Employment Bill [HL]

I thank my noble friend for his response. In some ways I found it very helpful; in other ways I was a bit disappointed. I am prepared to accept that this is a very complex situation. Indeed, I bring to the attention of Members of the Committee what the counsel said when drafting the amendment: "““Plainly the suggested amendments contained within this document are intended to provide an indication of what might be done to address the concerns that arise … and it may be that some form of standard method of calculation of entitlement would be necessary for non-UK … ships who go in and out of UK waters””." However, she says in her opinion that this is ““not an insurmountable obstacle””. She just thought it was possible to come to terms with that difficulty, which has been mentioned by a number of noble Lords who have spoken in the debate. I am gratified to learn that the position of an individual employed on a ferry travelling between the mainland and the Shetlands, and the difference if he is travelling between Scotland and the Hebrides, is accepted as anomalous and needing some attention. I would be very happy to co-operate in further discussions if that is deemed necessary. I am sure that the RMT would be very happy to enter into discussions over these concerns—I think most people who have spoken in the debate have accepted that there are legitimate concerns—about the anomalies in the payment of the national minimum wage. I am sorry that the word ““slave”” gave rise to some objections, but to me and my noble friends some of the rates paid to individuals working on UK-registered ships when they were not resident seemed incredibly low. Even if they come from countries where they are not paid very much normally, their rates seem desperately low when compared with the people receiving the minimum wage for doing exactly the same job. The union has legitimate concerns about that. That is why it wanted the kind of text that we put before the Committee. A number of the issues raised strike me as too complex for me, but the Minister endeavoured to deal with the race relations issue, which was raised by the noble Lord, Lord Lester, and in one of the papers I had from the union. I am gratified to learn that it is receiving consideration from the Government at the moment. I will look with interest at the text of the debate. I am grateful to all noble Lords who participated. I think it is accepted that the union has a case here. It may not be dealt with adequately in the wording we put forward, but there is an anomalous situation that the union has been trying to deal with for a number of years. It has the support of the TUC in attempting to get a more reasonable text. I hope that later on, perhaps in further discussion of the Bill, we shall arrive at a text that is suitable for everybody. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clauses 14 and 15 agreed to.