§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKE(by Private Notice) asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been drawn to the rumour, since formulated into a public statement, that some 5,000 men are to be shortly discharged from the Royal dockyard at Devonport, and can he give the House any information on the subject?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Dr. Macnamara)Yes, Sir. My attention has been 574 drawn to the statement that it is contemplated within the near future to reduce the number of employés in Devonport Dockyard by 5,000, and I recognise it as the statement made by my hon. Friend the Member for the Silver-town Division on the authority of the men who had consulted him, at a deputation to myself on 14th instant. I said then, and now repeat, that I knew nothing about reductions on anything like so large a scale. My hon. Friend the Member for the Silver-town Division had waited upon me with a view to finding some means of mitigating the hardships involved in reductions; this, I said, I would try to do, and inquiries in that direction have been set on foot.
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKECan the right hon. Gentleman give the House any idea of the dimensions which are proposed with regard to these reductions?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThat will depend upon the amount of work, but it will not be on anything like so large a scale as 5,000.
Mr. J. JONESTs he aware that my statement arose as the result of a discussion which took place at a meeting of the Plymouth trades union at which the men reported through the Trades Council that from the whole of the area of Plymouth and Devonport it was given out that there was going to be 5.000 discharged before the end of the financial year?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAI have no doubt that my hon. Friend had that authority to repeat the statement, but what I am anxious to say is that the reductions will not be in that proportion. Some reduction will be necessary and we must do all we can to mitigate the hardship.