§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the average number of days lost per worker and per annum in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector of industry for each year since 1965.
§ Mr. BoothFrom the beginning of 1973 stoppages in the public sector have been identified separately, but comparable information for earlier years is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
In 1973, of 7.2 million working days lost due to industrial disputes in all industries and services in the United Kingdom, 1.5 million were in public sector and 5.7 million in the private sector. In relation to employment at June 1973 of 6.2 million in the public sector and 16.5 million in the private sector, these figures represent 240 working days lost per 1,000 employees in the public sector and 350 working days lost per 1,000 employees in the private sector. Figures for 1974 will be available in a few weeks' time.