§ 55. Sir JOSEPH WALTONasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that, although the Coal Mines 863 (Minimum Wage) Act provides that the Joint District Board for any district shall be adequately representative of the workmen and the employers in the district, the District Board (owners' side) for South Yorkshire has been constituted entirely from members of the South Yorkshire Coal 'Trade Association without any regard or reference to the right of collieries not affiliated with that association to representation on the Board; that a number of collieries in the Barnsley district not affiliated with the South Yorkshire Coal Trade Association, representing an annual output of coal of 3,000,000 tons, employing 10,000 men and boys, and working thin seams under special local conditions, have been refused any representation on the South Yorkshire Joint District Board; and whether, seeing that the Board of Trade have advised the representatives of the group of collieries referred to that their recognition of the South Yorkshire Joint District Board was made subject to any variation that the Board of Trade, upon the recommendation of the chairman, may sanction with the object of securing that the Joint District Board is fairly and adequately representative of the workmen and employers in the district, and that this group of collieries maintain that the Joint District Board is not at present properly constituted in accordance with the terms of the Act, and that they are therefore not bound by any agreements made by a Board so constituted, he will take steps to ensure that the group of collieries referred to shall have the representation they are entitled to under the terms of the Minimum Wage Act?
Mr. ROBERTSONBy a Minute of the Board of Trade, dated 18th April, a Joint District Board for the South Yorkshire district, consisting of fifteen employers' representatives and fifteen workmen's representatives, with Sir Edward Clarke as independent chairman, was recognised as a Joint District Board under the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act, subject to any variation that the Board of Trade, upon the recommendation of the chairman, might sanction with the object of securing that the Joint District Board is fairly and adequately representative of the workmen and employers in the district. The question of the representation of certain collieries in the South Yorkshire district upon this District Board is one which has been the subject of communication between the parties concerned and 864 the chairman of the Board, and I understand that at a meeting of the Board held on 6th May the question of the addition of new members to the Board was discussed but was not proceeded with. Subsequent to this meeting the chairman intimated to the representatives of the collieries referred to by the hon. Member that any evidence they might desire to give would be received and fully considered by the District Board. I understand, however, that no evidence was offered, and on 22nd May, after further meetings of the Board, the rates and rules for the South Yorkshire district were formally published. No recommendation to vary the membership of the District Board was received from the chairman, and in the absence of such recommendation the Board of Trade are not in a position to sanction a variation in the constitution of the Board.