§ Mr. Mike Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many minutes of work had the average British worker to do, at the latest convenient date and in October 1974, to earn enough to buy 1 lb of bread; and how these figures compare with France, West Germany, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe following table gives the position in October 1974 and October 1975, the latest common date for which information is available. Comparisons of this type involve considerable uncertainties. In particular these arise from the variation in the systems of 137W remuneration and taxation in the different countries and from differences in the quality and type of bread. The product priced is described as white wheat bread but a detailed definition of the article is not available.
Comparable information for Italy is not available from international sources.
Minutes of work required to earn the price of 1 lb of bread:
October1974 October1975 United Kingdom* … … 5 4 France† … … 9 9 West Germany … … 7 7 Ireland‡ … … 7 5 Denmark† … … 7 6 Belgium† … … 4 4 Netherlands … … 4 4 Notes:*The average price is derived from prices in 200 towns.
†Capital city prices.
‡ November prices and December earnings.
Sources:(a)prices: ILO Bulletin of Labour Statistics, 2nd quarter, 1975 and 1976.
(b) earnings: Ireland—Irish Statistical Bulletin, June1976. Other countries—Hourly Earnings and Hours of Work, Eurostate 2/1976