§ 30. Mr. WELLOCKasked the Minister of Agriculture what information he can give to the House as to the reductions that have taken place in the wages of agricultural labourers of 65 years and over since the Contributory Old Age Pensions Act came into operation, and the measures he has taken, or proposes to take, in regard to such reductions?
Mr. GUINNESSA few cases of the kind mentioned in the question have been reported to me and have been investigated by inspectors of the Ministry. From the reports so far received it appears that in three of them the matter arose out of a misunderstanding and has since been adjusted, but in a fourth case I have given instructions for legal proceedings to be taken against the employer. I have also taken steps by notices in the Press and a circular letter to the agricultural wages committees to call the attention of employers in agriculture to the fact that they are not empowered to pay less than the minimum rates on the ground of workers being in receipt of old age pensions.