§ Mr. Leighasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average annual increase in wages for miners since 1979 compared with average pay increases over the same period for private sector workers generally.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkEstimates from the new earnings survey show that between April 1979 and April 1983 the average gross weekly earnings of full-time male manual employees working a full week in the coal-mining industry increased at an average annual rate of 11.1 per cent. The comparable increase for full-time male manual employees in the private sector was 11 per cent. A valid comparison cannot yet be made for the period after April 1983 as the 1983 pay agreement for manual employees in the coal-mining industry has yet to be settled.