§ Mr. Carterasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many working days were lost due to strike action during the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(2) how many working days were lost due to all factors in the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(3) how many working days were lost due to difficulties external to the United 200W Kingdom, in the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(4) how many working days were lost due to unemployment during the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(5) how many working days were lost due to lock-outs during the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(6) how many working days were lost due to sickness or illness during the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(7) how many working days were lost due to accidents in the period January, 1969, to January, 1970;
(8) how many working days were worked by the total working population in the period January, 1969, to January 1970.
§ Mr. BryanThe total number of days worked is not known, but the total number of man-days available is of the order of 5,000 million in a year. Precise estimates cannot be made because working arrangements vary greatly between different types of employment and categories of worker.
Following is the information available on the remaining items:
STOPPAGES OF WORK DUE TO INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES Working days lost in all stoppages in progress (United Kingdom) Year ended 31st December, 1969 6.8 million* UNEMPLOYMENT Estimated working days lost (United Kingdom) Year ended 31st December, 1969 About 150 million† SICKNESS Days of certified incapacity (Great Britain)‡ Year ended 31st May, 1969 329 million INDUSTRIAL INJURY (INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS AND PRESCRIBED INDUSTRIAL DISEASES) Days of certified incapacity (Great Britain)‡ Year ended 31st May, 1969 23 million * Includes days lost through both strikes and lock-outs, which are not separately identified in the statistics. † On the basis of 250 working days in a year. ‡ For national insurance purposes, on the basis of six working days in a week. Days of incapacity following termination of injury benefit are included in sickness benefit. Figures for 1969–70 are not yet available.