HC Deb 15 June 1925 vol 185 cc4-5
10. Mr. SNELL

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Railway Board in India has ascertained the causes of the strike that has been dislocating traffic on the North-Western Railway of India for more than a month; if so, what steps it has taken towards bringing about a settlement of the dispute; and, if not, whether the Government of India proposes to demand a full report on the strike from the Railway Board?

13. Mr. D. GRENFELL

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the strike on the North-Western Railway of India has been going on for same months, and that 20,000 railway workers are involved; whether the Government of India has received a request from the Federation of the All-India Railwaymen's Unions for the immediate appointment of a conciliation board to bring about an equitable settlement; and what steps the Government of India propose to take?

Earl WINTERTON

I will answer these questions together. The Government of India have stated that the strike originated in the dismissal of a fitter for disobedience to orders, and it has been disavowed by the recognised Trades Union. I am not aware what steps, if any, the Government of India propose to take, but my Noble Friend is confident that the matter may safely be left in their hands.

22. Mr. MORGAN JONES

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that, of the 40 mistries and workmen retired from service in the Bengal and North-Western Railway workshops during last January, only three or four men have received the gratuities due to them, the remainder having been told, after waiting more than four months, that there have been breaks in their services or that they have not served long enough to be eligible for gratuities; and whether the Government of India is prepared to make rules by which no railway may be able to evade its responsibilities in this way?

Earl WINTERTON

I have no information, but if the men referred to are not eligible for gratuities under the rules, I see no ground for questioning the action of the Bengal and North-Western Railway Company in refusing to grant them.