§ 77. Mr. ROTHSCHILDasked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether his attention has been drawn to the injustice which has been shown to the members of the Building Workers' Industrial Union by Messrs. Matthew and Son at Halton Camp, who have discharged all the members of this union in contradiction to the orders issued by the Air Ministry; whether the contractors have reinstated any members of this union who have left the union to join a craft union; and whether he will at once take steps to remedy this state of affairs and to see that the union affected is treated on equal terms with any other trade union?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for AIR (Major-General Seely)The step referred to was taken by the contractors following on a recent intimation from the National Board of Conciliation for the Building Trades that the Building Workers' Industrial Union was not a union recognised by that body. The Air Ministry is in consultation with the Ministry of Labour in regard to the possibility of further action being taken under the Conciliation Act, 1896. I am not aware of any such cases of reinstatement of men under notice to leave as are referred to in the 1342 second part of the question. I would add that the contract is now approaching completion, and that as a consequence large numbers of men are necessarily being discharged.