§ 60 and 61. Mr. THURTLEasked the Minister of Labour (1) by what method his Department, selects representatives of workpeople to serve on local employment committees;
§ (2) by what means a representative of the workpeople on a local employment committee, who becomes noir persona grata to the trade unionists of the district by reason of his attitude towards applicants for benefit, may be removed from the committee.?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDI will answer these questions together. Representatives of workpeople on local employment committees arc, appointed by the Minister of Labour usually on the nomination of trade unions or federations of trade unions. The bodies to be invited to make nominations are selected after careful consideration with a view to giving representation to the principal trades and organisations in the area. subject to the necessity for keeping the 428 numbers of members within reasonable limits. If objection were raised from any responsible quarter with regard to any member of a committee, I should be bound to consider it; but in the case of a member representing a particular organisation, the question whether that organisation wished to maintain him as their representative would obviously be one, of the factors to be taken into account.
§ Mr. THURTLEWould the right hon. Gentleman be prepared to consider representations from the organised trade unionists in the district concerned as of sufficient importance to warrant him in deciding whether a person should or should not be removed from the committee?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDCertainly. I have just stated that that is obviously one of the factors to be taken into account.
§ Mr. RILEYWill the right hon. Gentleman allow the organised unemployer in the district to have represents-tion on the committee?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDWhat I have said indicates the general scope of what will be considered. The representations should be confined, as far as possible, to the actual trades and organisations representing the workmen.
§ 63. Mr. THURTLEasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the Shore-ditch Trades Council, representing a very large number of insured persons, has applied for representation on the local employment committee, and has been refused such representation: and will he take steps to see that this and similar organisations throughout the country are permitted to have at least one work-people's representative on the local employment committee?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDI am aware that the Shoreditch Trades Council has recently applied to the Shoreditch Local Employment Committee for representation on the committee and that it was decided by the committee to take no action in the matter. I am not prepared to depart from the general rule that representation of workpeople should normally be obtained from trade unions or federations of trade unions.
§ Mr. THURTLEDoes the right hon. Gentleman not think that a trades council such as this is the best representation he can find of the workpeople in a given district?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDI repeat that as a general rule representation will be looked for from trade unions or a federation of trade unions. While I have not any precise or specific rule on the subject, I hold that trade councils, like other political organisations of the Conservative party and the Liberal party, are not necessarily bodies from which you should get representation.
§ Mr. MACKINDERIs the right hon. Gentleman not aware that a trades council is in effect a federation of trade unions?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDI am not aware of it, but I will accept the hon. Gentleman's statement on the subject.