§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the number of days lost through strike action in 1984 to date; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerIt is provisionally estimated that 7.2 million working days have been lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes in the five months ended 31 May 1984. Over three quarters of this total is accounted for by the miners' strikes. Strikes help our competitors abroad and lead to lost jobs, either among those on strike or among workers in related industries or, in many cases, both. British strikes export British jobs. A strike-free Britain exports British goods and safeguards British jobs.