§ VISCOUNT CRANBORNE (Rochester)I beg to ask the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether a new scale of pay came in force in March, 1891, in Chatham Dockyard, under which all skilled labourers received an increase of pay averaging from 3s. to 5s. per week per man; and whether towards the close of last month a number of drillers, iron caulkers, and rivetters were taken off, owing to slackness of work, and put on to other skilled work instead, but their wages were reduced to the old rate of pay, although working the same number of hours and continuing to be employed as skilled labourers?
§ MR. E. ROBERTSONThe answer to the first part of the question is, Yes. It is true that a small number of men, 33 in all, were last month transferred to other work consequent on slackness in the class of work on which they were employed, but of these only 13 drillers had to fall back to ordinary labourers, the others continuing to receive pay as skilled men. The system of interchangeability of employment prevents the necessity for discharging men.