§ MR. NANNETTI (Dublin, College Green)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, as representing the Board of Works, whether he is aware that labouring men are engaged doing painters' work by the contractor 955 on girders and other metal work at the Royal College of Science, Merrion Street, Dublin; whether this is in accordance with the Fair Wages Resolution of this House; and, if not, what action he proposes to take.
(Answered by Mr. Hobhouse.) I am informed that a labourer has been engaged by the contractors in coating the structural girders at the Royal College of Science, Dublin, with preservative paint. This is in accordance with the invariable practice, both here and in England, for work of the kind and is not a violation of the terms of the Fair Wages Resolution. It is not finished painting, requiring the employment of a skilled workman, but is coating of a rough description carried out for preservative purposes only. These girders will ultimately be covered by concrete or plaster. All painting work on metal and elsewhere, properly assignable to skilled workmen, has been and will be executed by such workmen and paid for at the usual current rate of wages.