52. Mr. F. HALL (Dulwich)asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the average weekly earnings of watchers in the Port of London during the three months preceding the coming into force of the new Order of June, 1913, as to the rates of pay of this class; and the average weekly earnings of the men affected by such Order for the three months subsequently?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe figures asked for are not available, and their preparation would involve a good deal of labour. In any case they would not be strictly comparable, as the amount of overtime work, which affects the average overtime earnings, is not a constant but a varying factor.
Mr. F. HALLCannot the right hon. Gentleman state what are the ordinary wages of watchers? That is all I ask. There are only about 1,500 of them, and surely it would not require an enormous amount of work to get out the information.
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe hon. Member asks for the average weekly earnings, and that would necessitate the calculation of overtime. I am not prepared to ask the Inland Revenue authorities to do it.
Mr. F. HALLIs it because they are so small a number that their voting power does not command much attention from the Government?