§ Mr. Staintonasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is aware of the decision of Newton Chambers and Company to close its Ipswich subsidiary Ransomes and Rapier with the resultant loss of 700 jobs, and consequential increase in the unemployed in the Ipswich travel-to-work area by 26 per cent. on the Department's April, 1972 unemployment register; what discussions have taken place between the companies and his Department as to the implications of this move; whether he is satisfied that management is behaving within the code of practice as regards the decision and its implementation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Moneyasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement regarding the actions of the management of Newton Chambers and Company in its proposal to close Ransomes and Rapier, in the light of the Code of Industrial Practice.
§ Mr. Chichester-ClarkYes, the Code of Industrial Relations Practice says that, before the final decision to make any substantial reduction in the work-force is taken, management should normally410W consult employees or the representatives. The Code however recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances which make this impossible. The firm has offered full co-operation with my officers in finding alternative employment for the redundant workers, and I have every reason to believe that employee representatives will be fully consulted over the details of the implementation of the redundancy