Manufacturing Industry

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 6:20 pm on 16 October 1991.

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Photo of Mr Joe Ashton Mr Joe Ashton , Bassetlaw 6:20, 16 October 1991

Initially Nissan took skilled workers—admittedly, they were unemployed—from the shipyards. One reason why Nissan chose the north-east was that surplus of skilled workers. It is easy to train workers after five years when a plant is running, but initially a company needs skilled people.

The Secretary of State for Employment is a lawyer, but I am an engineer. I served my apprenticeship; I went into a drawing office and I am a design engineer. I am not seeking to be derogatory about the right hon. and learned Gentleman, but I know what I am talking about. It is impossible to think that one can acquire skills just like that.

People have argued that, when the defence contracts are dropped, the engineers in the defence industry will be able to do something else, but that is like saying that, because I speak English and I have a voice, I can immediately start speaking French. One has to be trained, and it takes years to acquire the necessary skills. One cannot suddenly switch skills, and any company developing a new high-technology plant knows that.

The next thing that the Japanese will go for are our defence plants. The House can rest assured that, 25 years from now, all British industry will be owned and run by the Japanese. They are smart enough and have the cash and the nous to put money into investment, but we are not training people to acquire the right skills.

People in my area may have been employed as jobbing welders at the pits. They come to me to ask whether they can train as ASVIII welders or insurance welders, who weld boiler drums—high-quality welding. Those people cannot get the training, because the factories that used to provide such high-skilled training have gone. When I take up such cases with the north Nottinghamshire training and enterprise council, I am told that it will send such people to train as waiters or something else. However, the guy with the basic skill who wants to improve it in my coal-mining area cannot do so, because there is nowhere for him to improve it. I could give chapter and verse on that, but I do not want to take up the time of the House.

I know that the Secretary of State for Employment is absolutely against the minimum wage. I made my maiden speech 23 years ago next week. Between 1972 and 1973, we spoke about a Labour Government bringing in equal pay for women. The then Tory Government cried out that that would throw thousands out of work at Woolworth, Marks and Spencer and the like. The Tories claimed that hundreds of thousands of women would be thrown on the dole if we brought in equal pay. But it did not cost one job.

When women got the extra money, they went out and spent it, and that created other jobs. When the Government give tax cuts to the well off, they spend that cash on a bigger mortgage, a BMW, a Mercedes or a microwave. They will spend it on anything that has not been made in Britain. If the minimum wage is awarded to those who work in C&A, McDonald's or Woolworth, those men and women, but especially the women, will go out to buy a new carpet, furniture or clothes. They will buy stuff that is made in Britain, which will get British industry back to work. Those who object to paying women shop assistants another 50p an hour will find that they soon need more shop assistants because the volume of customers with money to spend will start to grow, as it did when we introduced equal pay.