HC Deb 19 June 1995 vol 262 cc27-8W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assurances he has given to the committee of independent experts in respect of the Government guaranteeing in practice complete and effective protection against anti-trade union discrimination based on trade union membership or activities. [27657]

Miss Widdecombe

The Government, in reporting to the Council of Europe in respect of the Council's social charter, have on a number of occasions, most recently in its 15th report which was submitted in 1994, provided information on the provisions in UK law which protect:

  1. (a) employees against dismissal or action short of dismissal on grounds related to trade union membership or activities; and
  2. (b) people against refusal of employment on grounds related to union membership.

Under the Council's reporting procedures, the committee of independent experts will give their opinion on the 15th report in 1996. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has given to the committee of independent experts concerning(a) the proportion of the working population employed under atypical contracts, including fixed-term contracts, casual short-term work, part-time work and home-based work and (b) the entitlement to paid annual holiday of such workers. [27659]

Miss Widdecombe

Information was provided in 1994 in the UK Government's 15th report to the Council of Europe in respect of the Council's social charter, on the number of part-time workers in Great Britain. The report states that the seasonally adjusted level of part-time employment in December 1993 was 6,789,000 million, to the nearest thousand, of which 5,297,000 were women.

The experts have now asked for information on the proportion of the working population employed under fixed-term contracts, in casual, home-based and part-time work and the entitlements to paid annual holidays of such workers, and in line with the current reporting procedures the UK will seek to provide this information in its 17th report in 1996.