§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will consider referring collective agreements to the Industrial Arbitration Board for advice before the Central Arbitration Committee of the Conciliation and Arbitration Service is established under the Employment Protection Bill.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerYes. My right hon. Friend will have the power to refer collective agreements to the Industrial Arbitration Board from 29th December this year for advice on what amendments need to be made to remove discrimination between men and women. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary has recently written to the negotiating bodies of those agreements which did not seem to be 327W making adequate progress. Early next year, in the light of the replies received, my right hon. Friend will be considering possible references to the Industrial Arbitration Board of those collective agreements where the negotiating bodies concerned do not have firm plans for removing discrimination by 29th December 1975.