and to promote the reform of industrial relations. The C.I.R. will not have responsibility for applying prices and incomes criteria; nor will it be directly concerned to secure improvements in productivity. The Commission will deal with the procedures under which pay and other substantive terms of agreement are negotiated but not with actual pay rates or increases.

The National Board for Prices and Incomes The Board has no direct responsibilities in relation to the White Paper.

The Manpower and Productivity Division of D.E.P. The D.E.P. will be responsible for examining procedure agreements registered by undertakings and its Manpower and Productivity Service will use these agreements to ascertain where improvements are most needed and where advice will be most helpful. A relatively few in portant cases will be referred to the C.I.R. The D.E.P. will follow-up C.I.R. reports.

The Registrar of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations Under my proposals the Registrar would be responsible for the registration of these organisations and ensuring that statutory requirements relating to their rules are satisfied. He would also advise on complaints against trade unions by individuals who have no access to, or have exhausted, the Union's own appeals procedure; and try to promote a settlement.

The Industrial Tribunals The Government proposes that employees who consider themselves unfairly dismissed should have a right to complain to the present Industrial Tribunals and that the latter's jurisdiction should be further extended to cover legal disputes (except for those about accidents at work) arising from individual contracts of employment including statutory claims between employers and employees which at present can be dealt with only in courts of law

The Industrial Court Under my proposals, would be empowered to arbitrate on claims at the unilateral request of a trade union where an employer has refused to comply with an Order made by the Secretary of State following a recommendation of the C.I.R. to recognise and negotiate with the union. It would decide upon appeals by trade unions and employers' associations against refusal of registration by the Registrar of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations.

The Industrial Board The proposed Industrial Board would sit in panels, the members of which will be drawn from the employees' and employers' panels, and the independent members, of the Industrial Court. The Board's functions would be, first, to consider cases of failure to obey an Order of the Secretary of State (a) following a recommendation of the C.I.R. in an inter-union recognition dispute, (b) for a conciliation pause in an unconstitutional strike, and (c) for a strike ballot before an official strike; and where appropriate to impose financial penalties. Secondly, the Board would consider cases of refusal by a union to register with the Registrar of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations, and would be able to impose financial penalties. Finally, the Board would be able to hear cases of complaints by individuals of unfair or arbitrary action by trade unions, where the Registrar had been unable to persuade the parties to reach an amicable settlement; and to award damages, or admission or re-instatement in a union.

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