Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 7 Rhagfyr 1964.
Mr Cyril Osborne
, Louth Borough
12:00,
7 Rhagfyr 1964
asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the dissatisfaction among Immingham dockers at the working of the Dock Labour Scheme for Grimsby and Immingham which gives priority of jobs at Immingham to Grimsby dockers; if he will vary the scheme, and establish a separate register for Immingham workers; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Richard Marsh
, Greenwich
No such dissatisfaction has been reported to me. I am, however, having inquiries made and will write to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr Cyril Osborne
, Louth Borough
Will the hon. Gentleman take it from me that many of my constituents feel that they have had a very raw deal for many years? Is he aware that they have made protests to the branch that amalgamates the two smaller units and that the Immingham men feel that they always get the worse part of the choice because the Majority of the men in the branch live at Grimsby? Will the hon. Gentleman see that they get a fair crack of the whip?
Mr Richard Marsh
, Greenwich
The hon. Member will readily appreciate that there are enormous numbers of people who have had a raw deal in recent years. We hope to change that. The day-to-day working of the scheme at any particular port is a matter for the dock labour boards, and my right hon. Friend has no powers to intervene.
Mr Cyril Osborne
, Louth Borough
On a point of order, In view of the absolutely unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter at the earliest possible opportunity.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
