§ Mr. HanleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will report on how British companies have complied with the European Community code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa during the 12-month period to 30 June 1988.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkBy 8 March 1989, 120 companies had submitted reports to the DTI under the code of conduct. Copies of the reports and of the Department's analysis and summary have, as in previous years, been placed in the Library of each House. These documents may also be inspected at the Department's export market information centre, at the British embassy in Pretoria, at the British consulate-general in Johannesburg, and at the British consulates in Cape Town arid Durban.
The analysis and summary is the third since the adoption of the revised code of conduct by EC Foreign Ministers in November 1985.
603WThe period under review has seen a further reduction in the number of black employees of British subsidiaries being paid below the code's recommended minimum level, with companies' reports indicating that again over 97 per cent. were paid above this level. In addition, companies continued to report impressive levels of involvement in projects benefiting not only their employees and their families but also the wider communities from which their work forces were drawn. Companies also continued to encourage the growth of black businesses, a new element introduced to the code in 1985.
The Government are once more grateful to companies for their continued co-operation in providing reports, and urge them to maintain this performance and to comply fully with the code.