§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will immediately take steps to reduce the hours of firemen to 40 per week and, until recruits can be trained, for them to receive overtime payments up to their present normal hours of work, in addition to a 10 per cent. wage increase.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesI refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I made to 483W the House during the course of the debate on the motion for the Adjournment on Tuesday 15th November—[Vol. 939, c. 301–310]—about the negotiations which are taking place between both sides of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades. The Government have made it clear that there can be no question of any settlement with effect from 7th November 1977 which is not within the limits of the Government's guidelines on pay. The Government are prepared for a reduction in working hours to be negotiated, but it would not be possible to implement any reduction before the autumn of 1978, although preparation, including the recruitment and training of the additional firemen required, could begin before then.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of the fact that those whose incomes are on a fee-earning basis are not within the Government's income guidelines, he will seek to resolve the firemen's dispute by allowing them to negotiate a fee on all fires attended additional to their below national average wage.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNo. Fees paid to employees are subject to the Government's guidelines on pay. Attendance at incidents for fire-fighting purposes is part of a fireman's normal duties and it would not be practical or desirable to base firemen's pay on the number of fires attended.