1095
(Women)
1096
of the Working Party set up not by my Department but by the National Joint Advisory Council, which advises my right hon. Friend on industrial matters. That Working Party was set up a few years ago to consider, among other things, whether the restrictions on the hours of work of women are still needed.
Factory Night Work 15 DECEMBER 1969 Secondly, will my hon. Friend now say what modifications and improvements his Department is prepared to make to these procedures, so that the feelings of the trade unions concerned can be taken fully into account? Does my hon. Friend know that at a meeting of the Coventry and District Shop Stewards on Wednesday evening, 3rd December, the idea of women on night shift was rejected unanimously? Feeling on the subject in the trade unions, and particularly among shop stewards, is very strong.
I hope that my hon. Friend will give both of us tonight some reassurance that his Department are willing to take the whole question more seriously, particu- larly in view of what appears to be a rather serious breach of the Regulations which has been permitted to this firm. A number of trade unionists and trade union branches have pressed me because of their concern on this matter. matter which, I assure my hon. Friend, we in North Warwickshire do not treat lightly. I hope that he will give us some assurance on the subject from the Front Bench.
12.1 a.m.
It is a
The Under-Secretary of State, Depart- ment of Employment and Productivity (Mr. Harold Walker): The question The question whether women should work at night has recently been and obviously still is the subject of lively debate-and it threatens to continue to be the subject of lively debate. It may help the House if, before I come to the details of the case raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North (Mr. Edelman), I sketch very briefly the general back- ground.
The Factories Act restricts the hours of work of women but not by any means of all women. Apart from housewives, whose work, we know, goes on to all hours, it does not affect nurses, policewomen, airline stewardesses, laboratory technicians, office workers, farm workers and many others. It does not even cover all women who work in factories. Manageresses are specifically exempt. We estimate that it covers only about one-quarter of all women at work. The rest are already free to work at night if they want to do so.
My hon. Friend reminded the House of the Report published earlier this year
8 H 19
I was particularly interested to hear my hon. Friend's comments on the posi- tion in the E.E.C., with which, by virtue of his duties, he is particularly familiar. I am grateful to him for telling me that he would raise this point. I studied the Working Party's Report to see its com- ments on the point. The Working Party, which included three T.U.C. representa- tives, in its examination of the general problem looked at the practices of the European Economic Community and of other industrial communities, particularly countries in Scandinavia to which my hon. Friend referred. The Working Party noted in paragraph 84 of the Report that although, as he said, night work for women is prohibited in all E.E.C. countries, provision is made for exemption in certain circumstances. In subsequent paragraphs of the Report the Committee noted that Norway and Sweden prohibit night work for women but Denmark not at all. In Australia only New South Wales prohibited night work for women. In the United States and Canada the law varies from Pro- vince to Province and State to State. But in all these countries provision is made for exceptions and/or the granting of exemption. In other words the prac- tice, in so far as information is available. seems to vary very little from that of the United Kingdom.
The Working Party's Report was pub- lished earlier this year and since then officials of the Department have had tentative exploratory discussions about it with both sides of industry and with women's organisations. My right hon. Friend has herself also had an oppor- tunity of hearing the views of both sides. of industry on whether restrictions on women's hours should be continued.
These discussions have revealed wide differences of opinion about the future of restrictions on women's hours and, in particular, over the vexed question of night work. The discussions will con- tinue; and I hope that over time a broader measure of agreement will be