§ Mr. JOHN WARDasked the First Lord of the Admiralty why his Department had 1264 refused to submit the dispute as to what is a fair wage for navvies and labourers on the dock works at Rosyth to be decided by the Board of Trade?
CIVIL LORD of the ADMIRALTY (Mr. Lambert)The Board of Admiralty investigated this question on the spot in June, and is satisfied that there was no infringement of the Fair-Wages Clause in the cases of navvies and labourers at Rosyth.
§ Mr. JOHN WARDThe answer is not an answer to the question. The question is why the Admiralty have refused to submit the question to the Board of Trade for arbitration.
Mr. LAMBERTThe Board of Admiralty are responsible and could not abrogate their responsibility in the matter.
Mr. TYSON WILSONIs not the Admiralty aware that the contractors employ all kinds of labour for all classes of work and that scarcely any of them come up to the standard rate?
Mr. LAMBERTThe Admiralty are aware of all the material facts and do not consider that there has been any infringement of the Fair-Wages Clause.
§ Mr. J. WARDIs not it usual to suppose that the persons who refuse arbitration show themselves to be in the wrong?