§ 17. Colonel W. THORNEasked the Under-Secretary of State for War if his attention has been called to a statement made at the Bakewell Tribunal by a boot operative in an appeal case; if he is aware that the man in question declared that his employer had declined to appeal 153 or any of his employés any longer because they had joined a local branch of the National Society of Boot and Shoe Operatives; and if he will make inquiries into the matter?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of NATIONAL SERVICE (Mr. Beck)I have been asked to reply to this question The cases of certain boot operatives employed within the jurisdiction of the Bakewell Tribunal have been brought to my notice, and I caused inquiries to be made. From the reports which I have received, it appears that the employers had, in the past, obtained periods of temporary exemption for a number of their men and, from time to time, as the certificates expired, had applied for renewal. Recently, on the expiry of the exemptions of certain men, the majority of whom were under thirty years of age, the employers did not apply for renewal. It is not within the competence of the National Service Department to compel employers to apply for the exemption of their men. When, however, a man's certificate granted on his employer's application expires, it is open to him to apply for renewal on his own behalf. This course has, I am informed, been taken by the men in question, who have obtained further temporary exemption from the tribunal.