HC Deb 13 February 1973 vol 850 cc294-5W
Mr. Redmond

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements he has made for advance notification of proposed pay increases, pending establishment of the proposed Pay Board.

Mr. Maurice Macmillan

As I announced in the debate on the Second Reading of the Counter-Inflation Bill I am asking employers and employers' organisations who are negotiating settlements affecting 500 or more employees—whether or not in one company—to keep my Department informed of proposed pay increases as far as possible in advance. These arrangements will run from now until the proposed Pay Board is operative. I hope that with voluntary co-operation over the short remaining period of the pay standstill, it will not be necessary to make use of my statutory powers under the 1972 Act to require information, or to restrict pay increases or delay implementation.

I shall, however, need to monitor the more significant settlements during this period, and to enable me to do this with the minimum of delay I am asking the larger employers and employers' organisations to give my Department, in confidence where necessary, the following information about proposed pay increases as soon as they start negotiating:

  1. (a) The numbers and categories of employees covered by the negotiations, their current rates of pay and earnings—excluding overtime payments—the amount and implementation date or dates of the last settlement, and the intended date of the new settlement;
  2. (b) Their estimate of the pay limit for the group or groups concerned, and the calculations on which this is based, including the pay bill for the previous year—excluding overtime payments and indicating any other exclusions they have made;
  3. (c) Details of offers, when made, and their estimated effect on the pay bill;
  4. (d) Any other factors which may increase the average pay bill per head over the coming 12 months, and any other relevant information;
  5. (e) The details of the settlement when reached.

This information should be addressed by employers concerned in the private sector to the senior manpower adviser at the appropriate regional office of my Department, or in the case of national employers' organisations to Incomes Division (Branch B) at the Department's headquarters; public sector employers concerned should notify their sponsor Departments.