British Rail

Part of Orders of the Day — Supply – in the House of Commons at 4:06 pm on 21 June 1982.

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Photo of Mr Albert Booth Mr Albert Booth , Barrow-in-Furness 4:06, 21 June 1982

My comments in the House about the ASLEF dispute are on record and I defend them. I objected to a number of comments by Tory Members about that strike. We should be anxious, not to decide whether we will support disputes, but to take steps to avoid them and to improve the performance of British Rail.

When I talk about increases in productivity, I am not talking about a mere head count. That is silly and it is far too crude a yardstick of productivity. Productivity improvements can be seen in the more efficient marshalling yard arrangements, the more efficient modern signalling introduced on some lines, the better use of a loco and traction fleet and, in particular, in British Rail's use of fleet wagons.

If the terrible worry that existed in the railway workshop plans as a result of the proposed workshop closures did nothing else, it at least caused the Secretary of State and myself to look carefully at what determined the work load of those workshops, particularly the one at Shildon. I am sure that the Secretary of State is as aware as I am that one reason for the closure proposal was that there is a much more efficient use of freight wagons following the introduction of modern technology and the use of computers in freight wagon location. Wagon utilisation was improved by 25 per cent. last year.

When we talk about improving productivity we are not talking only about putting people out of jobs. The bitter attitude that has developed among the rail unions has been caused by their belief that the Government have reneged on their part of the balance sheet of change. The unions believe, justifiably, that on the Government's side of delivery of investment and the financial framework there is precious little to suggest that the Government will keep their side of an investment bargain. Of the six specific investment proposals on the right hand side of the balance sheet of change, one has had full approval, another has received partial approval, but the other four have been lost or put aside.

I put it to the House that the pay offer, which is ostensibly the cause of the strike threat by NUR, is only part of a much broader picture. An offer of 5 per cent. five months after the annual pay date could hardly be said to be a tempting offer, even if it had not been linked to productivity. The offer means that the rail unions are being given a choice: they can accept the offer and deliver the improvements in productivity, without a guarantee of investment, in which case the fall in their standard of living will be equivalent to the inflation rate minus 5 per cent., or they can turn down the offer and face a fall in their standard of living equivalent to the inflation rate. I do not believe that the unions can be asked to accept that they are seeing real benefits from the savings that they worked with the board to achieve.

The strike threat has followed the long period of crisis. My right hon and hon. Friends and I recognise that the ability of British Rail to pay railwaymen decent wages and to deliver the service required by industry and passengers depends vitally on a proper investment programme. A railway system starved of investment is bound to deteriorate, leading inevitably to closures.

The NUR states, through its general secretary, that it has delivered on all the commitments into which it has entered and has honoured all its agreements. I thought that I heard a Conservative Member say from a sedentary position that that is not true. If the Secretary of State or any Conservative Member says that that statement is not true, or, to put it in a milder form, that it is contentious, he has an obligation to say where the union has failed to deliver and to what extent that has been linked with the Government's failure to deliver on investment. Unless the Secretary of State is prepared to tell us which failure to deliver by the unions has led to the Government's massive withholding of investment, there is no basis on which an understanding can be reached and no basis for negotiations leading to an effective working of the railway system.

What has happened to the idea of synchronising and moving stage by stage on improvements in productivity and investment? What has happened to the gearing of the investment decisions? The Opposition do not call upon the Government to fund or to improve investment without getting a combined commitment from the British Railways Board and the unions. On the contrary, we welcome that approach. Our whole commitment to industrial democracy and to planning agreements carries with it, implicitly and explicitly, the belief that if investment is to make sense, it is not only those in management who will determine whether it makes sense, but those who have to work it and who should be party to the agreements.