§ Sir WILLIAM COLLINSasked the Secretary of State for War what duties Army Reservists are required to perform, and whether any cases are known in which an Army Reservist has been discharged from 1936 his civil employment for performing his military duty?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Mr. Haldane)The Regulations for the training of the Army Reserve are issued annually. In the case of Section B of the infantry, men enlisted for three years are required to train in the fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh year of their service, and those enlisted for more than three, years in their tenth year of service. The training consists of one day's musketry instruction, or, if the man so prefers, six days' training with a Special Reserve unit. As regards the second part of the question, I regret to say that a case occurred recently when an infantry reservist was discharged by his employers in consequence of his having attended for his one day's training on a Saturday. The authorities regard the training of Army Reservists in relation to their civil employment as such an important question that they have taken action in this particular case, and the firm in question has been removed from the list of War Department contractors.
§ Mr. JOHN WARDHas the right hon. Gentleman powers under the new Act recently passed to deal with cases of that kind?
§ Mr. HALDANEI deal with it under the powers which we have already.
§ Lord BALCARRESWhat action is the right hon. Gentleman entitled to take in the case of a firm which is not a contractor?
§ Mr. HALDANEI have no power at all to deal with them.