HC Deb 27 February 1928 vol 214 c28
40. Sir B. PETO

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Devonshire Agricultural Wages Committee have made public a notice on the subject of the minimum wage for agricultural workers in ccnnection with pensions at the age of 65; whether he can state the terms of such notice; and whether it has received his approval?

Mr. GUINNESS

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the notice of the Devon Agricultural Wages Committee warning employers that they are not empowered to pay less than minimum rates on the ground of workers being in receipt of an old age pension. I fully approve of the object of the notice, and I have taken steps to call attention to the matter by circulating to the Press and to the agricultural wages committees a copy of the reply which I gave on the 16th February to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Captain Crookshank).

Following is the notice:

"Agricultural Wages and the Pensions Act. The attention of the Devon Agricultural Wages Committee has been drawn to the fact that in some cases employers are seeking to justify a reduction of the minimum wage by the amount of the pension receivable by the worker, and they wish to notify that in no case is this permissible, and that application must be made to the Committee in every case for a permit where less than the minimum wage is paid, when the merits of the case will be considered and dealt with under the Agricultural Wages Act of 1924 and the Rules made thereunder.