§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Prime Minister, in view of the payment of some directors' salaries in excess of £200,000, whether she will make a public appeal to all persons to limit their salaries to £50,000 during the present economic crisis and thus assist the Government's attempts to control inflation.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government's view is that wages and salaries must reflect the financial position of companies, and this applies to directors' salaries as much as to the earnings of others. It is not for the Government to intervene in this area in the affairs of companies, but I have frequently drawn attention to the need for restraint in pay increases if there is not to be a further, and wholly unnecessary, increase in unemployment.