§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the East Midlands were employed in the knitwear and hosiery industry in June 1973; how many there are at the latest date; and what is the current level of unemployment and short-time working in this industry.
§ Mr. John FraserIn the East Midlands Region, the numbers employed in the knitwear and hosiery industry (Minimum List Heading 417 of the Standard Industrial Clasification) were 76,900 at June 1973 and 76,800 at June 1974, the latest date for which regional estimates for the industry are available. At December 1975 there were 2,326 unemployed people in the region who last worked in this industry; figures for mid-January will be 87W available in a few days and I shall send them to my hon. Friend. About 2,450 people were known to my Department, from local inquiries, to be on short time in the second week in January.
§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will take steps to amend Section 133 of the Factories Act 1961 in order to allow trade unions to examine the lists of home-workers and outworkers in the knitwear and hosiery industry in view of the current redundancy situation.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am informed by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that proposals are being formulated for changes in the provisions concerning outworkers and that there will be full consultation with all interested parties on these proposals.
§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimates he has made of the average weekly wage of a juvenile machinist in the knitwear and hosiery trade in Great Britain; and what is the equivalent in Hong Kong.