HC Deb 18 July 1989 vol 157 cc155-7W
22. Mr. Ian Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received any representations about strikes in the public sector; and if he will make a statement.

27. Mr. Hanley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received any representations about unofficial strikes; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

My right hon. Friend has received many representations concerning the recent irresponsible and unnecessary industrial action in certain public sector services. The Government are considering what needs to be done to protect the public interest, and we will not hesitate to come forward with appropriate proposals for legislation if that proves necessary.

32. Mr. Thornton

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many strike ballots have been held before proposed strikes in the last five years; how many resulted in a vote not to strike; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is currently aware of some 1,023 ballots which took place between 26 September 1984 and 31 May 1989 of which 115 were against taking strike action.

33. Mr. Gerald Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress to discuss the current wave of strikes; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

My right hon. Friend has no current plans for such a meeting.

37. Mr. Devlin

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to introduce legislation to stop unofficial strikes; and if he will make a statement.

44. Mr. Dykes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any proposals for the prohibition of strikes in essential transport services; and if he will make a statement.

58. Mr. David Evans

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to introduce measures to curb the right of public sector workers in vital industries to undertake strike action.

72. Mr. Sayeed

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to combat strikes in the public sector; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

Recent industrial action in certain public sector services has been irresponsible and unnecessary. The Government are considering what needs to be done to protect the public interest, and we will not hesitate to come forward with appropriate proposals for legislation if that proves necessary.

48. Mr. Franks

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are employed in(a) the public sector and (b) the private sector; and how many working days were lost through strikes in each of 1988–89.

Mr. Nicholls

An article in "Economic Trends", December, page 119, set out the Central Statistical Office's estimates of the breakdown of employment in the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom at mid-1988 as 6,327,000 and 19,077,000 respectively. Revisions to employment data since the compilation of the article will be reflected in the next annual publication.

Working days lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes in the 12 months ending March 1989 were 1,561,000 in the public sector and 1,296,000 in the private sector.

A copy of "Economic Trends" is available in the Library.

65. Mr. Marlow

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost through strikes in the public sector in 1988–89; and if he will make a statement.

82. Mr. David Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost through strikes in the public sector and the private sector of the economy in 1988–89; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

In the 12 months to March 1989, working days lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes totalled 1,561,000 in the public sector and 1,296,000 in the private sector. The public sector figure includes 1,163,000 working days lost in the postal disputes in August and September last year and the private sector figure includes 754,000 working days lost in a shipyard dispute. Expressed in terms of days lost per thousand employees, the public sector figure is 247, the corresponding private sector figure 68.

68. Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many strikes there have been in the last 12 months; and how many there were 10 years ago.

Mr. Nicholls

In the 12 months to May 1989, a total of 700 stoppages of work due to industrial disputes are provisionally recorded as being in progress. In the corresponding period 10 years ago, the 12 months to May 1979, a total of 2,453 stoppages were recorded as in progress. These statistics exclude stoppages involving fewer than 10 workers or lasting less than one day unless the total number of working days lost is greater than 100.

88. Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the causes of the rise in working days lost through industrial disputes in April compared to March of the current year.

Mr. Nicholls

The latest estimates of working days lost through stoppages of work caused by industrial disputes for March and April of this year are 74,000 and 89,000 respectively. There is normally a significant fluctuation from month to month in the number of working days lost and the March to April increase is smaller than the median of other monthly increases over the past 36 months. The April 1989 figure is, apart from the April 1988 figure, the lowest for any April since 1954.

93. Mr. Andrew MacKay

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many days have been lost by industrial action in the first six months of the current year; and what was the comparable figure for each of the previous 10 years.

Mr. Nicholls

The estimate for June 1989 of working days lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes is not yet available; but for the first five months of 1989 it is provisionally recorded that 435,000 working days were lost. The comparable figures for the first five months in each of the previous 10 years are as follows:

Working days lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes in first five months of each year
Year Number
1979 8,076,000
1980 2,341,000
1981 2,341,000
1982 2,510,000
1983 2,125,000
1984 8,669,000
1985 5,012,000
1986 1,082,000
1987 2,626,000
1988 1,226,000

98. Mr. Cash

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet representatives of the Trades Union Congress to discuss strikes on London transport, British Rail and in the docks; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

My right hon. Friend has no such plans. The resolution of these disputes is a matter for the parties concerned.

113. Mr. Knox

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many days were lost in industrial disputes(a) in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available and (b) in 1978.

Mr. Nicholls

A total of 2,911,000 working days were lost through stoppages of work due to industrial disputes in the most recent 12-month period ending in May 1989. In 1978, a total of 9,405,000 working days were lost.