§ 29. Mr. KELLYasked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware of the new order, dated 28th October, 1927, under the Agricultural Wages Regulation Act, 1924, which has come into force in the county of Essex, under which certain overtime payments are fixed for Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day; whether any complaint has been received from a trade union officer in North and East Essex reporting evasion of these payments, and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken to make this order effective; and, in view of the position caused by the farmers refusing to pay in accordance with the order, what action he proposes to take?
Mr. GUINNESSComplaints have been received from workers' organisations that certain employers in Essex have failed to pay wages in accordance with the orders made under the Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act for the weeks in which Good Friday and Easter Monday fell, and I have instructed an inspector to make investigations with a view to taking such action as may be necessary to secure the observance of the minimum rates fixed in the orders.