HC Deb 09 May 1972 vol 836 cc333-4W
Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) whether the recent collection of names and addresses of British Rail employees by his Department was undertaken on an order under Section 142 of the Industrial Relations Act, or other power; and whether he will make a statement including for what purposes they were obtained, by what form of requisition, and the cost of collection;

(2) in what industries, other than from the railways, arrangements have been made through his Department for the collection of dossiers of employee's names and addresses; and under what authority and legislation this has been done;

(3) what guarantee of confidentiality was given to British Rail employees and their union representatives before the action of his Department in collecting lists of their names and addresses;

(4) what consultations took place between the Commission on Industrial Relations and his Department before the collection began of British Rail employees' names and addresses by his Department;

(5) what consultations took place with the employees concerned and their union representatives before names and addresses of railway workers were obtained by his Department from the British Railways Board;

(6) to which week of employment the collection by his Department of information regarding British Rail employees relates; and what arrangements have been made for the updating of this information to take account of new employees and learners;

(7) whether he will institute an inquiry into the issues affecting the confidentiality of information that has been raised through his action in collecting railwaymen's names and addresses;

(8) what instructions have been given to his departmental offices about the protection of the confidentiality of the names and addresses of railwaymen which they have recently acquired from the British Railways Board.

Mr. Chichester-Clark

The arrangements for collecting these names and addresses were made by the Commission on Industrial Relations and the British Railways Board after consultation with my Department. Clerical assistance was provided by my Department at the request of the commission. The purpose was to ensure that if an emergency ballot were ordered by the Industrial Court in connection with the present rail dispute the commission would be fully prepared to carry out its duties under the Industrial Relations Act. Once a ballot has been ordered by the court the commission has power to require employers to provide such information under Schedule 3 of the Act. Any necessary updating of the names and addresses would be a matter for the commission.

The confidentiality of the information is fully protected by the Official Secrets Act so far as officials of my Department are concerned, and I understand that steps have also been taken to ensure confidentiality in the case of CIR staff. No consultation took place with employees of the British Railways Board or with the trade unions. Figures for the cost of collection are not readily available but it is thought to be relatively small. I am informed by the commission that it has not made similar arrangements with any other industries.

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