§ MR. JENKINS (Chatham)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the recent advance in wages to the various trades and grades in His Majesty's dockyards have been awarded in accordance with the petitions presented to the Admiralty by the representatives of the dockyard employees; and whether such petitions included the average rates of wages from all parts of the country where Government work is executed.
§ THE CIVIL LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. LAMBERT, Devonshire, South Molton)The advances of pay recently made are the outcome of exhaustive in- 1540 quiries made by the Board of Admiralty when they visited all the Home dockyards and received deputations of the men. As regards the second part of the question, the petitions in some cases included particulars as to the average rates of wages ruling in the districts referred to, but they were not generally uniform in this respect.
§ MR. JENKINSIs it not the fact that the Government accepted the principle of the trade union rate of wages, or at any rate the payment of the like wages in dockyards to those for similar work in private establishments? And does not the Return just issued show that the Admiralty are in fact paying 10 per cent. less at the present time?
§ MR. LAMBERTasked for notice of the Question.