Mr George Isaacs: Does this not show the justification for the suggestion which was urged, that this should be left to the industry itself to decide? Is it not likely that, if the Bill which was before the House had been passed, there would not have been anything like a satisfactory conclusion?
Mr George Isaacs: That is quite correct, but I think the House ought to understand that it was the employers who hung up negotiations and not the trade union.
Mr George Isaacs: I came to the Committee expecting that we should hear on this occasion, as we have heard so frequently on other occasions, a specific reference to the cost involved in this work. Tonight, we have had very few statistics. We have not heard much about finanical considerations, but we have heard a good deal about rehabilitation, not only as a useful economic activity but as something that...
Mr George Isaacs: Would the hon. Gentleman tell us the firm and the machine from which this story arose?
Mr George Isaacs: The hon. Gentleman says that it is something that he has heard about. Is he telling the House of something that he has heard about and has not satisfied himself as to the truth of the accusation that he is making?
Mr George Isaacs: As a machine man, I disagree with that.
Mr George Isaacs: I suppose that, like everyone else, I should declare my interest—but I "ain't got none." I am no longer an official of the trade; I no longer work in the trade. But I have a great interest in what is happening in the trade and that is the interest which I want to declare. I have been a little surprised at the manner in which hon. Members opposite have spoken. They have put in a special...
Mr George Isaacs: Hearing some of these stories I am reminded of the old saying, "Willing to wound, but afraid to strike." I want from the hon. Member for Bath the names and details, and the places, people and unions concerned in the accusations which he has made. The hon. Gentleman has promised to give that information to me and I await it.
Mr George Isaacs: Well, after all, that is exporting it. I think that it was the hon. Gentleman who used the expression …a rose,By any other name, would smell as sweet. Exports by any other name bring in the same amount of money. The hon. Member for Bath said that he went to the Bath Trades Council and explained something about—I forget what it was that he explained—but I wonder whether he explained...
Mr George Isaacs: I cannot help feeling that what my right hon. Friend the Member for Belper (Mr. G. Brown) said has a lot of good foundation in it. He said that the Bill is an attempt to avoid making an effort to settle any question under Section 9. The hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Sir A. Spearman) referred to the one case in his constituency, the one firm with its seasonal demands. He explained...
Mr George Isaacs: I will come back later to what I was saying about the Ministry. In four words, the hon. Member for Beckenham gave his whole case away and destroyed his Bill. He began by talking about 10 per cent. of the employees who were organised. He then spoke about his knowledge of night work, having experienced it himself. I wish that the hon. Member were here. He said he had done his share of night...
Mr George Isaacs: Mr. Isaacs rose—
Mr George Isaacs: I am grateful to the hon. Member for asking that question. It shows that he envisages the possibility of understanding. I have no authority to speak on behalf of the union—I have not made any contact with it since this matter arose—but I can with confidence say that if those employers will meet the union, I am perfectly satisfied that they will get such accommodation as suits them best....
Mr George Isaacs: No, perhaps the Minister would not do that. He might leave Southend in and take Westcliff out. It would all be part of the scheme. I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman bringing in this Bill. He may have been got at by the employers and may not have been informed by them of all the circumstances of the case. If so, I hope that he will withdraw the Motion for the Second Reading. The Ministry...
Mr George Isaacs: I listened with great interest to the hon. and learned Member for Bolton, East (Mr. Philip Bell), trying to find out where he was and what he was getting at. He said that this was a well-intentioned Bill, and then that it was a Bill which would attack the sanctity of marriage. He said that no law can put right illegitimacy. The hon. and learned Gentleman completely forgot that we are not...
Mr George Isaacs: May I ask the Minister whether, in giving consideration to the question of better lighting on crossings, attention will be given to keeping clear the lower half of the amber bowl so that the light will go down on the crossing at the foot of the post?
Mr George Isaacs: Following on a question asked by one of my hon. Friends, has the right hon. Gentleman considered, or will he consider, the successful work of the Borough Market in Southwark, which is controlled by a small number of local people and which, I think he will find, is run most successfully from every point of view?
Mr George Isaacs: Is it not a fact that previous examination of this question has shown that there is no real evidence of the actual restrictive practices about which the employers complain?
Mr George Isaacs: Has the Minister taken note of the figures in the Report issued by his Ministry for 1956, which show that accidents between the hours of 10 and 12 at night are at least 50 per cent. higher than the highest figures in the middle of the day? Does not the jump in the number of accidents from between 9 and 10 p.m. to the high figures between 10 and 12 p.m. show that the closing of the public...
Mr George Isaacs: The Minister has said that if the two sides ask him to meet them he will do so. I wonder whether he can go so far as to say that if one side asks him to invite the other side to meet him he will consider doing that? After all, we know the problems and troubles, and if, by sacrificing a little red tape, we can save the community a lot of trouble it might be worth while. Will the right hon....
