§ Mr. LoydenTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will call for a report from the training agencies at Merseyside and Manchester on the reasons for the one-day strike by training agency staff; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CopeForty nine training agency staff in Merseyside and 36 in Manchester took "industrial action" on 26 April. This constituted a very small minority of training agency staff in these two areas. The action was organised by the Civil and Public Servants Association in protest against the privatisation of the skills training agency, reductions in staffing and the establishment of training and enterprise councils. The action was misguided and the vast majority of training agency staff did not take part.