§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how the decision to allow in full the payment to bank workers accords with the Government's prices and incomes policy.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe parties have been advised that the Government would be prepared to agree to the implementation from 1st July, 1969, without retrospection of the balance of the J.N.C. settlement, over the 3½ per cent. interim increase already paid from July, 1968, but stipulated that there should be no further general settlement before July. 1970.
This is in accord with the Government's prices and incomes policy and with the findings of Report No. 106 of the National Board for Prices and Incomes which recognises that the rate of increase in productivity is expected to continue, and that the settlement itself with its moves towards equal pay and the industry-wide alignment of clerical scales is a valuable rationalisation, as it provides a common platform for future action on the lines recommended by the Board.