§ MR. GOULDING (Worcester)To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the 108½ hours reduction of time to be worked by spinners of American cotton in seven weeks will be shown in the monthly Unemployment Returns as issued by the Board of Trade; and, if not, can he state what is the percentage of lessened employment in the trades affected represented by the reduction in question.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill). Neither short time nor overtime is taken into account in the monthly Returns as to the proportion of trade unionists unemployed. The spinners of American 65 cotton directly affected by the arrangement with regard to the working of short time have had their ordinary weekly hours reduced by about 28 per cent. I am making inquiries as to the number of persons affected by the reduction.