HC Deb 21 March 1904 vol 132 cc233-4
MR. BUCHANAN (Perthshire, E.)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether there will be any provision in the regulations to be made under the authority of the Transvaal Draft Ordinance fixing a minimum wage for imported Chinese labourers on similar conditions to the minimum wage fixed by the Trinidad Ordinance relating to imported Indian labourers; and whether there will be any similar limitation of the hours of labour for time work and task work respectively.

MR. LYTTELTON

It is not proposed to fix a minimum wage under the Ordinance, and after taking advice of very experienced persons I do not consider that it is necessary to do so. The hon. Member will see from the draft contract in the Papers published this morning that the period of labour will be ten hours.

MR. BUCHANAN

But is it not the practice to fix the minimum wage?

MR. LYTTELTON

Different circumstances apply to different people.