§ 35. Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the current state of industrial relations in the National Health Service.
§ Mr. NewtonWhile I regret that some National Health Service staff have recently taken industrial action, NHS management and staff generally enjoy good industrial relations. There are well-established mechanisms for both national negotiation of pay and conditions of service and local disputes procedures which, allied to the commitment of management, staff and their representatives, ensure that disruption to patient services through industrial disputes174W is minimal. This is borne out by a comparison of the latest available figures published in the September 1987 Department of Employment Gazette. In 1986 an average of 89 days were lost per 1,000 employees in all United Kingdom industries and services through stoppage of work. In the United Kingdom industry group "medical and health services" (which includes private health care staff and general medical and dental services) only eight days were lost per 1,000 employees.