§ 59. Mr. A. HERBERTasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has considered the desirability of encouraging Whitley Councils in the rural areas, for the purpose of arriving at settlements with regard to wages?
§ 60. Mr. HURDasked the Minister of Agriculture the result of friendly conferences between the unions representing the farmers and workers, respectively, to ensure a mutually satisfactory agreement on wages and working conditions on the land?
63. Captain TUDOR-REESasked the Minister of Agriculture what provision he has made or proposes to make to deal with cases of hardship due to the intended repeal of Part I of the Agriculture Act, 1920; and whether he will state whether it is the intention of the Government to substitute any other organisation for the Agricultural Wages Board for the regulation of the wages of agricultural workers?
Sir A. BOSCAWENWith the leave of the House I will answer these questions together. The proposals of the Government in regard to the relations of agricultural employers and workmen will be embodied in the Bill which I propose to introduce to-day to repeal the Corn Production Acts, and I propose to make a full statement on the subject on the occasion of the Second Reading of the Bill, which will, I hope, take place next week. In the meantime, I may say that the matter was considered by the Council of the National Farmers' Union last week, when a resolution was passed recommending the setting up of voluntary joint committees of representatives of employers and workmen to deal with questions affecting wages in the agricultural industry.
§ Mr. G. EDWARDSWhy were the leaders of the Agricultural Labourers' Union not asked to a conference on the same day as that on which the right hon. Gentleman met the farmers?
Sir A. BOSCAWENAs a first step I thought it better to see the two sides separately. I earnestly hope that they will meet in joint conference before long.