§ 29. Mr. ANDERSONasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that workmen engaged on War Office work are liable to be locked out for several hours as a penalty for arriving a few minutes late; and whether, seeing that this lateness is often caused by the strain of continuous overtime, the distances 1974 to be travelled, and the dislocation of train services, and that the enforcement of such penalising rules at the present moment is restricting output, he will invite employers to relax their rules for the period of the war?
Mr. BAKERI have no detailed information as to the practice of the firms concerned, which probably varies at the different works, but I understand that generally it is to mark men down for the loss of a quarter (i.e., two hours) if they are not signed in by a certain hour, and that in many cases indulgence is given on account of the large numbers of employés and of the crowded state of the trains. Subject to any information which the hon. Member may be able to supply, I understand that in all cases the penalising rules are only enforced when absolutely necessary.