§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the estimated numbers of part-time and full-time adult male and female manual and non-manual workers from whom a sample was taken for the purpose of the latest new earnings survey; and if he will provide information showing the increase in median earnings in each case since 1979 relative to the increase in the gross domestic product deflator and in the retail price index.
§ Mr. LeeNumbers in the new earnings survey sample are published in the table 36, part B of the 1988 report, a copy of which is available in the Library. The percentage increases in median earnings since 1979 after deflating by the gross domestic product (factor cost) deflator and the retail price index respectively are provided in the table:
419W
Deflated by: GDP deflator per cent. RPI per cent. Full-time adult males Manual 13 11 Non-Manual 33 30 Full-time adult females Manual 14 11 Non-Manual 35 32 Part-time adult males 23 21 Part-time adult females 12 9 Separate figures for manual and non-manual part-timers are not available.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing for full-time adult male and female employees, respectively, the percentage increase in earnings of the lowest and highest deciles in April of the current year in relation to 1979 deflated by (a) the retail price index and (b) the gross domestic product deflator.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is provided in the table:
Per cent. Deflated by:— Full-time adult employees RPI GDP deflator Males Lowest decile 9 12 Highest decile 35 38 Females Lowest decile 15 18 Highest decile 43 46
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the increase in the earnings of the median adult male manual worker since 1978; what is the corresponding increase in the unit cost of employing the median after deflating the increase in earnings by the increase in output per head in manufacturing; what was the corresponding increase in director's earnings, including profits made on share options; what is the estimated increase in the rate of inflation over the same period; and what conclusions he draws concerning the effect of the increase in the earnings of manual workers and of directors on the rate of inflation.
§ Mr. LeeMedian earnings for full-time adult manual males increased by 148 per cent. between April 1978 and April 1988. Over the same period, wages and salaries per unit of output for all employees in manufacturing (the only readily available data) increased by 99 per cent. and the retail prices index by 114 per cent. No reliable information on directors' earnings is readily available. Pay is a matter for negotiation between employers and employees; if pay settlements are too high, employment will be adversely affected.