§ 55. Mr. Tom Boardmanasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity why she approved the new three-year wage agreement concluded by the heating, ventilation and domestic engineering industry, in view of her refusal to sanction the three-year agreement in the building industry reported on by the National Board for Prices and Incomes in their Report No. 92.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThere is no incomes policy bar on three-year agreements, although the National Board for Prices and Incomes recommended against one on the building industry in paragraph 196 of its Report No. 92 for reasons which are set out fully in that paragraph. The agreement of three-years' duration in the heating and ventilating industry was approved largely because it introduced a major revision of the structure of grades with a view to improving flexibility and efficiency, and because it116W included a commitment to a significant reduction of unnecessary overtime.