§ (1) The certificate required to be held by a workman under Section seven of the principal Act shall be a certificate that the workman is free to accept other employment, instead of a certificate that he has left work with the consent of his employer, and a munitions tribunal may, in lieu of granting such a certificate as it is empowered to grant under that Section itself, grant a certificate that the workman is free to accept other employment, and accordingly that Section shall have effect as if for the words "that he left work with the consent of his employer or a certificate from the munitions tribunal that the consent has been unreasonably withheld" there were substituted the words "or from a munitions tribunal that he is free to accept other employment," and for the words "that the consent of an employer has been unreasonably withheld" there were substituted the words "that such a certificate as aforesaid has been unreasonably refused by an employer," and for the words "grant a certificate which shall for the purposes of this Section have the same effect as a certificate from the employer" there were submitted the words "itself issue such a certificate or order the issue of such a certificate by the employer."
§ (2) Where a workman employed on or in connection with munitions work in any establishment of a class to which the provisions of Section seven of the principal Act are for the time being applied by an order made thereunder is dismissed or discharged by his employer, the employer shall forthwith give him such a certificate 895 as aforesaid, and if he fails to do so, a munitions tribunal may, in addition to issuing or ordering the issue to him of such a certificate, order the payment to him by the employer of such sum, not exceeding five pounds, as the tribunal may think fit, unless the tribunal is of opinion that the workman was guilty of misconduct for the purpose of obtaining dismissal or discharge.
§ This Sub-section shall apply to a workman who has been suspended without wages for a period of more than two days in like manner as if he had been dismissed or discharged by his employer. Any sum ordered to be paid by an employer to a workman under the foregoing provisions of this Sub-section shall be a civil debt recoverable summarily.
§ (3) Where a contract of service with a workman employed on or in connection with munitions work in any establishment of a class to which the provisions of Section seven of the principal Act are for the time being applied by an order of the Minister of Munitions is terminated by dismissal and less than one week's notice or wages in lieu of notice has or have been given, the employer shall, subject to the provisions of this Sub-section, within twenty-four hours of giving notice of dismissal to the workman report-the matter in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made by the Minister of Munitions, and such rules shall provide for the determination by a munition tribunal (in case of difference)' of the amount, if any, and not in any case exceeding five pounds, which is to be paid by the employer to the workman in lieu of notice, and for the payment of the sum so determined to the workman, unless the tribunal is of opinion that owing to the circumstances of the employment or misconduct of the work man the employer had reasonable cause for dismissing the workman without a week's notice:
§ Provided that nothing in this Sub-section shall apply to workmen engaged in ship repairing, or to any class of workmen exempted in the prescribed manner on the ground that the circumstances of their employment were such that the provisions of this Sub-section ought not to apply to them.
§ (4) The provisions of Section seven of the principal Act which prohibit the giving of employment to workmen in the circumstances mentioned in that Section shall not apply so as to prevent the giving 896 of employment to a workman in a controlled establishment to which he has been assigned by the Minister of Munitions in pursuance of Section six of the principal Act.
§ (5) In determining whether the grant of a certificate has been unreasonably refused for the purposes of Section seven of the principal Act as amended by this Section, a munitions tribunal shall take into consideration the question whether the workman has left or desires to leave his work for the purpose of undertaking any class of work in which his skill or other personal qualifications could be employed with greater advantage to the national interests, and whether the employer has failed to observe the conditions laid down in any fair wages resolution now in operation passed by Parliament, and whether the workman has left or desires to leave his work because he has recently completed a term of apprenticeship or period of learning his trade or occupation and desires to obtain the full standard rate of wages applicable to fully qualified workmen in his trade or occupation.
§ (6) The Minister of Munitions may make rules for carrying Section seven of the principal Act as amended by this Section into effect, and in particular may by such rules provide—
- (a) for the issue, form, custody, duration, delivery up, and replacement in case of loss or destruction, of certificates;
- (b) for the issue of certificates to the effect that a person is not engaged on or in connection with munitions work;
- (c) for prohibiting the insertion in a certificate issued by an employer of any matter other than the prescribed particulars;
§ (7) This Section shall not come into operation until such date as may be fixed by the rules made there under.
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI beg to move to leave out Sub-section (1) and to insert instead thereof,
"For Sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 7 of the principal Act the following Sub-sections shall be substituted:—
This is an Amendment which I promised to the hon. Member for Gorton (Mr. Hodge). It is purely a drafting Amendment, which makes the matter a little clearer, and we have put it down in deference to the hon. Member's wishes.
- (1) A person shall not give employment to a workman who has within
897 the last previous six weeks, or such other period as may be provided by order of the Minister of Munitions as respects any class of establishment, been employed on or in connection with munitions work in any establishment of a class to which the provisions of this Section-are applied by order of the Minister of Munitions, unless he holds a certificate from the employer by whom he was last so employed or from a munitions tribunal that he is free to accept other employment; - (2) If any workman or his trade union representative complains to a munitions tribunal, in accordance with rules made with respect to those tribunals, that such a certificate as aforesaid has been un-reasonably refused by an employer, that tribunal may, after examining into the case, if it thinks fit, itself issue such a certificate or order the issue of such a certificate by the employer."
§ Mr. KING(who had given notice to more as an Amendment to the proposed Amendment to leave out the word "from" ["or from a Munitions tribunal"]): This is required because the insertion of the word "from" here breaks the connection of the sentence and makes the words which follow, "that he is free to accept other employment," join only to the words "Munitions tribunal." This is a grammatical point. If the right hon. Gentleman had given as much attention in his earlier days to grammar as he now gives to questions of State, I am sure he would see that this Amendment is quite essential from the point of view of accurate and correct interpretation.
§ Mr. SPEAKERSurely the hon. Member is wrong. The Amendment says, "unless he holds a certificate." What is the certificate? It is a certificate that he is free to accept other employment. That certificate he can obtain either from the employer by whom he was last employed or from a munitions tribunal. I think the words are proper grammar.
§ Mr. KINGI will not press this Amendment. I beg to move another Amendment to the proposed Amendment—to leave out the words "such a certificate as aforesaid has been unreasonably refused by an employer," and to insert instead thereof the words "an employer had unreasonably refused or neglected to issue such a certificate as aforesaid."
It is quite possible that an employer might not have unreasonably refused to issue a certificate, but suppose he had gone away on a holiday without issuing, as he ought to have done, a certificate or, out of mere negligence, through putting off on somebody else the preparation and issuing of a certificate or any many other circumstances that might arise the certificate was not issued, it might not be found possible to say that the employer had unreasonably refused it. He might very well all the time have simply neglected to issue it, but the effect upon the workman would be just the same. These cases are very likely to arise and they will be covered by my Amendment. I see no reason why it should not be accepted.
§ Sir G. CAVEWe are anxious to meet the hon. Member in view of the fact that he does not intend to persist in Amendments which are regarded as unnecessary. On that understanding, as the Amendment does not alter the sense of my right hon. Friend's proposal, I hope the Committee will accept it.
§ Amendment to the proposed Amendment agreed to.
§ Mr. KINGI beg to move, as a further Amendment to the proposed Amendment, to add at the end the words "if any employer fails to issue a certificate so ordered to be issued, he shall be liable to be punished as though he had failed to comply with an award."
§ Sir G. CAVEThis is by no means consequential upon the last Amendment. The effect of the last Amendment is that if an employer refuses or neglects to issue a certificate, then the tribunal may itself issue a certificate or order its issue by the employer. If that order is made and the 899 employer fails to comply with it, he commits an offence, and Clause 12, Sub-section (4), applies, and the penalty attaches. There is no need whatever for this Amendment.
§ Question, "That those words be added to the proposed Amendment," put, and negatived.
§ Proposed words, as amended, there inserted in the Bill.
§ Mr. ANDERSON(who had given notice to move, in Sub-section (2), after the word "who" ["this Sub-section shall apply to a workman who"], to insert the words "for reasons held to be justifiable by a tribunal, has left his employment, and to a workman who"): This is a point I raised on the Committee stage—
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI have an Amendment down later to meet this point.
§ Mr. ANDERSONI did not understand that. If that is so, I am quite satisfied.
Further Amendments made: In Sub-section (2) leave out the words "has been suspended without wages for a period of more than two days," and insert instead thereof the words "applies for a certificate on the ground that he has for a period of more than two days been given no opportunity of earning." After the word "days" ["for a period of more than two days in like manner"], insert the words "or who leaves his employment on account of conduct on the part of the employer or any agent of the employer which would justify the immediate termination by the workman of his contract of service."—[Mr. Lloyd George.]
§ 8.0 P.M.
§ Mr. KINGI beg to move, in Subsection (3), to leave out the word "munition" ["determination by a munition tribunal"], and to insert instead thereof the word "munitions."
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI accept that Amendment.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI beg to move, in Sub-section (3), to leave out the word "circumstances" ["circumstances of the employment"], and to insert instead thereof the words "discontinuous or temporary nature." This is in accordance with the promise I gave.
§ Amendment agreed to.
900§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI beg to move, in Sub-section (5), to leave out the words "any Fair-Wages Resolution now in operation passed by Parliament," and to' insert instead thereof the words "the Fair-Wages Clauses required by Resolution of the House of Commons to be inserted in Government contracts.
§ Amendment agreed to.