Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 31 October 1989.
Harry Cohen
, Leyton
12:00,
31 October 1989
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will review current employment Laws as they relate to the threatened dismissal of staff without compensation in the light of the dispute at Manifold Industries, Leyton; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Patrick Nicholls
, Teignbridge
There is no obligation on any party in an industrial dispute to inform the Government about the dipute, or action which may be taken in connection with it. On the basis of such information as is available about this particular dispute, however, there appears to be no reason to change any aspect of current industrial relations law.
Harry Cohen
, Leyton
Does the Minister agree that the management of Manifold Industries has treated its workers shabbily? After its initial intimidatory action, the management has avoided all negotiations, including those via the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. The management is using Tory industrial relations law to avoid paying proper compensation, while it clears the decks to make a fortune in a future, speculative sell-out. Is not sacking workers without compensation an appalling use of Tory industrial relations law, which should be changed?
Mr Patrick Nicholls
, Teignbridge
It is not up to me to pass judgment on any of the matters which the hon. Gentleman raises. If his allegations are true, the workers have remedies open to them for unfair dismissal, when they may go before an industrial tribunal, or for breach of contract, when they may go before a civil court.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
