Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)

Notwithstanding what the hon. Gentleman says about the figures, I shall try to get that breakdown for him. I do not know how long it will take. The amendment seems to extend from five to 10 working days the period within which the employer must supply information to the CAC and the union about the proposed bargaining units. The duty to supply this information is very important. It applies during the special 20-day period set aside in the process for the parties to try to reach a voluntary agreement between themselves on an appropriate bargaining unit. This negotiation period can be extended if necessary. The CAC steps in to decide the unit only if the parties fail to agree. That arrangement has worked very well; better, perhaps, than many people expected.

By the end of December last year, 79 bargaining units had been decided by agreement between the parties. That left only 73 cases in which the CAC had to determine the unit. We want to build on that success by easing the way for even more agreements to be reached. The clause achieves this by ensuring that all the parties share helpful information early in negotiation. The sooner a shared understanding of the shape of the work force can be achieved, the greater the chance that an appropriate bargaining unit will be agreed.

The clause introduces a duty on employers to supply the union with information on the number of workers in the union's proposed bargaining unit by category of worker and by workplace. The occupational and geographical compositions of the work force are usually key factors in determining bargaining units. The union cannot know this detail in advance of lodging its application. A level playing field is created in negotiations if the employer discloses that information. This will facilitate more constructive negotiations and more informed choices.

The amendment would allow an employer to delay negotiations by waiting until halfway through the initial 20-day negotiation period before supplying the information. That is too long. Five working days is a reasonable amount of time in which to expect the employer to supply the information. The information

required is restricted to basic employment data, and most employers should already have compiled it for other business purposes as a matter of course. Indeed, in many cases, the employer will have supplied much of the data to the CAC at the earlier admissibility stage, so the task will not be excessively time-consuming. Moreover, employers going through the process will know in advance what the procedure requires of them. This requirement will not be sprung on them suddenly. Employers will have plenty of time before they reach the bargaining unit negotiation stage to prepare the information.

The Government cannot support the amendment, as the clause does not place unreasonable demands on the employer. I have figures that I will share with members of the Committee. They are too difficult to discuss now, but I will ensure that hon. Members have the detail of the bargaining units by this afternoon's sitting. I ask the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk to withdraw the amendment.

See this speech in context