HC Deb 08 March 1976 vol 907 cc123-4W
Mr. Nott

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by how much wage settlements known to his Department have raised (a) the index of basic hourly wage rates and (b) the index of average earnings in each month since the £6 limit on wage settlements came into force.

Mr. Booth

The percentage increases in the all-workers index of basic hourly wage rates for all manual workers have been:—

1975 August … 0.4
September … 0.3
October … 0.8
November … 4.4
December … 1.3
1976 January … 1.7 (Provisional)

The effects of wages settlements on the index of average earnings cannot be distinguished from the effects of many other factors.

Mr. Nott

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people and approximately what proportion of the total employees covered by (a) the index of average earnings, (b) the index of wages rates and (c) total employees had wage settlements in the periods August

£ million
Financial year Northern D/A South-West D/A Merseyside D/A Welsh D/A Scottish D/A Total
1967–68 … … 10 1 6 4 13 34
1968–69 … … 29 2 19 12 40 102
1969–70 … … 31 2 21 13 41 108
1970–71 … … 31 2 20 14 41 108
1971–72 … … 31 2 21 15 39 108
1972–73 … … 29 2 19 13 37 100
1973–74 … … 31 2 20 15 38 106
1974–75 … … 45 3 27 22 57 154

Mr. Prescort

asked the Secretary or State for Employment (1) what is the estimated additional cost of payment of regional employment premiums for each separate intermediate area;

(2) what is the estimated total additional cost of payment of regional employment premiums if extended to intermediate areas.

Mr. John Fraser

The estimated total additional cost of payment of regional employment premiums, if extended to intermediate areas, and the estimated amount for each separate intermediate area is given below.

to October 1975 and November 1975 to January 1976.

Mr. Booth

Estimates can only be given for manual workers covered by centrally negotiated collective agreements and statutory wage regulation and settlements becoming effective within the specified period. The approximate estimates are about 1.8 million or one-seventh of the total in the period August to November 1975 and rather more than 6 million or nearly half the total in the period November 1975 to January 1976.